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She tucked her favorite lock of my hair behind my ear, watching my face as she spoke. “I told ya, the Carringtons are sellin’ their house in the spring, so I’d probably have to move anyway. But Devo,” she whispered, “to be able to wake up to your face every mornin’? That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I can’t wait to live with you.”

“Okay. Me too.” I nodded, trying not to look like the giddiest idiot on the planet, but my smile just kept growing. I tried to look serious. “But only if you’re sure.”

She laughed softly. “I am. Are you?”

“Well, I mean, we’re goin’ in on the costs together, but you own the land. So…”

“So what?”

“So if you ever dump me, I guess I’ll be homeless again.”

“What’s mine is already yours.” She kissed me quickly, leaving the taste of her lips on mine. “So why don’tcha marry me then, and we can make it official?”

I choked on the spit in my mouth. “Wh-what? Did you just ask me to m?—”

“Yes,” she said resolutely. “I asked you to marry me. Want me to get on my knee?”

“No. But Abey? A-are you sure?”

Since we’d started dating, there hadn’t been any major issues with the people in town. A few snide comments, even more disgusted looks when we held hands or kissed in public, but no one had said anything. Abey’d heard about a few comments some of her fellow deputies at the station in Corner Junction had made, but in Wisper, things had been pretty copacetic for the most part.

“I’m so damn sure. I’ve wanted to ask you for, like, a month.”

“But…”

Her cheeks turned pink. “But what? I thought lesbians liked to stake their claim on their women.”

I chuckled. She wasn’t wrong.

“And no one says we have to rush it. I mean, we could get engaged and then wait till the house is done and we’re settled to start plannin’ things. But I want you to feel secure about where you live. I need you to know every day that I want you and that our home is where we both belong. I want us to choose our life together.”

Reaching up, I took her face gently between my hands. “Yes,” I whispered. “Yes. I’ll marry you. I want that for you too.”

She blushed and looked at the ground between us. “I don’t have a ring.”

I pushed my thumbs beneath her jaw so she’d look at me again. When she did, I said, “We can get them together.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You can pick out my ring, and I’ll pick out yours. I already have an idea about the one I wanna get you.” I wrapped my arms around her neck, imagining a sapphire-banded wedding ring. “I love you, you know? Wherever you are, it’s where I’ll always call home.”

This time, the full Abey experience nearly knocked me on my ass. Her smile was brilliant. “I’m gonna love you till the end of time,” she said, and she kissed me.

Into her mouth, I breathed, “Feels like my heart’s gonna pound right outta my chest.”

“I got you,” she said, pulling me tighter against her body. “I promise.”

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