Page 18 of Comforted By The Mountain Man (Eden Ridge: Hunter Brothers #1)

ASHER

T EN MONTHS LATER

I stand in my living room surrounded by enough flower petals to start my own botanical garden and I'm pretty sure I'm going to throw up from nerves.

"You missed a spot," West says, pointing to a bare patch of hardwood floor near the fireplace.

"There are no more rose petals," I growl, running my hand through my hair for the hundredth time in the past hour. "We used every damn flower in three counties."

"Relax, brother," Beckett says from where he's adjusting the string lights we've hung from every available surface. "She's going to love it."

Easy for him to say. He's not the one about to propose to the woman who changed his entire world while our three-month-old daughter sleeps upstairs and her five-year-old son bounces around like he's had nothing but sugar for breakfast.

Which, come to think of it, he probably has.

"Daddy Ash!" Ryder barrels into the room wearing his best button-down shirt and the tiny tie Sierra insisted on buying him last month. "Is it time yet? Can I give Mama the flowers now?"

"Not yet, buddy. Remember what we practiced? You wait for my signal then you come out with the bouquet."

He nods solemnly, his dark curls still unruly despite my attempts to tame them this morning. At five years old, he's all legs and energy and questions but he's also become the most important person in my world aside from his mother and baby sister.

Baby Amelia Rose Hunter. Three months old and already the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, with Sierra's hazel eyes and what I swear is going to be my stubborn chin. She's napping upstairs right now, blissfully unaware that her daddy is about to officially ask her mommy to marry him.

Not that there's any doubt about Sierra's answer. We've been talking about marriage since before Amelia was born but between the pregnancy and adjusting to being a family of four, the timing never felt quite right.

Until now.

"Grace just texted," Nash calls from where he's lighting the candles we've scattered throughout the room. "They're fifteen minutes out."

My stomach does a backflip. "Fifteen minutes? Shit. Is everything ready?"

"Language," Grayson warns with a nod toward Ryder who grins and pretends he didn't hear.

"Everything's perfect," Ezra says quietly from his spot by the kitchen. He's been the most help today, his artistic eye ensuring that every detail is exactly right. "She's going to say yes, Asher."

"What if she doesn't? What if she thinks it's too soon? What if she's not ready for that kind of commitment?"

"Brother," Holden laughs, looking up from where he's been assembling something behind the couch. "That woman has been ready to marry you since about week two. The only person who's been dragging his feet is you."

He's right, of course. Sierra's been dropping hints for months, talking about our future with a certainty that both thrills and terrifies me. She wants forever with me, wants to build something permanent and real.

And God knows I want the same thing.

"Where's the ring?" I ask, patting my pocket for the fiftieth time.

"Still in your pocket, where it's been all day," West says patiently. "Now stop fidgeting before you wear a hole in your pants."

The ring. I've been carrying it around for two weeks, waiting for the perfect moment. It's a simple solitaire, elegant and classic, with a band that has small diamonds embedded all the way around. Not too flashy but beautiful enough to match the woman who's going to wear it.

Assuming she says yes.

"What about the other thing?" I ask, looking toward Holden.

"All set," he confirms, stepping back to reveal what he's been working on. It's a small table covered with a white cloth and on top of it sits the most elaborate display of superhero action figures I've ever seen.

The Avengers. All of them. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and of course, the Hulk. Premium collector's editions, still in their packaging, arranged around a small velvet box.

Ryder's eyes go wide when he sees them. "Are those all for me?"

"If you say yes to my question," I tell him, my voice suddenly thick with emotion.

Because this is just as important as the proposal to Sierra. Maybe more important. I'm not just asking her to marry me tonight. I'm asking if I can officially, legally, be Ryder's father.

"I already know my answer," he says seriously and the simple confidence in his voice nearly undoes me.

My phone buzzes with another text from Grace. Ten minutes out.

"Positions, everyone," Grayson calls, slipping into his natural leadership role. "Beckett, you're on baby duty. Nash and Ezra, you're hiding in the kitchen. West, Holden, and I will be upstairs. Ryder, you remember where to wait?"

"In Daddy's office with the flowers," Ryder recites. "When he gives me the thumbs up, I come out and give them to Mama."

"Perfect. And when do you come out for the second part?"

"When Daddy calls my name." His grin is infectious. "This is the best surprise ever."

"It will be if we don't mess it up," I mutter, checking my watch.

The truth is, I've been planning this for weeks. Ever since Sierra mentioned never having a spa day, Grace and I conspired to give her exactly that. A full day of pampering while I turned our home into something worthy of the proposal she deserves.

Because that's what this is now. Not my cabin that she's staying in, but our home that we're building together.

"Five minutes," I announce, and everyone scatters to their hiding spots.

I stand in the middle of the living room, surrounded by flowers and candles and fairy lights, and try to calm my racing heart. Through the window, I see the headlights of Grace's car coming up the drive.

This is it.

Beckett appears at the top of the stairs, having just checked on Amelia. "She's still sleeping," he reports quietly. "You ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Good. Because you deserve this, Ash. You deserve all of it. The love, the family, the happiness. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, especially not that voice in your head."

He's right. For too long, I let myself believe that I wasn't meant for this kind of happiness. That my role was to take care of everyone else's dreams while ignoring my own.

But Sierra changed all that. She and Ryder walked into my life and showed me what I'd been missing. What I'd been too afraid to reach for.

Car doors slam outside. Footsteps on the porch.

I take a deep breath and move to the front door, my hand shaking slightly as I reach for the handle.

"Asher?" Sierra's voice calls from outside. "Why is the house so dark?"

I open the door and my breath catches like it does every time I see her.

Pregnancy and new motherhood have only made her more beautiful.

Her hair is longer now, falling in soft waves around her shoulders.

Her skin glows with health and happiness.

And when she sees me standing there in my best shirt and tie, her eyes light up with curiosity and love.

"Hey, beautiful," I say, stepping aside to let her in. "How was the spa?"

"It was amazing. Grace spoiled me completely." She pauses in the entryway, looking around. "Why are all the lights off? And why are you so dressed up?"

"Close your eyes," I tell her.

"Asher, what's going on?"

"Trust me. Please."

She searches my face for a moment then nods and closes her eyes. I take her hand and lead her into the living room, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"Okay," I say, quickly lighting the last few candles I'd left unlit. "Open them."

Sierra's eyes flutter open and her gasp is everything I hoped for.

The living room is transformed, bathed in the warm glow of a hundred candles and twinkling fairy lights.

Rose petals cover every surface, creating a carpet of red and pink and white.

The coffee table has been moved aside to create an open space in the center of the room.

"Asher," she breathes, her hand flying to her mouth. "What is all this?"

"This," I say, dropping to one knee in the middle of the flower petals, "is me finally doing what I should have done months ago."

Her eyes go wide, filling with tears. "Oh my God."

I pull the ring box from my pocket, my hands surprisingly steady now that the moment is here.

"Sierra Martinez, you walked into my life on the worst night of yours and somehow, you turned it into the beginning of everything beautiful.

You gave me purpose, you gave me love, and you gave me the family I never knew I was missing. "

She's crying now, happy tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You make me want to be better than I am. You make me believe in forever. And I want to spend every day of the rest of my life proving that I'm worthy of the trust you've placed in me."

I open the box, revealing the ring that I hope will spend the next sixty years on her finger.

"Will you marry me, Brown Eyes? Will you let me love you and Ryder and Amelia for the rest of our lives? Will you be my wife?"

For a moment, she just stares at me, tears flowing freely. Then she nods, so vigorously that her hair bounces.

"Yes," she whispers. "Yes, of course, yes!"

I slide the ring onto her finger with hands that shake slightly and then she's pulling me to my feet and kissing me with everything she has. I lift her off the ground, spinning her around as she laughs and cries and kisses me all at once.

"I love you," she says against my lips. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," I murmur back. "More than I ever thought possible."

We kiss again, slower this time, savoring the moment. Around us, candles flicker and rose petals drift in the air conditioning, and everything feels perfect.

But I'm not done yet.

"Sierra," I say, setting her back on her feet. "There's one more thing."

"More? Asher, this is already perfect."

"Trust me." I look toward my office and give Ryder the thumbs up signal.

He bursts through the door with a bouquet of white roses nearly as big as he is, his face glowing with excitement.