Her eyebrow quirked. “Really?”
“I love you. I want you to be my wife and for us to be a family. Marry me?”
She nodded, a tear sliding down one cheek. “Yes.”
Yes. Fireworks exploded in my chest as I slid on her ring. As soon as it was nestled against her knuckle, she dropped to her knees, nearly tackling me in a kiss.
I smiled against her lips, stroking them gently with my tongue. When she opened for me, I slid inside slowly, savoring her taste and the feel of her in my arms. It didn’t take long for the spark to ignite and the two of us to get lost in a kiss I’d never forget.
We poured everything into that moment. Love. Passion. Hope. Excitement for the unknown we’d face together.
When we finally broke apart, I looked up to the sky and said a silent thank you to the angel who’d led me into her hotel bar all those years ago. The same angel who’d brought me to Montana and back to Thea’s side.
“I can’t believe it,” Thea whispered, studying her ring. I’d gotten the best solitaire in Manhattan and set it in a diamond-studded gold band. From here on out, Thea would live a life full of sparkles. “I just . . . I can’t believe it.”
“This is real, baby. Me and you and Charlie. It’s as real as it gets. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her forehead furrowed as she met my eyes. “Are you sure? What about your job? And your family? I can’t ask you to give it all up.”
“You didn’t. I made this decision because it’s the right one. I’d never be happy without you or Charlie, so if this is your home, then it’s my home too.”
“What about the firm?”
I shrugged. “I quit.”
“You quit?” Her jaw dropped. “How can you quit? You love your job.”
“Yes, I did. I loved working hard. I loved the challenge. At the time, I needed that in my life. Now, I don’t. I don’t want a job that keeps me from you at night. Or makes me miss breakfast and bedtime with Charlie. Being a lawyer isn’t at the top of my priorities anymore.”
My first priority was watching her and Charlie shine.
I’d finally realized what mattered.
The dock planks were digging into my knees, so I shifted Thea, moving us so we were seated and looking out across the water.
“So what are you going to do?” she asked.
“I’m sure I won’t be bored. Nolan and I are juggling some responsibilities around at the foundation so I can play a more active role. I’m going to spend some quality time on my new boat. And I’m taking over coaching for Charlie’s soccer team.”
She laughed. “Are you now?”
“Next year, we’re going all the way.” I put my arm around Thea’s shoulder, tucking her close. “I’ll be able to do ninety percent of my work from home here, but there will be times I’ll have to go back to the city for family things and such. Foundation meetings I can’t miss. But it won’t be often.”
“I can live with that.”
“Maybe one day, you’ll want to come with me. I understand it might take time, but I’d love the chance to show you the part of the city I love. We can make our own memories there, good ones to overshadow the bad. If it takes ten years, then I’ll wait. If it never happens, then that’s okay too.”
She thought about it for a moment. “I think I’d like that. One day. What does your family think about all this?”
“They’ll come around.” And if they didn’t, then it wasn’t my problem. If I had to give up the Kendrick family responsibilities to ensure that my Kendrick family was happy, then I’d do it every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
“You’re sure?”
I kissed her hair. “I’m sure.”
We sat there for a while, watching as a flock of birds flew over the water. Across the bay, a woman was walking her dog. A few houses down, someone was mowing their lawn.
My phone rang in my pocket and I shifted my weight to dig it out. “Sorry. It’s Granny.”
“You should take it. I don’t mind.” She leaned away, but I pulled her right back in as I answered the call and put it on speaker.
Other than Charlie, I couldn’t think of anyone else I wanted to tell about our engagement.
“Hi,” I answered.
“Hello, Grandson. What are you up to today?”
“Not much.” I grinned. “I was actually going to call you today to tell you that I figured it out.”
“Figured what out?”
“The secret to life.”
Granny’s laughter rang through the speaker. “I take it you’re in Montana?”
“I am.” Right where I belonged.
“Well, it’s about time. Hello, Thea.”
Thea giggled. “Hi, Joan. How are you?”
“Much better now. I’ll let you two go, but please have Charlie call me tonight. I’d like to hear about her first day of school. And Logan?”
“Yes?”
“You have two weeks to get your house set up for guests.” With that, she hung up the phone.
“I guess we have some work to do,” Thea muttered. “We can’t have police tape by the garage when Granny shows up.”
“Hey.” I took her chin, turning it so I could see her eyes. “If you don’t want that house, we’ll find another one.” I’d never force her to live there, not after what had happened last night.
“No.” She shook her head. “I think it will be fine. It’s such a pretty home and in the best spot. It will probably take me hours to clean, but I don’t want to let it go just yet. Maybe we could go over later and you could give me the full tour. See how that goes and then move forward from there.”
“All right.”
I let the cleaning comment go for now. She’d never clean or cook or wash clothes another day in her life unless she wanted to. But we’d work into that after the dust from last night’s drama had settled.
The two of us went back to watching the lake, both yawning from time to time but neither making a move to leave. A fish jumped not far off and I made a mental note to take the boat out tomorrow. Maybe Thea could come with me and we could break it in properly. I wanted to talk her into forgetting the condoms from here on out. Call me a barbarian but getting her pregnant was the next item on my to-do list.
I just hoped she was as eager as I was to expand our family. Because this time, I wasn’t going to miss a thing. I’d be here for the pregnancy test, the doctor’s appointments and the midnight feedings. Every moment for the rest of my life, I’d spend with Thea.
“Logan?”
“Hmm?”
She looked up at me. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“It’s hard to believe this is really happening.”
I smiled. “Believe it. Always believe.”
Epilogue
Thea
Three years later . . .
“What are you doing here?” Jackson snapped as he walked into the bar and spotted me mixing a drink.
“What am I doing here?” I poured a shot of vodka into my shaker. “Working. Obviously.”
“You’re not supposed to be here.” He turned his glare to Logan. “Why is she here?”
Logan chuckled and held up his hands. “I tried to get her to go home, but she threw a beer bottle at me.”
I winced. I hadn’t been able to help myself with all of Logan’s nagging to take a break. One minute the beer bottle was in my hand and the next it was flying across the room. Pregnancy had stolen my sanity.
Lucky for me, Logan had fast hands and caught it before it broke.
“Sorry, gorgeous.”
He walked up behind me, putting his arms around my enormous belly and kissed my neck. “It’s okay, baby. I know you’re miserable.”
“I am.” Tears flooded my eyes, something that happened every five seconds. “I just want her to come out.”
“She will. We just have to give her a little more time.”
Easy for him to say. He wasn’t nine months and five days pregna
nt. I hadn’t slept in days and I was on the verge of a complete meltdown. Exhausted and uncomfortable, my temper flashed on and off faster than a strobe light. If I wasn’t crying, then I was snapping at people.
The doctors said nothing was wrong with the baby, she just wasn’t ready yet. Take it easy. Enjoy this quiet time. Be patient.
Fuck patience. I’d spent the last two days in bed trying to relax without luck. I’d finally gotten so fed up that I’d come to the bar in hopes that work would distract me from my swollen feet, aching back and raging heartburn.
“What are you doing here?” Logan asked Jackson as he took a stool. “It’s our weekend at the bar.”
He shrugged. “I just thought I’d come and keep you company for a while. I didn’t know she’d be here. Go home, Thea. Or for fuck’s sake, at least sit down.”
My hands shot across the bar, stretching for Jackson’s neck. But Logan held me back before I could strangle my best friend.
“Why are you tormenting my wife?” Logan asked.
Jackson just grinned. “Maybe if I get her fired up a bit, that kid will pop out and she’ll turn back into Nice Thea. We can’t afford to keep scaring customers away just because they ask for a lemon wedge in their water.”
“It wasn’t just a lemon wedge!” I shouted. “She already had ten! Ten lemons in one glass of water. Who does that? And I didn’t scare her away. I just reminded her that we served lemonade.”
Logan’s chest shook against my back as he laughed. “Baby, you told her the only way she was getting another lemon was if she found a lemon tree and plucked one herself.”
“We don’t need customers like her,” I muttered.
The woman had come in with a couple of friends about a month ago. Every time I’d waddle over, she’d need just one more thing. Lemon wedge after lemon wedge, followed by a glass of ice, a cocktail napkin and two more straws. The final lemon wedge had pushed me over the top.
“So where’s Charlie and Collin?” Jackson asked.
“With Hazel.” Logan let me go to get Jackson a beer. “They’re spending the evening with her and then having a sleepover at the cottage tonight.”
Hazel loved the weekends when Logan and I were at the bar. It was an arrangement we’d made with Jackson not long after Logan had moved to Lark Cove.
It had taken us less than a month to get pregnant with our son, Collin. I think we conceived him one lazy afternoon out on the boat. When we found out I was pregnant, Logan and I agreed it was time to cut back at the bar.
With Jackson’s agreement, we hired our first employee.
Dakota had been new to Lark Cove at the time, so he’d been more than willing to take some of my evening and weekend shifts. Our weekend rotation just worked out naturally from there. Dakota had one weekend. Jackson another. Logan and I the next.
He was always my weekend partner.
Not once in the last three years had Logan suggested I give up my job at the bar. It wasn’t like we needed the income. But he’d embraced the Lark Cove Bar as part of our family. On our weekends, we worked here together. If I had a new idea, I ran it by him before anyone else. He’d even helped me establish a partnership so Jackson and I could buy Hazel out and fund her retirement.
My husband was so damn smart it amazed me.
In the last three years, he’d grown the Kendrick Foundation considerably, especially their influence on the West Coast. It gave Logan an outlet to channel his brilliance and ambition. It gave him a passion.
Everything we did was for our own happiness.
“Guess what?” Logan handed Jackson his beer. “I got a call from that indoor soccer league up in Kalispell this morning. They agreed to let us add a Lark Cove team if we can get enough players.”
“Yes!” Jackson pumped his fist. “We’ll get enough. I’ll start making calls.”
The two of them had thrown themselves into Charlie’s soccer life, something she loved almost as much as them. Any of the old animosity between Logan and Jackson had vanished the night Ronny came after me. They’d both gone over-the-top protective for a few months and come out as friends.
They co-coached Charlie’s soccer team each summer, and now they’d coach the winter league, even if that meant shuttling kids up to Kalispell once a week for indoor games. I wouldn’t be surprised if Logan had an indoor field built here, just so they could host.
Logan didn’t flaunt his money, but when it came to the kids or me, he didn’t skimp. He took me on a vacation twice a year because he wanted to show me the world. And slowly, he was making New York a place I didn’t mind visiting.
We still had the penthouse, but we mostly spent time in New York with Joan and his parents. Thomas and Lillian had come around to Logan living in Montana, and they’d even bought a place a couple of miles away for their vacations in Lark Cove. Aubrey was an incredible aunt to the kids, even though she lived so far away. But she called every week and was always sending over gifts.
Sofia eventually came around too, just in time to attend the small wedding we’d had in the backyard of our house. I doubted we’d ever be best friends, but I was glad to see that she’d been working hard lately to rid herself of the toxic people in her life, including Alice.
“Hey, Thea.” Wayne, my one and only regular these days, sidled up to the bar.
“Hi, Wayne.” I smiled at him and went to the tap for his favorite beer. It had hit Wayne hard to learn about Ronny’s stalking. The two had been friends, or at least he’d thought so. Now Wayne sat by himself when he came in each night and I made it a point to spend more time chatting with him.
That was after Logan had instructed Sean to do a full background check on every person he and Jackson had deemed a “regular.”
It had taken me a while to get over the garage incident with Ronny. But eventually, I let it go. Logan had originally intended for the garage to become my art studio, but it was too big and, well, clean. So we used it for the cars and he’d had my old shed moved over from the cottage.
“Are you sure you should be working, Thea?” Wayne asked as I set down his beer.
I shrugged. “I can’t stay at home anymore. I’m going crazy.”
“Want me to go buy you some castor oil? My sister says it was the only way she could get her kids out.”
I gagged. “No, thanks. I tried that with Charlie when she was late and it was awful.”
“How about some spicy food? I’ll split a jalapeno pizza with you.”
“Let me throw some sausage on there and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
He smiled. “You’re on.”
I turned to go to the kitchen, but Logan was right there. “I’ll make your pizza. Why don’t you sit for just a minute?” When I frowned, he just grinned. “Please, baby? Just sit for a few minutes. For me.”
“Okay.” I sighed. My feet were getting tired. I gave him a quick kiss and shuffled around the bar, taking the stool between Jackson and Wayne.
The three of us chatted for a while until the pizza came out. I didn’t have much room for food, with the baby taking up so much space, but I managed to eat two pieces. I was picking at the crust of the third when the front door flew open.
Charlie ran through first with a huge smile on her face. Collin was right on her tail, doing his best to keep up.
“Hey!” I slid off my stool and stood just in time to catch Charlie at my side. Collin collided with my legs next. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We went to check on you at home but you weren’t there,” Charlie said. “Gran thought you’d be here with Daddy for dinner.”
Hazel came through the door with a scowl on her face. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
“So I’ve been told,” I muttered.
“Who do I hear?” Logan came out from the back, where he’d been putting in another pizza. The instant Collin spotted him, he abandoned my leg.
“Daddy!” Collin giggled as Logan scooped him up and tossed him into the air.
My heart m
elted at the sight of them together. Charlie looked more and more like Logan every day while Collin was the two-year-old version of me. But he and his dad shared a special bond. They were inseparable.
Logan had vowed not to miss a moment of Collin’s life, and he hadn’t. The same was true with Charlie. Every step of the way, he was the most engaged and loving father I ever could have hoped for. And I knew he’d be the same with our baby girl.
I stroked my belly, hoping that spicy pizza would do the trick. Then I sat back down and spent the rest of the evening talking with my husband while he bartended and my kids ate some pizza before going to the cottage with their Gran.
Jackson left to go home not long after dinner, and by eleven o’clock, it was just me and Logan in the bar.
We were sitting in a back-corner booth. Both of us were crammed in on one side because this spot had the best view out the front windows. From here, you could see outside and across the highway where the lake peeked out between a grove of trees. Tonight, the moonlight was dancing on the rippled water.
“I’m so tired.” I leaned deeper into Logan’s side and yawned.
“I know you are, baby. I wish there was something I could do.”
I smiled. “Just love me. Even when I’m acting crazy and hoarding lemon wedges.”
He chuckled. “I love you no matter what.” With his arm around me, he hugged me closer. “We need to get you home. Let’s close up early.”
“Good idea.”
But neither of us made a move to leave. Instead, we sat together enjoying the peaceful moment until my first contraction squeezed. Then the second. During the third, Logan was racing down the highway toward the hospital in Kalispell.
And by nine the next morning, Logan and I were cuddled together in a hospital bed with Charlie, Collin and our baby girl, Camila Hazel Kendrick.
My family.
Finding them had been so worth the wait.
* * *
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