“I promise there’re no tests or meetings,” I added. “Only good food. Or you can come hang out too, if you want, and tell me about your day.”
“Yeah.” Chance bounced up and followed us. “Hey, Miss—uh, Scarlett. You think you can show Dad how to make that lemonade?”
“I’ll have to swear you both to secrecy.” I shot him a grave look. “The other students might find out I use a mix.”
He chortled. “Seriously?”
I nodded, and Tate said, “But she adds lemon wedges and cherries.”
I leaned down. “Our little secret.”
Chance entered the kitchen, grinning. We were all smiling.
I had thought Chance would be harder to win over than Tate, but it turned out these boys weren’t like any I’d known before. There might be a lot of fish in the sea, but Tate and Chance Bailey were made for me.
EPILOGUE
Scarlett
One year later…
“That’s the biggest one yet!”I hovered by Chance, ready to jump in at his word. The lake was calm this morning, and the new pontoon Tate had gotten was perfect for relaxing and fishing.
Wind ruffled Chance’s hair as he finished reeling in another trout, his second of the day. “Do you see it, Scar? Lookit!”
Tate cradled my hips in his hands as he scooted around me. “Nice job, bud.”
Chance brandished the impressive fish. “It’s fucking huge.”
I rolled my lips in, fighting back the reprimand. I should be used to hearing what we dubbedfish talk, but school had just gotten out for the summer and it was hard leaving teacher mode.
I dug my phone out of my linen shorts pocket and took the obligatory photos of Chance and his catch.
A year had passed. The sixth annual bachelor auction had been last night, and neither Tate nor I had had a reason to be there. Tate and Chance had played a video game, and I’d finished a tamer version of my entry embroidery.Live, Laugh, Hook ’Em Big. Chance had helped me come up with it.
Today, we continued our one-year celebration by getting the boat on the water. Tate and Chance had gotten a drift boat for fly-fishing a spot they’d found on the river and the pontoon we took to the lake on the far side of the valley that Tate’s house overlooked.
Once the fish was secured, Tate glanced at his watch. “We’d better wrap this up and get back.”
Wynter and June were in town. They’d gone shopping in Bozeman with Summer and Autumn and were supposed to meet us at Tate’s place for supper, along with Teller and Tenor. The guys would bring Tate’s parents out.
“Yeah, we’d better wrap up,” Chance said, a little too loud, like he was hiding something.
I shot him a perplexed look. He could still be a precocious kid, but it was summer, and he’d had a stellar year in school. When he had issues with his teacher, he’d come to chat with me at recess, and we’d talk through the problems.
So what was he hiding?
When I turned to start packing up my fishing gear, I found Tate on his knees, his tackle box open.
“What are you do—” I gasped.
Tucked in the compartment next to a set of flies was a shiny diamond ring. My gaze flew to Tate’s. In my periphery, Chance was shifting from foot to foot, excited.
“Miss Scarlett, will you marry me?”
I put my hand on my chest. My heart hammered. He was proposing. Tate was asking me to marry him. We hadn’t talked about it, and I hadn’t wanted to assume or to make him feel rushed. He’d been married before, and I was just happy spending time with two of my favorite people and the best family ever.
“Scar?” Chance prompted when I didn’t answer.
