Page 56 of Love From the Ashes

“Because I’m pregnant?”

“Yes and no. Yes, because you’re pregnant. No, because it isn’t the only reason. I love you more than anything, and I know I’ve never felt this way before. What we have between us is so different. I want you in my life permanently. I want us to grow old together and have a couple more kids.”

“Please tell me you’re not joking with me. You’re not saying these things only to tell me later you didn’t mean it.”

“This isn’t a joke, and I’m not playing some sort of game. I want us to get married.” Reid reached down and tipped my chin up. “Sofie Fletcher, will you marry me?”

I searched his face. He was serious. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” A feeling of joy and contentment that I’d never experienced before filled me as soon as I said the words. I was beyond happy. Reid wanted to make our relationship a lifelong commitment.

Reid reached inside the bedside table and pulled out a small black box. “Can I make it official?”

“What is that?”

“A ring.” He opened the box.

“This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment question, was it?”

“No, I’ve wanted to ask you for a few weeks.” Reid pulled the ring out of the box. “Here, put it on.”

I held out my hand, and Reid slipped the ring on my finger. I stared at it, wondering if this could somehow be a dream, and if so, when I would wake up.

“You’re not saying anything.”

“I’m so surprised by what just happened that I’m honestly debating whether this is real. Things this perfect don’t usually happen to me.”

Reid laughed as he tossed the empty box on the bedside table. “I swear, any other woman would be screaming with excitement or crying and fawning over the ring. And you stare at it and wonder if my proposal is real. When will you realize how special you are and how much you mean to me? You need to understand it’s okay to want something, and it’s okay to believe you deserve it.”

I gave Reid a timid smile. “I know I want to grow old with you.”

“See, that’s something. Now how about if we call it a night and go to sleep? I think you’ve worn me out.” Reid chuckled as he reached down for the covers that had worked their way to the end of the bed and pulled them over us. Then he turned off the lamp and gathered me in his arms. It wasn’t long before he was sound asleep.

Too wide awake to sleep, I relaxed in Reid’s arms, listening to his gentle breathing while his chest rose and fell underneath my cheek.

Something caught my attention. I narrowed my eyes in the darkness, trying to concentrate. There’d been a sound, and it wasn’t Reid. I lay there, unmoving, as I listened. But the house was still. I smiled, thinking I had to be so roused from Reid’s surprise that I imagined it. Besides, the house was old, and it was known to creak. I snuggled against Reid’s chest and tried to fall asleep.

My eyes shot open, and I stared at the door. It was slightly ajar, and I could have sworn we’d closed it. A tingly feeling was growing at the back of my neck, and I suddenly felt cold, like a chill had swept into the room. It was the same way I’d felt this afternoon when I could have sworn someone was watching me. I lifted my head from Reid’s chest, turning it slightly to listen. Was that…breathing? Was it coming from the hall outside our bedroom door? I heard it again, and I wanted to scream. I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t breathe. I was suffocating in a sea of panic.

There was a footstep. The floor creaked.Oh God…oh God…oh God. What do I do?

“Reid, wake up. Reid,” I whispered.

“Hmm.”

“There’s someone in the house.”

“What?”

“I can hear someone in the hall. They opened our door.”

Reid bolted upright, taking a second to get his bearings. He quietly got up from the bed and slipped into his pajama pants. He held his finger to his lips, motioning me to stay quiet while he grabbed a tall crystal vase from the table by the window.

I pulled the covers to my chest as I sat against the headboard, my eyes glued on Reid as he silently crept toward the partially open door.

There was a sound in the hallway, footsteps on the stairs.

Reid dashed out the bedroom door. He was yelling, and now I could hear Anderson’s voice mingled with his. The two of them sounded like they were at the bottom of the stairs. It suddenly got quiet, and then I realized they were on the deck, their voices echoing in the stillness of the night.

Too afraid to move, I sat in bed and waited. It seemed like an eternity had passed before I heard someone coming up the stairs.

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