I would never ruin the surprise, but I know why we’re here tonight. He’s been acting a little off today. Somewhat nervous. He’s checked his saddlebag at least three times, and if I had to guess, there’s a ring in there. But he must’ve kept it from the girls, otherwise it probably would have spilled from one of their lips by now. A calm anticipation makes my stomach flutter.
We reach the top of the hill, and my breath catches as it always does. From up here, the whole world stretches out as if it’s only for us. The trees below are thick and green, and I eye the curve of the creek. This spot will always be ours.
Someone’s already set up a picnic like always when he plans our family trips up here.
The blanket is spread wide beneath the oak tree, a little wicker basket beside it. In the middle of the blanket is a jar of peonies. The flowers he brings me whenever I’ve had a hard day.
We finished the golf course, and because of that job, Bennett has been asked to bid on some bigger projects, which left him needing a partner. So I do a little of both—working in the shop and on the landscaping portion of the business—but the days where we get to work alongside one another, arguing about what to plant where and why, are my favorite days.
Leia and Wren dismount, slipping off their ponies with ease.
I join them, and we walk my horse and their ponies over so Bennett can get them tied to the tree with enough slack to roam.
“Can we eat the cookies now?” Wren asks, bouncing on her toes.
“Who said there were cookies?” I ask.
“Daddy,” Leia says with a smile.
“Let’s wait for him,” I say, my hands running down my daughters’ hair.
Bennett ties up the horses and joins us, holding his hand out for me to take. “You girls go. I need to steal Mommy for a minute.”
Wren’s eyes light up, and she shares a look with Leia. “Oooooh, are you gonna kiss?”
Leia rolls her eyes but grins. “Come on, Wren.”
The girls plop down on the blanket, heads bent together, giggling over the cookies like the best of friends. Which they are, but I’m not naïve enough to think we won’t have our fair share of problems as they grow older. My heart swells watching them though. Our girls.
Bennett takes my hand and leads me toward the edge of the hill. We stop where the sun kisses the horizon, casting a glow that any painter would want to recreate.
“I used to stand here and remember you and us together and wonder if I’d ever find it again,” he says. “If you’d ever look at me and not see all the ways I failed you.”
I squeeze his hand. “You didn’t fail me. And what’s past is past.”
He nods slowly. “But even in all that mess, I never stopped loving you. Not once. Even when I didn’t deserve to.”
Tears blur my vision.
He pulls in a breath, then slowly lowers to one knee.
The girls gasp as though they had no idea what was happening tonight.
“I’ve loved you in every version of my life,” he says, eyes locked on mine. “When we were kids sneaking out to this hill. When I didn’t know how to breathe without you. And now, standing here with our girls laughing behind us, I know this is it. This is home. This is the life and love I want forever.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box, then opens it to reveal the most beautiful, simple ring. A gold band with a diamond tucked in the center.
“Laney… will you marry me?”
The boy who held my hand the first time I was brave enough to dream is proposing.
When I was lost, he was there to help me stand back up.
“Yes,” I whisper, my voice cracking. “Of course I will.”
He stands, and I throw my arms around him. The second he kisses me, the girls scream and shout behind us.
“They’re kissing!”
