TWENTY-SEVEN
MARA
NOVEMBER
“Kids?”Jack called.
A whisper-screamed “Come on!” came from the catwalk upstairs. Jack was frozen in my arms, his lips red and swollen from our intense kissing.
A door creaked upstairs, then a doorknob jiggled as it shut.
“I think we were being spied on,” I said.
“Should we go up there?” Jack asked.
We both stilled, listening for more commotion. There was a creak where Aspen and Harper got back in bed, then more giggles. After a few more seconds, there was silence.
I stepped back from Jack, licking my lip and scraping my teeth over it. I blew out a breath to cool off. “I’m pretty tired anyway. And itchy. I should go to bed.”
“With me.” Jack’s voice brooked no argument. I hesitated and he sighed, resting a hand back on my waist. His eyes softened. “I need to know you’re still breathing.”
His face when the ambulance took me away popped back into my mind, guilt washing over me and splashing cold water on the heat of our kisses. “I’m sorry I put you through that.”
“Never be sorry, Mara. But let’s get your health on track, okay? Marry me?”
I sniffed and rubbed my finger under my nose. “Yeah. Okay.”
Jack kissed my forehead. “What’s your middle name?”
“Eileen.”
Jack got a soft smile and sank to one knee, holding one of my hands. “Mara Eileen O’Connell, will you marry me for my money and insurance in exchange for your health and the health of our kids?”
I laughed, still in disbelief that this was a real situation in my life at the moment. “Yes.”
“Yeah?” An actual smile came over Jack’s face.
“Yep,” I giggled. “I already told you I would!”
“I just needed to make it official. Sue me. Tomorrow?” Jack stood and leaned down to kiss me.
I held his cheeks in my hands, rubbing my thumbs over his beard. “How about we wait until I’m not covered in a full body rash?”
“Full body? There’s more?”
I nodded. “Pretty much anywhere my clothes touch is breaking out.”
His face darkened. “Let’s get you healthy, and don’t worry about the cost. That’s my problem now.”
I shook my head. “Do you know how weird it is being your pet now? A few days ago, I was employed and now I’m . . . whatever this is. Kept?”
Jack’s eyes went earnest and his smile was soft. “You’re my fiancée.”
“Much better,” I said, and we headed upstairs to get ready for bed. I used the bathroom attached to the guest room where Hazel slept, then knocked on Jack’s bedroom door. A soft “come in” sounded from the other side. Jack was sitting up in bed, reading a book. His long legs stretched out in front of him,culminating at his crotch, where he wore just a pair of black boxer briefs and all that ink on his body. What looked like a poem on his pec. Some animal on the side of his stomach. A crow covering his thigh. One arm in a sleeve with lots of birds and the other less decorated. His heavily inked hands.
The man lying on that bed was nothing short of stunning. And he was about to be my husband. I stood there, gaping when Jack finally flicked a glance my way. “You shy all of a sudden? Bed’s getting cold.”
“Right.” I closed the bedroom door and padded toward the bed and slipped under the covers, greeted by clean-smelling crispy cotton sheets. “Do you usually stay up reading?”
