Her Last Love (Small Town Hearts Trilogy #1) (27 page)

"How did you do all this?" She took a step back, took his hand, and led him over to the blanket so she could get a better view. "It's gorgeous, Carter." 

"I had a little help," he admitted. "Called in a couple favors." 

"We won't be in trouble for being here after dark, then?" 

"No," he laughed. "For tonight, the park is all ours." 

"Well, then. I guess we'd better get to enjoying it." She released his hand to sit cross-legged on the blanket, watching him as he joined her, sitting hip to hip. "What's in the thermos?" 

"A little grown-up hot chocolate." He replied, pouring some of the steaming chocolaty liquid into the cup of the lid, capping off the thermos again as he handed her the drink. 

"Oh, really?" She took a tentative sip and raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, I'd say so. Irish whiskey?" 

"Yep." He took the cup from her to take a sip of his own. "Pretty good, huh?" 

"Oh yeah, it gets my vote." She slipped a chocolate chunk cookie off of the plate and nibbled. "And the cookies are from Delaney's, I take it?" The local bakery was popular for its cookies. 

"Of course. They're the best." To prove it, he took one for himself, but instead of nibbling as Lynn had, took a huge bite and grinned. They sat together for a few minutes, enjoying the scenery and each other's company, passing the cup back and forth between them before Carter stood up again. 

"Come on," he urged her, holding out a hand to help her up off of the ground. "Let's pick some mistletoe." 

"Carter, I haven't done this in years! I'm not sure I remember how!" 

"It's okay, it comes back to you. Like riding a bike. Now, I don't have a basketball with me to throw into the tree like we used to use, so we'll have to figure something else out, unless we want to climb a tree tonight."  

"I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you."  

"Didn't think so. And besides, you're not dressed for it either." He gave her a quick once over as he walked over to her, pulled her into his arms, and gave her a quick kiss. "Good thing I already picked some. You just have to find it." 

"Find it?" 

"Uh-huh. It's attached to one of the jars hanging from the trees. Shouldn't be too hard to spot." He grinned at her as she shot him a look full of sass. 

"You brought me out here to go on a treasure hunt for mistletoe?" 

"Sure." He shrugged. "Why not?" 

Lynn laughed as he gave her the innocent little boy pout, then threw her hands up in the air. 

"Okay, I'll play. But there must be dozens of lights up in those trees." 

"Two or three, I can't remember. I wanted it to be pretty." 

"And it is. It's just going to take me some time to find what I'm looking for." She said as she turned to walk away from him, looking at each hanging light she passed for the treasure she sought. Carter trailed behind her, hands in his coat pockets, watching her as she carefully examined each jar. She gasped in delight when she found what she was looking for and turned to show Carter.  

But instead of standing behind her, as he had been throughout her hunt, he was now down on one knee, with the beginnings of snow flurries dancing in the air around them, velvet box in hand. Lynn, her eyes filling with tears, as she brought her hands to her heart. 

"Lynn, I've loved you for nearly half of my life. Even when we were apart, and our lives had moved on in different directions, there was still a place in me that never gave up on us. The day you came back into my life, it was like the light was coming back in with you. I want us to have the life together that we had always planned for. I talked to your parents last night, told them what I had planned for you for today. They said they would be honored and proud to have me and the boys be a part of your family if you said yes. They humbled me." He looked up at her, love in his eyes and his heart on his sleeve. "Be with me, be with my kids. Help me to show them how a family should be. Help me to show them how much they are loved. Marry me. I swear I'll make sure every day you never regret it."  

The tears had already begun slipping down her cheeks, leaving wet, cold trails in their wake. She didn't feel a thing, except that her heart was so full it would burst out of her chest and her cheeks hurt from the wide grin on her face. Instead of answering right away, she walked over to where he still knelt and, taking his hands, pulled him to his feet. He frowned at her for a moment, before she wrapped her arms around him, stood on her toes until they were eye to eye, and kissed his mouth. She tilted her head back, so they locked gazes. 

"My one true regret in life is how things ended with us the first time. You have been in my heart from the first moment you spoke to me. My feelings for you never went away, not in all this time. I want nothing more than to marry you. I know we'll both make sure neither of us ever regrets it." 

Carter closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around her, and leaned his forehead down to rest against hers. 

"Just to be clear... that was a yes?" 

"Yes." She laughed. "That was most definitely a yes." 

Easing back, he opened the black velvet box he still held in his hand. When Lynn saw what it held, the tears fell in earnest. 

"You kept it?" Her words were whispered in disbelief. "All this time, you kept it?" 

"I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it." He pulled Lynn's original engagement ring from its soft bed inside the box. "That meant giving up all hope that this day would ever come. So, like me, it's been waiting for you. I hope it still fits." 

Lynn removed her gloves and held out her left hand, shaking from excitement and sheer happiness, to allow Carter to slip the ring onto her finger. It was just as beautiful as she remembered; the silver band, lined with small diamonds, twinkled in the candlelight. The center square cut stone caught the light and threw flashes of it over them both. She flexed and curled her fingers, getting used to the feel of the ring that was finally back where it belonged.  

"It's a perfect fit." He pulled her to him again before reaching up to cup her face in his hands. 

"Kind of like us." She settled her hands lightly on his waist as she sank into the kiss, with the snow now falling and swirling around them. The cold white flakes settled on their hair, their coats, but they were too wrapped up in each other to notice, or care. When a frigid breeze began to blow, they looked at one another and nodded in silent agreement, each telling the other it was time to go. Together, they walked back to the truck, hand in hand. Stopping by the passenger door, Carter gave Lynn another slow languid kiss. 

"Mmmm." She hummed in her throat, content. When she pulled back from the kiss, Lynn opened her eyes and smiled. "We're finally back where we belong." 

"Thank God." Carter's voice was full of feeling. "What do you say we head home?" he asked, taking her hand in his once again. "Tell our boys the good news." 

"Home?" She echoed, smiled as her heart warmed even more. He had called them 'our boys'. "Yes, absolutely.”

With that, he helped her into the truck before he rounded the hood and climbed into the cab, and pointed the vehicle towards home. Towards the future they'd both been waiting to begin. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

H.C. Bentley is a veteran of the U.S. Army, as well as a part-time professional photographer. Her life is filled with books -- she is not only a writer and an avid reader, but she is also surrounded by books in her job at her local library. She is currently working on her second novel, and resides in Kentucky with her husband and two daughters.

H.C. can be reached through her website and social media.

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http://hcbentley5.wix.com/hc-bentley

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