“Why? Is there a marching band and the Publisher’s Clearing House guy in there?”
“God I missed your smart mouth.” He laid his lips on hers. “Let’s go in. You’ll freeze to death if I start taking your clothes off out here.”
Luke kept a tight hold on her hand until they crossed the threshold. He closed the door behind them and pulled her in to his arms. “This is where you belong.”
He kissed her on the top of the head and slowly turned her around.
She spotted the framed pictures on the wall next to the door.
One was Karen, laughing in the sunshine. The other, Harper and her parents.
“You framed them.” Her breath caught in her throat. The picture that had followed her from place to place carefully tucked in an envelope was framed and hanging on a wall.
“You’re home, Harper.”
“Luke.” Tears clouded her vision and she turned back to him.
But he wasn’t standing behind her anymore.
He was down on one knee.
“Harper Wilde, I don’t want to spend another day of my life without you. I want to wake up with you wrapped around me every morning. I want you pushing me to do things I’m scared to do. I want to grow our family. I want to spend the rest of my life protecting you from yourself and thanking my lucky stars that you drove east instead of west. Be my wife. Grow old with me.”
He opened the velvet box to reveal a stunning ring. “It’s an eternity band because that’s how long I want to spend with you. And you have to say yes because I bought it in town and everyone knows by now.”
The tears flowed freely down her cheeks. For the second time that night, she could only nod her answer.
“I really need you to say it, Harper,” he teased.
Harper sank down to her knees and fell into his arms. “Yes to everything with you, Luke.”
EPILOGUE
Harper cheered with the rest of the crowd at the crack of the bat and then laughed when she realized the toddler in her arms was still sound asleep.
“I can’t believe she can sleep through this,” Harper said to Claire.
“She feels safe,” her mother-in-law smiled. “And why wouldn’t she? Look what you two have done for her and her brothers.” Claire nodded towards home plate where Luke leaned over, giving a serious pep talk to 11-year-old Robbie.
Harper dropped her nose to Ava’s wispy dark hair. “I think it’s more what they’ve done for us.”
“Mom!” Henry, in untied sneakers and a grass-stained t-shirt, rushed up to them, stopping just short of barreling into Harper’s folding chair.
“Henry!” Harper answered with as much enthusiasm.
“Mom, can I spend the night at Tyler’s? Can I, huh? Can I?”
“Let me check with his parents, and if it’s okay with them, it’s fine with me.”
“Wooo!” Henry zoomed off again.
“What in the world are you and Luke going to do with four of them?” Claire laughed.
Harper patted a hand to her slightly rounded belly. “We’ll find out in five months.”
“You’d better get all the rest you can now.”
Harper laughed. “Joni and Frank are taking all three of the kids tomorrow, so we can have a quiet night in.”
“Well if it’s a quiet night in, at least you won’t have to be picking leaves out of your hair,” Claire teased.
Harper blushed scarlet.
“Oh don’t be embarrassed,” Claire laughed. “Garrison men aren’t known for being tentative in bed.”
“Or woods ...” Harper supplied.
“Or the back parking lot of the hardware store.”
“Claire!” Harper hissed, pretending to cover the sleeping Ava’s ears.
They fell silent as Robbie stepped up to the plate with a swagger that was all Luke. He brushed off the first pitch, a wide ball. But Harper could tell from the set of his thin shoulders that he had the swing away signal from Luke. The pitch rocketed toward Robbie, and he swung for it, connecting with a satisfying clink. The ball arched high over the outfield, and he was sprinting for first.
Harper and Claire cheered as the Garrison jersey rounded the bases, Robbie streaking home to vault into Luke’s arms.
The adoption was finalized two weeks after they found out they were pregnant, but Harper still had to pinch herself sometimes. She had the life she had always dreamed of. Luke had seen to that.
There were no more shadows between them. A fact illustrated by the rising sun Luke had tattooed on his chest around the phoenix. She felt his gaze on her now and lifted hers.
He strode toward her, a grin splitting his face. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder where Robbie was celebrating his home run with the team.