Currant Creek Valley(95)
As silly as it might seem, she figured her mother deserved to have these magical three days of attention without Alex intruding with her own news, stealing a little of her thunder. When things calmed down a little, maybe at Christmas, she and Sam would announce their engagement—though she doubted anyone in the family would be particularly surprised, since they had become inseparable these past months.
Since that far-distant summer night when she had hovered on the edge of despair and had yanked herself back to find a shining future waiting, everything with Sam and Ethan had come together perfectly. They were like a new recipe with disparate elements that somehow seemed to meld and complement each other to breathtaking effect.
Who would ever have guessed she could be so utterly, completely, outrageously happy?
She studied the ring for a moment more, then tucked it back against her heart and walked out into the great room of Harry’s estate. The room was vast and high-ceilinged but the McKnight brood still managed to fill the space.
Lila and Rose, the twins, were chattering in the corner while Sage seemed to be chiding her grandfather about something as Harry’s son, Jack, looked on with an amused smile. Her oldest sister, Angie, was deep in conversation with her two daughters and Maura, and several of the men were loudly protesting a ref’s call in the football game showing on Harry’s retractable big-screen television.
Sam was in the middle of the action, of course, on the sofa watching the game. He looked big, hard, tough—and completely adorable cradling a little pink-wrapped bundle in his arms.
By some unerring sense, he seemed to know when she started to head in his direction. He looked up from his game-related conversation and smiled at her over the head of three-month-old Emma, daughter to Claire and Riley, and the most beautiful little cherub around.
Her insides did a long, slow melt and she was suddenly awash with love for him and so happy she didn’t quite know what to do with it.
“Give,” she ordered when she reached him.
“Do I have to?” he asked. When she nodded he complied, reluctantly handing over her goddaughter, who smelled of baby lotion, milk and heaven.
He slid over on the sofa to make room and she plopped down beside him, savoring this perfect, crystalline moment—surrounded by family, with a baby on her lap and Sam’s arm across her shoulders.
A moment later, a herd of the younger children came galloping through with many squeals and much laughter as they chased Owen, who seemed to be holding a sought-after toy just out of their reach.
One of the laughing children broke away from the pack and veered in their direction.
Ethan leaned against her knees, looking down at Emma with that slightly fascinated, slightly terrified expression only a seven-year-old boy can wear while looking at such a tiny creature.
“I’m starving, Alex,” he announced dramatically. “When are we eating?”
She smiled and rested her free hand on his sweaty curls. “It shouldn’t be long now. My mom is finishing up the gravy and then I think we’re good.”
“Yay! If I don’t eat something soon, my blood sugar is going to plummet and I’m seriously going to fall over!”
She laughed. “We wouldn’t want that to happen. Can your blood sugar hang on a few more moments?”
“I suppose.”
He raced off after the other kids, apparently staving off his impending collapse by force of will.
Alex watched him go, crazy for him. He had accepted her in his life with a sweet willingness that still made her want to cry sometimes.
In a way, Ethan had actually been the first to propose to her the night before.
He and Sam had set the stage beautifully. They had all gone for an evening walk, bundled against the cold and with Leo leading the way, to enjoy some of the twinkly holiday lights that had begun peeking out around town.
She had known something was up, since Ethan had just about been bursting with excitement, as what had appeared to be a casual, random walk had eventually led to Sam’s latest renovation site, a decrepit old warehouse he was working to turn into a small indoor mall a few blocks off Main Street.
Sam said he had to check something and suggested they all come inside to warm up a little.
When he flipped the lights on, she saw a huge message across the length of one wall, two-foot-high letters written in chalk in childish handwriting: Will you marry us?
“I love you, Alex. I want to spend forever with you,” Sam had said.
“I really, really, really want you to be my second mom,” Ethan had added.
Her heart bursting with joy, she had sniffled and laughed and hugged them.
She sighed with contentment now, and Sam caught her gaze with that secret, sexy little smile she loved, before he turned back to argue with Riley about a call.