“It’ll be okay. I’ll visit you whenever I can,” Bobbi was saying as she and Oliver climbed to their feet. “You’ll visit me whenever you can. We’ll talk every day, assuming I figure out the time zone difference,” she added with a shaky laugh. “I know what I’ve always said before about long-distance relationships, but it’s only three years. We can make it work, right? We’re young. We don’t need to rush into anything. Besides, I can’t lose both McKennaandyou.”
“You’re not losing me, Bobbi,” McKenna said, still looking at Nate.
“Yet,”said Bobbi. “But I will once you and Nate get married.”
“Ooh,” sang out Georgie and Barb.
“We’re not even engaged,” said McKenna.
“Ohh,” said Georgie and Barb in a flattened tone of defeat.
“But the ring,” Bobbi said.
“Is for you.” McKenna held Nate’s gaze a moment longer, then turned toward her sister. “Momma J asked me to keep it safe until you were ready to wear it. It’s the ring Travis gave her. An heirloom from his side of the family.”
“My dad’s? Really? Oh my goodness, it’s gorgeous,” Bobbi whispered in reverence as Oliver slid it onto her finger. “So wait, does this mean we’re officially engaged? Are we getting married in three years?”
“Yes,” Oliver said without hesitation.
“Yes,” cheered Georgie and Barb.
“Yes,” Bobbi yelled, jumping into Oliver’s arms for a kiss. “And hey,” she said, sliding out of his embrace and turning toward McKenna for a hug the next second. “If you’re not engaged to Nate, does that mean we’ll still be together in Nebraska? Oh, I hope so. I can’t imagine getting through these next three years without you by my side.”
Neither could Nate. Her eyes met his.
Say no, McKenna. Please say no.
Her eyes pooled with apology as she clung to her sister and whispered the worst word Nate had ever heard in his life. “Yes.”
The rest of the evening passed in a blur. If McKenna wasn’t busy taking pictures of Bobbi and Oliver so she could gift them with some candid engagement photos later, she was capturing photos from the concert to add to the B&B’s website. Obviously she wouldn’t need them for her portfolio now. Maybe in another three years...
Three years.Why did that feel like a life sentence?
She knew why. And tried not to think about it.
At some point Georgie coerced Oliver and Bobbi to go up front so Oliver could propose again, this time with Tricia and Guy serenading them with a twangy version of “It Had to Be You.”
“In honor of Harry,” claimed Georgie.
Then when the concert finished, Tricia and Guy offered to do a private photo shoot inside the B&B with Gus, Evie, Georgie, and Barb. McKenna had a feeling Nate had put them up to it. Especially when Guy said, “I hear you guys run the most active and thriving committee in middle Tennessee, including the Nashville area.”
Tricia and Guy couldn’t have handled the evening more graciously if they tried. They signed the guest book. Took selfies with Gus.Compared baby bumps with Evie. Accepted a basket of tomatoes from Barb. Even sampled one of Georgie’s pickle salads still left in the fridge.
“Just what I’ve been craving,” Tricia said with a satisfied groan.
“I only wish I could give you the recipe,” said Georgie, wasting no time getting Tricia a container to go.
After Tricia and Guy left, it didn’t take long for the rest of the crowd to leave. “The concert wasn’t bad, but I did think the folding tables could have been a little sturdier,” was the only critique they received. From Lottie, of course.
“Hey, McKenna—good news,” Bobbi said just as McKenna finished wiping off the drink table inside the glass cottage. “Oliver’s got an early flight back to Nebraska tomorrow. He called the airline, and they said even though we’d be on standby, they were pretty sure they could get us on the same flight back to Omaha with him.”
“Oh. That’s...” So many hours sooner than McKenna was expecting.
“I know. Isn’t that great?” Bobbi rubbed her eyes. “Oliver already left to get back to his hotel. He said he’ll meet us at the airport tomorrow. Are you about done here? I’m so exhausted, I don’t even know how I’m standing right now. What a day.”
“Such a day.” McKenna spotted Barb loading some boxes into her car now parked next to the kitchen. “You mind catching a ride with Barb? We’re staying at her house tonight. I’ll be there soon. Just want to finish up with a few things here first.”
“Sure. See you in a bit.” Bobbi caught up with Barb, and McKenna watched them both climb into the car before it pulled away, followed by Georgie’s and Gus’s vehicles a few minutes later, leaving McKenna standing alone in the dark outside the glass cottage.
