Page 55 of Anything for You (Veterans of Silver Ridge #7)

Dove

B ear frolicked along the path in front of me. I swore he was even happier now that the weather had turned cold.

It’d been a week since Nan had dropped her married by March theory and I still hadn’t recovered. But would I ever recover from the utter bliss getting to be with Dorian was? Probably not. And honestly, I was embracing it.

Granted, I’d also been a tiny bit on edge, wondering when he planned to ask me. I was a woman of the twenty-first century so yes, I could ask him if I wanted. But he clearly had plans and I wasn’t going to pretend I wanted to ask him.

For a girl who’d never really had someone choose her except her own grandmother and female friends, the thrill of Dorian choosing me? I didn’t know if I’d ever get over it.

I’d tried to relax and forget about the whole thing, reminding myself it’d happen when it happened.

The holidays were coming, and it was about to be a hugely busy time for Dorian and the farm.

I’d never wanted a huge wedding, nor did I have the money for it, so we didn’t need to have a long engagement, especially if he wanted to be married by March.

Really? March?

A thrill swept through me at the thought, right along with a little pang that Nan would be my only family there, whenever it happened. Not that I would’ve tried to invite Hawk before the whole kidnapping thing, but I wouldn’t now. I still hadn’t spoken to him, and honestly? I didn’t plan to.

Something had shifted inside me regarding him as I took care of woman after woman, who’d all been there after either being groomed or coerced by various people of Patriot Ridge—I just knew.

Only one of them had admitted to being there under duress, though, and that told me far fewer people were in jail now than should’ve been.

That garbage human Jeb Johnson got a pretty minor sentence since he maintained he didn’t realize I hadn’t come willingly and somehow his lawyer sold that to the judge. Sure, guy.

But Hawk? He’d had a hand in abducting me and he’d shot Dorian.

He’d be gone for a while. And after seeing all those women, clearly downtrodden and maybe all part of Jeb’s weird harem?

No. Just, no. We had nothing in common except our past and that didn’t mean I had to give him any part of my present or future.

I’d tried. I’d made a valiant effort at times, even, and I wasn’t going to do it anymore.

Nan agreed I didn’t owe him anything, and her blessing sealed the deal.

I didn’t need to hear his cruel words or even bear his silence if I told him how awful he was.

I suspected he probably knew it, and if he didn’t, nothing from me would change that.

I hoped maybe he’d heal someday, somehow, but it wasn’t on me to do that for him.

Bear’s bark pulled my attention to him where he’d stopped a ways down the lane, then trotted back toward me.

“What’d you find, Bear?” I asked, crunching in the fallen leaves to catch up with him.

He got within ten feet of me, then circled back and trotted along. Maybe I was moving too slowly for him?

But as I rounded the slight bend, my heart leapt, and it clicked. Dorian stood at the edge of a big quilt in the exact spot where we’d had our first picnic months ago. A basket sat on the blanket, and my handsome man shifted from one foot to the other before he froze himself still.

My pulse skyrocketed because in my gut, I knew. This is it. That little nervous movement, plus the major spoiler alert from Nan…

“Well, hello there, Mr. Forrester,” I said, trying to maintain some semblance of calm as I approached.

Bear circled around me, then ran to sit by Dorian. He smiled down at his dog, then back at me as I arrived in front of him.

“Hello, Ms. Jensen.” He took my hand and immediately dropped to one knee.

I gasped. “Wow. Right down to it, huh?”

He nodded. “I can’t wait anymore. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Dove. You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met and I count every moment with you to be a gift. I know it won’t always feel like that, but I want us to choose each other over and over again as we grow old.”

I was crying. Just instantly crying.

He chuckled softly. “Your heart is so tender and beautiful. You are generous and loving. I chose this spot because it was here, at our first picnic, I knew I loved you. I’d known from almost our first interaction it was possible. You were just so silly and unabashed.”

We laughed together at that, no doubt thinking of my breaking and entering.

“I’ve been working on myself, on healing, for a while now. I don’t know what’s ahead, but I can promise you I will not stop working toward health. I realize it’s a risk to be with me—no, no, don’t worry, let me finish.”

About to spring to his defense, I pressed my lips together instead, forcing myself to listen.

His warm, calloused hand squeezed mine. “It’s always a risk to commit to someone. We’re imperfect, and being together doesn’t magically solve all our problems. I’m not whole because of you. You didn’t save me from the depths of my despair, and I didn’t save you.”

A laugh tripped out of me. “Um, you literally did save me.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Okay, maybe in one sense. But you know what I mean, right? We’re not suddenly entirely different people because we love each other.”

I nodded, appreciating the point.

“The good news is, we also are different people. You’ve changed me and impacted my life in incredible ways and I hope I’ve brought good to yours.”

Tears again. “You absolutely have,” I said, voice watery.

“This has gotten away from me, so I just want to ask you…” He swallowed, dropping my hand for a moment and pulling a small box from his pocket. He pulled it open, revealing a classic plain band and gorgeous diamond I co uldn’t even make sense of. “Dove Jensen, will you marry me?”

I laugh-cried out, “Of course I will. Yes!”

And then he was on his feet hugging me, twirling me around while Bear barked and leaped along with us, then kissing to seal the moment. After laughing and crying a little more, he wiped my tears and we just stood there holding each other, glowing.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if you could’ve seen us from space.

“I love you so much. I can’t believe this time last year, I hardly knew anything about you and here we are, about to get married,” I marveled.

He brushed some hair out of my face and gazed down at me. Ugh. His expression was all tenderness and heat and definitely meant we were not going to be here long enough to enjoy the picnic.

“We don’t have to get married before March. She was joking, and though I’m very happy with that timeline, there’s no rush. We do have a lot of things to talk about and I don’t want you to feel anything but happy and excited about it.”

I sighed, loving his consideration. “I won’t feel rushed. I’d marry you tomorrow if I had a dress and all my friends could come.”

He chuckled and grinned at me, joy so clearly sketched on his face, I had to kiss him again.

“I do have one more important question,” he said, his face sober.

“Oh. Sure. ‘I’m quite at my leisure,’ as they say.” I winked.

His brows raised, a twinge of skepticism before he said, “I lost a bet this last week with Pedro. He usually plays Santa for the ‘Weekends with Santa,’ but… it’s on me this year.”

I blinked, then cackled. “Oh my gosh, I cannot wait. ”

He tipped his head side to side. “Well, here’s the thing. I thought maybe, you could be my Mrs. Claus.”

I giggled, the thought of me and Dorian in white wigs and him with a giant belly and beard hitting me just right.

“It’s funny because I never knew I wanted such a thing, but now that you say it, I can’t think of anything better than that.”

His eyes glittered back at me, a smile pulling his lips on that handsome face. “I can’t imagine anything better than you.”

I shook my head once, knowing the truth. “Than us.”

And turned out, I was right.

Thank you for reading Anything For You. I hope you loved it! Read on for a bonus epilogue to wrap up the whole series!