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Ava

I f that was stressful for me, I don’t even want to imagine how that felt for Maverick.

I’m almost shocked he kept his cool. I thought for sure I would have had to take him into the ER and get his stitches fixed.

Thank God for country men and their need never to let a lady get walked all over.

Though, I would have liked to pop Doug straight in the mouth myself. What a douche.

The past few days have been an absolute whirlwind.

I’ve had to turn down shifts to be able to stay home and take care of Mav.

His stitches healed nicely, and if he could be trusted to lounge at home and not get back to work on the farm, I probably would have already gone back to work.

But I trust him as far as I can throw him, which isn’t very far.

He’s as stubborn as an ox, and I would call him out on it if it wouldn’t be incredibly hypocritical of me.

“Are you doing okay? I know that was a lot.” I look over to him from the driver's seat of his truck. Mav is playing passenger princess with the pain meds he’s taking, well, when I can get him to take them.

Apparently, he doesn’t think he needs them even though he went through a trauma that probably could have killed him.

It should have, looking at the injuries he had, but he must have a guardian angel looking out for him because he’s recovering beautifully.

“Yeah, that went better than I thought.” He nods his head, and I have to wonder if he has short-term memory loss or something .

“You’re kidding. Did we just leave the same house?” I turn and give him an incredulous look. Rhett literally knocked Doug on his ass. And then Doug threatened to press charges.

“Well, besides Doug, no one was disappointed in me. And I honestly don’t really care anymore. As long as you and I are good, I’ve come to realize that the rest is just not that important.”

That stuns me a little, even though he shouldn’t. He hasn’t only said the nice pretty words to make me feel better, he’s followed through, and tonight was proof of that. My trust may have been cracked, but he has put in the work to make sure that never happens again.

But despite his words, Mav is worked up about something. He nervously taps his fingers against his thigh as he looks out the window.

When we finally make it into the house, I flick on the living room light and lose the battle of not asking him what’s wrong. “Are you sure you are okay? You seem upset or nervous.” I look back to him as he braces himself against the wall, kicking off his boots by the front door.

Maybe he does regret quitting. Can’t say I blame him.

I warned myself that it could happen. But I meant what I said.

If he goes back to the ring, then this is done.

Whatever this is. But I don’t want to go back home anymore.

This ranch feels more like home than anywhere else ever has.

The air is fresh and makes my head feel clear.

Plus, I’m surrounded by a found family that’s provided me more love and support than I've ever known.

True, kind, and good people who I can count on during the good and bad.

“Nope, I’m perfect. What movie do you want to watch tonight?” he asks as he walks over to me.

“Isn’t it your night to choose?” After more than his fair share of 2000s rom-coms, I decided to take turns picking movies so he isn’t forced to watch them every night. With the exception of Westerns, he can go snuggle Jack if that’s what he wants to watch.

“It’s okay, you can pick. I’ll go whip up some popcorn while you get comfy and get the movie started.” He pecks me on the cheek before walking around to the kitchen.

Grabbing one of Mav’s shirts out of the dresser under his bed, I make my way to the bathroom and wash off my face and pull my long hair into a messy bun on the top of my head. I discard my clothes into the laundry hamper and pull on Mav’s T-shirt. It’s comfier than any pajamas I've ever worn.

When I get out of the bathroom, the sound of popcorn popping in the microwave fills up our tiny space along with its smell. Buttery and delicious. I don’t care that we do this almost every night; it’s my favorite thing ever because it’s our thing.

Mav comes around the corner. He must have changed when I did because he’s now in basketball shorts and shirtless. Another reason to love our tradition, he’s almost always shirtless when we watch movies in bed.

He pulls back the covers and notices what I’m wearing. “You sure make that shirt look good.” He sets the popcorn down on a side table before crawling in bed and wrapping an arm around me. “Did you pick a movie yet?”

“Yup.” Clicking play on 50 First Dates , I snuggle in closer. “Get that bowl over here.”

He chuckles and pulls the bowl to his lap. When I reach my hand in, it lands on something hard.

“What did you put in the bowl?” I ask, sitting up and pulling the bowl to my lap to inspect it .

He has a sheepish grin on his face, which makes my heart flutter from nerves because this very well could be a prank, and he’s still too injured for me to smack him with a pillow right now.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about.

” But the tone in his voice says that he absolutely knows what I’m talking about but that he wants me to figure it out for myself.

Heaving out a dramatic sigh, I use the light from the TV to see into the bowl, and a little black box sits in the center.

“Mav, what’s that?” My head stays down while my eyes move up to look at him.

“Guess you will have to open it and find out.” He shrugs with his good shoulder.

Grabbing the box, I slide the top off and gasp.

In the center sits a diamond ring. The TV light illuminates off of it, making it glitter.

My head pops up and I find his gaze locked on mine.

Mav studies me with a gentle smile that makes my heart still before he gets out of bed and walks to my side of the bed.

Still frozen speechless, he moves the bowl out of my hands and swings my legs off the side of the bed.

He gets down on both knees in front of me and says, “So, I kind of messed this whole thing up and did it backward. I married you and then fell in love. But I’d like to right that wrong.

Ava, I love you more than life itself. I don’t think I was even truly living until you came around.

You turned my world from black and white to color, and I never want to see a world where you’re not by my side, making everything brighter and better.

Will you do me the honor of staying my wife?

I promise to love you until my very last breath.

And if I’m being honest, I’ll still be loving you from the other side. ”

Tears flood down my face. My voice comes out hoarse and shaky. “I cannot imagine a better way to spend the rest of my life than being loved by you, Maverick Ryder. It would be my honor to be your wife.”

Finally looking down at the box, I see the perfect ring.

It’s simple, not too showy and everything I would have picked out for myself.

An oval diamond sits on a gold band. Two smaller, triangle-shaped diamonds encase the center oval.

He knew exactly what I would want and that makes my heart swell so much it hurts.

To be known is to be loved, and damn this man does that without even trying.

“I hope you like it.” He looks at the ring with a worried and nervous look on his face.

Cupping his face, making him look at me, I reply, “It’s perfect.”

He slides the cool band onto my finger, and I can’t help but notice how right it feels. “A perfect ring for my perfect girl.” He brings my hand to his lips and kisses the ring that now sits there.

I look down at the ring and the promise it brings—a life with Maverick. I look up at him, and the adoration in his eyes tells me everything I need to know. That I’ll never go through a hard thing in life alone again, and that calms a piece of my soul I never thought would be soothed.