Secretly Hers (Sterling Canyon)(104)
Fee jumped up and down, clapping. “Yay! Aunt Kelsey’s getting married, Mommy!”
“Oh, Fee, since you can’t keep quiet, I think we should get on our way and let these two have some privacy.” Maura kissed her sister before hustling her family off the porch.
Trip barely looked at them before he popped open the lid to reveal a sizable peach-pink cushion-cut diamond set in a diamond-encrusted band.
“But you said you’d never get married.” Kelsey wiped the tears trickling down her cheeks. “You don’t believe in it.”
“I was afraid.” He grinned. “Okay, in all honesty, I’m still a little afraid.”
Looking at this giant of a man dressed in a costume in public made it impossible to imagine him being afraid of much, but he sounded sincere.
“Then why?”
“Because I’m more afraid of my life without you in it.” When she couldn’t speak, he removed the ring from the box and dropped to one knee. “Maybe I should try this again. Kelsey, I love you, and only you. Always you. Marry me, please.”
More tears streaked down her cheeks, but she managed to nod while trying to catch her breath.
Trip stood, placed the ring on her finger, and kissed her, only to be interrupted by a sharp whistle and clapping from the crowd that had apparently gathered on the sidewalk and witnessed the proposal.
Trip winked at Kelsey, and then turned around and bowed at the group. The parents released their children, and within seconds, six kids were holding out their bags for candy.
After the group ran off the porch, Trip crushed her against his body. “I missed you so much. I could barely breathe from missing you.”
She feared her heart might literally explode from happiness. “I missed you, too.”
He kissed her again, then stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “Maybe we should go inside.”
“Okay,” she said. When he lifted the unicorn off the porch, she asked, “What’s with the unicorn?”
“When Fee asked if she could be our flower girl, you told her she could wear her costume and ride a unicorn down the aisle. I thought I’d better be prepared.”
“I can’t believe you remembered that. I didn’t even remember!” She laughed at the refreshed recollection.
Trip grabbed her into his arms again and looked in her eyes. “I remember every moment we’ve spent together, Kelsey. Every single one.”
Kelsey thanked God Trip was so tall and strong, because he was the only thing keeping her from fainting to the ground. “I love you, Trip Lexington, so you never have to be afraid of me, or this,” she said, wiggling her ring finger.
The doorbell rang, making Kelsey suddenly wish she hadn’t agreed to stand in for Maura.
“Guess this is good practice for next year.” Trip shrugged before he bent over to pick up the bowl of candy. He kissed her cheek and opened the door to the sound of another group of loud kids yelling “trick or treat.”
Kelsey watched him compliment the little girls, marveling at how she’d risen from the depths of darkness to the absolute peak of happiness in a matter of weeks. A slight pang pressed on her chest at the memory of the child they’d lost. But together she and Trip would eventually create the family she’d always wanted.
As she stood there in her princess costume staring at him in his garb, she realized dreams really do come true as long as you believe.
Epilogue
A month later, Kelsey came home to her two boys, Trip and Cowboy. Trip was leaning over the dining table studying architectural plans for the park, while Cowboy pranced around his feet.
Her heart stretched open wide like it had every other evening since Halloween. She lifted the kitten to cuddle him while peering over Trip’s shoulder. “Happy with them?”
“They’re just preliminary drawings, but it’s coming together.” He wound an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek before returning his attention to the drawings.
“Have you come up with a name, yet?” She set the kitten back on the floor and noted the toddler playground installation plans.
“Think I’ll just go with Mountain View Park, that way the name and location work together.” He smiled like a kid at Christmas. “By the way, just heard there won’t be any holdup with the subdivision of the back half acre for home construction.”
Their home. One she’d help design. “I’m so excited! I want it to be a homey place with a porch, a picket fence, and a few extra bedrooms.”