Page 161 of When We Were Us
“So bossy.”
He laughs and scoops his hat up from the ground, setting it back on his head. “Don’t worry, I’ll wash you, too.” He laces our fingers together and clicks his tongue at Tucker as we walk back to the fence.
I put a foot up on the rail and his hands go around my waist to help me over. When I get halfway up, he stops me with a hand on my thigh and I turn so I’m seated on the top rail, looking down at him.
Son of a bitch. I thought backward ball cap and cargo pants Hank was hot, but the sight of him in ass-hugging Wranglers, a cowboy hat and sporting a full beard just about does me in.
Fuck, he’s hot.
I straddle the fence, my hands braced for support in front of me and my shoes perched on the middle rung.
“Marry me,” he blurts.
A laugh of surprise breaks from my chest as I smile down at him.
“I’ve loved you for so goddamn long, Wrenley, and I don’t want to wait anymore. I can’t spend another second on this earth without knowing you’ll be mine for the rest of my life.” His eyes bounce back and forth between mine. “Marry me.”
My throat closes up and Hank blurs before me, all fuzzy edges, as my eyes sting. No sound comes out when I try to speak. So, I nod furiously, tears streaming down my cheeks.
“Y–you…you’ll do it? You’ll marry me?”
“Yes!” I cry out with a laugh, throwing my arms around his neck.
He hauls me off the fence and we stumble back in a tangle of legs, arms, and mingled breath. Hank hits the dirt first, breaking my fall. My arms are still around his neck, and his grunt comes out choked with laughter before he drops his head back onto the dirt, his hat coming off again.
“Shit, are you ok?” I manage to say, laughing against his lips. I push up and straddle his waist. Still laughing, he nods.
I smile down at him, and he brushes my hair back from where he’s still laying on his back in the dirt.
He lifts his head and kisses me deeply, running his thumb over my cheek. “I’m gonna make you so fucking happy, baby.”
I lean over him, scooping up his hat. I place it on my head, and he grins up at me. My hair falls around us until all I can see is him. “Hank, you already do.”
epilogue
HANK
EIGHT MONTHS LATER…
“You shouldn’t be carrying that, Wrennie Girl,” I say coming up behind Wren as she approaches the stairs to my parents’ porch.
She frowns and glances down at the small duffel bag in her hand. “Hank, it’s fine. It’s just one day’s clothes.”
“The doctor said you should take it easy, remember?” I reach for the bag, taking it from her. “Women at your age, carrying?—”
She blows out a breath and turns halfway up the steps. Rubbing her rounded belly with one hand, she pins me with a look. “Say ‘women at my age’ one more time, Hayes. I dare you.”
She tries to look annoyed, but if there’s one thing I know about my fiancée, it’s that she loves how much I dote on her. I can’t help the small smile that tips up my lips. These last nine months with Wren have been incredible, but seeing her pregnant with our daughters is something I will never recover from. She thought I was protective of her before, but it’s nothing compared to protecting her and the twins.
“Humor me,” I say with a small smile, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her against me. “I want my girls safe.”
“Baby, I’m standing on your parents’ porch in the least dangerous town in the country. There are literal fences around this place in every direction and you have a gun in a holster on your belt.” She points to where I strapped my 9mm to my hip this morning. I’m rarely without it. Just like almost everyone else in Timber Forge. “I couldn’t be safer if I tried,” she teases.
I kiss the tip of her nose and her stomach grumbles loudly.
“Let’s get you in and settled and I’ll make you something to eat.” I plant a kiss on her cheek and press a hand to her lower back, guiding her up the rest of the steps.
“Grilled cheese?” She smiles up at me, and I kiss her lips with a chuckle.
