Page 209 of Eight Years Gone

Jagger raised his brow. “I’m going to strangle that kid if we have to miss Montana again.”

“Colton hasn’t mentioned anything about being in trouble.” She held up her finger as she answered. “Hello?”

She shook her head, giving Jagger the thumbs-up to let him know things were good before her frown returned. “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you’ll keep me in mind if things change. Thank you for letting me know. Bye, Marjorie.”

Jagger held her gaze. “What’s up?”

“They’re canceling the photography class I was going to teach. They’ve had to make budget cuts for the next school year.”

He hated seeing the disappointment in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Gracie. That sucks.”

She nodded. “I was excited to give teaching a shot. Jen’s starting full-time when the twins go to kindergarten this fall, so there was wiggle room in my schedule.” She shrugged. “Maybe some other time.”

“Maybe,” he said, watching her move to the bed to start packing, overcome by a staggering wave of love for the beautiful woman he’d adored for nearly half his life.

Grace was everything good about his world. As long as they were together, things could only get better. “Since Jen’s starting full-time in a few months, maybe we could start working on our family.”

Her head whipped around, and she held his gaze. “What does that mean when you say that?”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he casually shrugged. “Watching you hold Gabby and Jerrod’s new baby girl when we all got together on Christmas Day… It’s had me thinking.”

She dropped the shirt she held. “You want to start trying?”

He nodded. “What about you?” But he saw the answer in her eyes as her face lit up with a grin.

She laughed as she rushed into his arms. “A baby, Jagger. Our baby.”

He hugged her back. “If that’s what you want.”

She laughed again. “Yes, Jagger.”

“So, it’s decided. We’re officially doing this?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

He leaned forward, picking up her pack of birth control pills on the bed. “Are we bringing these to Montana or leaving them here?”

She snatched them from his hand, tossing them in the trash can. “Leave them.”

He laughed.

She grinned. “But it might not happen right away. It might take a couple of months for my body to find a new normal.”

He shrugged. “When it happens, it happens. But I’m up for lots of trying.”

She laughed again.

He settled his forehead against hers, taking in the moment—savoring how good life was. “You know, if we’re doing the baby thing, you should probably think about marrying me too.”

Her eyes went soft. “You want to get married?”

He reached for his wallet in his back pocket, pulling out the silver quarter-carat diamond ring he’d been carrying around for more than eight years. “I’ve wanted to marry you for a long damn time.”

Her eyes darted from the ring to his gaze. “It’s beautiful.”

He raised his brow because that was hardly true. “It’s not much. I saved for this for months. I was going to give it to you on our first night in our new apartment up in Syracuse.”

She took a step back, clearly stunned. “You were going to propose?”

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