Page 19 of Comforted By The Mountain Man (Eden Ridge: Hunter Brothers #1)

"Congratulations, Mama!" he shouts, running to her with the flowers.

"Ryder! You were in on this?" She takes the bouquet and pulls him into a hug. "How long have you known?"

"Forever! Well, two weeks. But I kept the secret really good, didn't I, Daddy?"

"The best secret keeper ever," I confirm, ruffling his hair.

Sierra looks between us, her smile radiant. "Is that it? Because I don't think my heart can take much more."

"Actually," I say, moving to where Holden set up the superhero display. "There's one more question I need to ask."

I gesture for Ryder to join me by the table and his eyes go wide again when he sees the full display.

"Ryder Antonio Martinez," I say, dropping to one knee so I'm at his eye level. "For a little over a year, you've been calling me Daddy, and it's been the greatest honor of my life. You've made me want to be the kind of man who deserves that title."

His little face is serious now, understanding that this is important.

"I want to ask your permission to marry your mommy. But more than that, I want to ask if you'll let me adopt you. If you'll let me be your real dad, legally and forever. Will you be my son, Ryder? Will you let me give you my name?"

He doesn't hesitate for even a second. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I want to be Ryder Hunter!"

He launches himself at me and I catch him in a bear hug that lifts him off the ground. Over his shoulder, I see Sierra crying again, her hands pressed to her mouth.

"Does this mean I get all the Avengers?" Ryder asks when I set him down.

"Every single one," I confirm. "They're yours."

"BEST DAY EVER!" he shouts, and suddenly the house erupts.

My brothers emerge from their hiding spots, cheering and clapping. Beckett appears at the top of the stairs with Amelia in his arms and even she seems to sense the celebration, gurgling and waving her tiny fists in the air.

"Speech!" West shouts.

"No speeches," I laugh but Sierra steps into my arms and pulls my head down for another kiss.

"Thank you," she whispers against my lips. "For all of this. For choosing us. For being exactly the man we needed."

"Thank you for letting me," I whisper back.

Around us, my brothers are taking turns congratulating us and making jokes about me finally getting my act together. Ryder is carefully examining each of his new action figures, his joy infectious. And Amelia, my beautiful baby girl, is smiling her first real smile at all the noise and excitement.

This is my family. This chaotic, loving, perfectly imperfect family that I never saw coming and can't imagine living without.

"So when's the wedding?" Grace asks, appearing beside us with her own happy tears.

"Soon," Sierra says, looking at me for confirmation. "As soon as possible, right?"

"Tomorrow, if you want," I tell her, and I mean it. "I've waited long enough to make you officially mine."

"Mine too," Ryder pipes up, somehow managing to hold three action figures at once. "I want to be Ryder Hunter tomorrow!"

"The paperwork might take a little longer than that, buddy," I laugh. "But soon. Very soon."

"Can I call you Dad now instead of Daddy?" he asks. "That's what big boys call their dads."

My throat gets tight. "You can call me whatever feels right to you."

"Dad," he says, testing it out. "I like it. Dad."

Sierra melts against my side and I know she's thinking the same thing I am. This boy who's been through so much, who's had to grow up too fast in too many ways, finally gets to be just a kid with a mom and dad who love him.

"Picture time!" Grace announces, pulling out her phone. "We need to document this moment."

We gather together in front of the fireplace, surrounded by rose petals and candlelight.

Sierra is on my left, radiant in her happiness, the ring sparkling on her finger.

Ryder is on my right, clutching his new Hulk figure and grinning from ear to ear.

And in my arms, little Amelia Rose, the perfect addition to our perfectly imperfect family.

My brothers crowd around us and Grace snaps photo after photo while we laugh and pose and generally act like the overgrown kids we all still are at heart.

"One more," Grace says. "Asher, Sierra, look at each other."

We turn toward each other and for a moment, the chaos around us fades away. It's just her and me and the promise of forever stretching out ahead of us.

"I love you, soon to be Mrs. Hunter," I murmur.

"I love you too, Dad ," she whispers back and we both laugh at how perfectly that fits.

Later, after my brothers have gone home and the kids are asleep and we've blown out all the candles, Sierra and I lie in bed talking about the future.

About wedding plans and adoption paperwork and whether we want to add on to the house or maybe build something new on the land we're buying from the Fletcher estate.

"Are you happy?" I ask her, running my fingers through her hair.

"Happy doesn't even begin to cover it," she says, turning in my arms so she's facing me. "A year ago, I was running for my life with nothing but a four-year-old and a bag of clothes. Now look at us."

"Now look at us," I agree.

"Thank you," she says quietly. "For saving us. For giving us a home. For loving us exactly as we are."

"Thank you for letting me," I say. "For taking a chance on a grumpy mountain man who didn't know what he was missing."

She smiles, that beautiful smile that started this whole thing. "Best decision I ever made."

"Mine too."

We kiss goodnight and as I hold my fiancée in our bed, in our house with our children sleeping down the hall, I think about how perfect this imperfect life has turned out to be.

Tomorrow, we'll start planning a wedding. We'll call lawyers about adoption papers. We'll figure out how to balance work and family and all the beautiful chaos that comes with building a life together.

But tonight, I'm just going to hold the woman I love and listen to the sound of our family sleeping peacefully under our roof.

Tonight, I'm going to enjoy being exactly where I belong.

Home.