Ride Like You've Never Fallen (Summer Lake Book 11)

by SJ McCoy

  “I’m ready,” she smiled at him as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “That really wasn’t so bad, was it? I enjoyed having them all here.”

  Nate nodded. “Have I told you lately how beautiful you are?”

  She smiled and came to plant a kiss on his lips. “You sure have, but don’t worry, it never gets old. I don’t think I’ve told you today just how gorgeous you are, have I?”

  He gave her a sad look. “Not once. I’m starting feel like you don’t think I’m hot anymore.”

  She laughed and pushed at his shoulder. “If I don’t tell you enough, it’s only because I know you know it!”

  He laughed with her. “I could take offense at that.”

  “But you won’t, because you know it’s true.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. Let’s get going, shall we?”

  She nodded. “Are you sure you don’t want to take the truck?”

  “I’m positive. I’m looking forward to the walk home.”

  “Oh, I didn’t think about that.” She smiled. “I’m looking forward to it, too, now. Our first walk home to our new home.”

  “Yep, but we need to get there before we can come back.” He held the door open for her—hoping he was opening the door to the next chapter of his life.

  ~ ~ ~

  When they reached the plaza, Lily looked over to the café. The gang was all there sitting outside at one big long table. She smiled. “It looks like we might be starting a new tradition for everyone else, too.”

  Nate raised an eyebrow.

  “Of coming up here for dinner sometimes. I love the Boathouse, but it’s going to be nice to have an alternative, a change of scenery sometimes.”

  Nate nodded. He seemed distracted.

  “Are you okay?”

  His eyes were bright as he smiled down at her. “I am, Lil.” He seemed nervous about something, but she had no idea what.

  When they reached the café, the others greeted them with over-bright smiles, not unlike Nate’s. He stopped at the edge of the partition and grinned around at them. “It’s time. I’m going to do it.”

  “Go for it, Nate,” said Pete with a big grin on his face. “You should do it before you have to go back to work.”

  Lily was grateful to Holly who slapped his arm none too gently. She wished he’d stop harping on and on about how Nate had to go back to work. She gave him a dark look, but he grinned happily back at her.

  She tugged on Nate’s hand, wanting to get in there and take a seat at the table with the others. Everyone was here except Smoke and Laura; she guessed they’d probably stopped in to check on Laura’s store.

  Nate shook his head and tugged back on her hand. “We’re not going in there yet.”

  “Why, where are we going?” He tugged on her hand again and led her away. Lily could feel the others watching them leave and looked back to see a whole bunch of happy, smiling faces. “What’s going on, Nate?”

  He grinned down at her and led her over to the little garden in front of the clock.

  She smiled. “You really do want to make this place one of our traditions, don’t you?”

  He nodded, then cleared his throat, seemingly unable to answer her straight away.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’ve never been better, Lil. I have something to ask you.” He reached into his pocket, and she assumed he was reaching for his phone to take a picture.

  She laughed. “Yes, I would like another picture of us here, if that’s what you’re about to ask.”

  He shook his head, his expression now solemn as he dropped down on one knee before her.

  Lily’s hands flew up to cover her mouth.

  “Lily … I love you. You’ve changed me, and I don’t want to spend another day without you by my side. Will you marry me?”

  Tears filled her eyes as she nodded. The lump in her throat wouldn’t let any words come out. All she managed was a little squeak.

  A tear rolled down Nate’s cheek as he held up a ring box to her. He got to his feet as she took it and opened it. She stared in confusion. Was this some horrible kind of joke? The box was empty. She looked up into his eyes, not understanding.

  Nate grinned. “You keep telling me I’m a romantic kind of guy and I’m trying to be, but when it came to the ring …” he shrugged. “I didn’t know what to do. I don’t know what you like. So … I thought the most romantic thing to do was to let you decide.”

  She nodded. It felt weird to get a proposal without a ring, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he wanted to marry her—and she wanted to marry him. She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. As he kissed her back, she could hear the gang cheering and whistling. When he finally came up for air, Nate grinned over at them and gave them the thumbs up.

  “They knew?”

  He grinned at her. “Of course they did. I needed their help.”

  Lily frowned. “With what?”

  “Setting all of this up.” He took her hand and started leading her away, up one of the shopping streets.

  “Aren’t we staying for dinner?”

  He grinned. “We’ll be right back, but we need to go see one of our friends first. She’s going to help us out.”

  Lily didn’t understand until Nate stopped in front of Laura’s store. He looked so proud of himself as he held the door open for her. “I told you, I want you to pick your own ring, but I want you to be wearing it when we take our first walk home.”

  Lily wiped her hand over her face. It was so silly to cry about being so happy.

  Laura grinned at her when they stepped inside. “Congratulations, girlfriend!” She came around the counter and gave her a hug. Smoke wrapped Nate in a bear hug and Lily laughed as she watched them. “Congratulations, man.” He turned to Lily. “And congratulations to you, Lily. He’s a lucky guy.”

  “Thank you.” Laura let go of her and gave Nate a hug then turned back to smile at her. “Now you know what I meant earlier when I nearly put my foot in it.”

  “You did?” Nate gave her a stern look, and she laughed.

  “I did, I was saying that not so long ago, you couldn’t even be considered boyfriend material. I almost said, let alone husband material.”

  Nate shrugged. “I couldn’t. I never wanted to be anyone’s boyfriend till I met Lily.”

  “Aww, just listen to him,” said Smoke with a chuckle. “Ain’t he sweet?”

  Lily laughed. “No, he’s not sweet. I’m not allowed to call him that, but he can be sweet. Sometimes.”

  Nate laughed. “And this is one of those times. I brought you here so you can pick whichever ring you like. I want it to be perfect and the only way to make sure it is, is to let you choose it yourself.”

  Lily went and slid her arms around his waist, then grinned at Laura and Smoke. “In addition to sweet, he is also the perfect blend of romantic and practical.”

  Smoke laughed. “I think this is an awesome idea.”

  Nate raised an eyebrow at him. “What did you do? It must have been even harder for you since Laura makes jewelry herself.”

  Laura laughed. “He asked me to make a ring, for him, for me.”

  Lily loved the way Smoke went to her and snaked his arm around her waist. “And you did. But I’m still waiting for you to make us a pair of wedding bands.”

  Laura laughed. “I will, but tonight’s about Lily’s ring. Come on over, Lil.”

  Nate took her by the hand and led her to one of the display cases where Laura had three trays full of engagement rings out on the countertop.

  Lily looked down at them, then at Nate and then Laura. “How do you choose?”

  “You just look at them all, and one of them will speak to you. You’ll know.”

  Lily looked at Nate in surprise. “What makes you think that?”

  He gave her a shamefaced grin. “It’s one of the millions of pieces of advice I read when I was googling how to choose the perfect engagement ring.”

  Lily planted a kiss on his
lips. He really could be too sweet. She looked at the trays. Most of the rings weren’t her style. They were fancy and intricate. She liked plain and simple. She eyed one that looked smaller and plainer and less expensive. She didn’t want Nate to have to pay too much. Laura was watching her and pushed the tray toward her. “Take them out for a better look, see how they feel. You don’t need to worry about size; I can resize whichever you choose before you walk out of here.”

  Nate grinned. “Thanks, Laura.”

  Lily took out the plainer ring and tried it on. She twisted the tag around, hoping the price would be on there and would give her some idea what they were looking at.

  Nate tutted beside her. “I know you too well, Lil. I asked Laura to make sure there were no prices on any of them. You should pick based on what you like, not on what it costs.”

  Lily shook her head at him and then at Laura.

  Laura shrugged. “What? I was hardly going to tell him no.”

  Lily eyed the trays again. There were so many beautiful rings, but none of them were quite her. She couldn’t wear anything that had a raised setting; she’d be sure to lose the stone in the barn. Many of the rings were solitaires, they were beautiful, but she wouldn’t be able to wear them.

  Then she saw it. It was a wide plain band with a princess cut diamond. The stone was tension set in the band. It sparkled at her, and she knew.

  “You’ve found it, haven’t you?” Nate had been watching her face.

  She nodded and pointed to it.

  Nate took it out of the tray and went down on one knee again as he slid it onto her finger. It fit perfectly. She smiled down at him, loving him with all that she was.

  “Marry me, Lil?”

  “Yes!” This time the word came out strong and clear.

  Laura smiled at them both. “Good choice, Lily, that’s one of my favorites. How does it fit?”

  “Perfectly.” Lily held her hand up to show it off.

  “I love it,” said Nate. “It’s so you. It’s not fussy or fancy. It’s strong and beautiful.”

  Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. When they finally came up for air, Smoke and Laura had disappeared, and she felt a little self-conscious as she looked around for them.

  “Don’t worry,” said Nate. “I told them they’d need to make themselves scarce. They get it.”

  They both laughed as Smoke’s voice came out from the back office. “We do, but can you get out of here now, so we can lock up and go for dinner?”

  “See you there,” called Nate as he took Lily’s hand and led her back outside. “Do you want to go have dinner with everyone, or would you rather we go home, just you and me?”

  Lily smiled. She was grateful that he understood she might feel that way, but they’d be alone together later. She wanted to share this evening with all their friends. She wanted to celebrate with them—and she knew Nate would. “Let’s go join them. We don’t have to stay out late.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Nate was happier than he’d ever been as he led Lily back out onto the terrace to join the others. It was a while before they could sit down with all the hugging and congratulating they had to get through first. When they finally did sit down, Pete grinned at Nate. “Congratulations, I’m so glad Lily said yes before I have to send you back to work tomorrow.”

  Nate had to smile at the way Lily scowled but said nothing. He knew Pete had been dying for this moment. Jack, too. He grinned at Lily. “You do know we’re going to be working him hard for at least the next eighteen months.”

  Nate wondered if they’d taken it too far when Lily looked up at him. The sparkle in her eyes didn’t seem so happy as it had a few minutes ago; in fact, those might be tears. Damn. He’d wanted to build it up, not upset her. He held his hand up to the guys as he slid his arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay, Lil. They’re just excited for me to tell you.”

  “Tell me what?” she asked in a small voice that didn’t sound like her at all.

  “That me going back to work tomorrow doesn’t mean I’m going back to Seattle.”

  She stared at him.

  “I’m coming here. We’ve decided to go straight to work on phase two.”

  He grinned as understanding dawned on her face, and she started to smile. “You’re going to be working here?”

  He nodded. “For the next eighteen months, at least.”

  She threw her arms around his neck and started to cry.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m wonderful! I’m not crying, really. I’m just so happy!” She lifted her head and looked at Pete. “I think I hate you, Hemming! I was trying not to cry because you were being so mean about sending Nate away again as soon as we got engaged.”

  Pete looked suitably apologetic. “I’m sorry, Lil. I was just dying for you to find out. I hated sending him away from you.”

  Lily wiped her eyes and nodded. “It’s okay. I’ll forgive you anything now.” She wrapped her arms around Nate’s neck again with a smile. “Now we really do get to start our life together.”

  Nate hugged her to him. He couldn’t wait.

  ~ ~ ~

  It was fully dark by the time they’d all said their goodbyes and the others had returned to their cars and left. Nate slid his arm around her shoulders as they walked back down the hill. She looked up at the stars and then out at the moonlight dancing on the lake. “So, this is why you wanted us to walk home afterward?”

  Nate nodded. “I was hoping you’d say yes, and hoping that this would be a walk we’ll always remember.”

  Lily smiled. “Oh, we will. It feels like we’re walking into the beginning of the rest of our lives.”

  “That’s because we are, and it’s all perfect. You said yes. I get to stay here. You chose the perfect ring. It’s all perfect, Lil.”

  She looked up at him. “Perfect is a tough word to live up to, Nate.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He looked so concerned. She reached up and planted a kiss on his lips. “Don’t worry. I don’t mean anything bad. You know me. I just like to be realistic. Perfect is great, but perfect doesn’t last. Life’s a bumpy ride, and we can’t expect it to always be perfect.”

  “I know, but we’ll make the most of everything, the good and the bad. I told you before, Lil, and it’s true. Together we can conquer the world, you and me. Life might give us a bumpy ride, but we can handle it.”

  She smiled. “We can. I just don’t want you hoping it will always be perfect. Sometimes life might even throw us, and we’ll fall.”

  “But we’ll get back up; together we’ll get back up and get back in the saddle and ride on. It’s like you said, no matter what happens, you’ve got to ride like you’d never fallen.” ;

  A Note from SJ

  I hope you enjoyed your visit to the lake and catching up with the gang. Please let your friends know about the books if you feel they would enjoy them as well. It would be wonderful if you would leave me a review, I'd very much appreciate it.

  If you’ve been with me for any amount of time, then you’re probably wondering about our Ben. His story will be the next one. It’s called Live Like There’s No Tomorrow.

  Be sure to check out my Remington Ranch series, if you haven’t already. You can get started with book one, Mason, which you can download for FREE here.

  If you’d like to keep in touch, there are a few options to keep up with me and my imaginary friends:

  The best way is to Sign up for my Newsletter. Don't worry I won't bombard you! I'll let you know about upcoming releases, share a sneak peek or two and keep you in the loop for a couple of fun giveaways I have coming up :0)

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  I occasionally attempt to say something in 140 characters or less(!) on Twitter

  And I’m always in the process of updating my website at www.SJMcCoy.com with new book updates and even some videos. Plus you’ll find the lat
est news on new releases and giveaways in my blog.

  I love to hear from readers, so feel free to email me at AuthorSJMcCoy@gmail.com. I’m better at that! :0)

  I hope our paths will cross again soon. Until then, take care, and thanks for your support—you are the reason I write!

  Love

  SJ

  PS – Project Semicolon

  You may have noticed that the final sentence of the story closed with a semicolon. It isn’t a typo. Project Semicolon is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide, addiction, and self-injury. Project Semicolon exists to encourage, love and inspire. It’s a movement I support with all my heart.

  "A semicolon represents a sentence the author could have ended, but chose not to. The sentence is your life and the author is you." - Project Semicolon

  This author started writing after her son was killed in a car crash. At the time I wanted my own story to be over, instead I chose to honour a promise to my son to write my ‘silly stories’ someday. I chose to escape into my fictional world. I know for many who struggle with depression, suicide can appear to be the only escape. The semicolon has become a symbol of support, and hopefully a reminder – Your story isn’t over yet

  ;

  Also by SJ McCoy

  Summer Lake Series

  Emma and Jack in Love Like You’ve Never Been Hurt FREE!

  Holly and Pete in Work Like You Don't Need the Money