“I told you.”
She throws her arms around my neck. The kiss she presses to my mouth isn’t frantic. It isn’t fueled by jealousy or anger or unfinished business. Her fingers tangle in my shirt.
“You don’t get to let me go,” she murmurs against my lips.
“I won’t.”
“You don’t get to decide for me.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re asking.”
“I am.”
She pulls back slightly, studying my face. “You’re really doing this.”
“I am.”
“Even if I chase big dreams.”
“I’ll chase them with you.”
“Even if it’s not in Devil’s Peak?”
My jaw tightens slightly. “If it’s not here, we’ll build somewhere else.”
She smiles softly. “I like it here.”
“Good.”
She laughs through her tears. “You’re ridiculous.”
“You love it.”
She looks down at the ring again.
“You never stopped loving me…” she says.
“No.”
“Not once?”
“Not once.”
Her expression shifts, something vulnerable and steady at the same time.
“I never stopped either,” she admits.
The truth settles between us like sunrise.
She wraps her arms around me again, holding tight.
“I was so mad at you,” she murmurs.
“I know.” I kiss her again, slower this time, savoring it. The mountain light climbs higher, painting the porch gold. Below us, Devil’s Peak begins to wake.
By noon, the town will know.
