Page 115 of The Silent Waters (Elements 3)

I smiled, walking over to him. What he didn’t know was that he was the biggest adventure of my life. He was my favorite journey, my anchor that always led me home. He placed the board on the floor and took my hands into his.

“I’m ready for that. I’m ready for our lives together, Brooks. I want you, and only you, for the rest of my life. I’m ready to let go of this place now.”

He smiled. “Are you sure?” He glanced around the emptied space.

I curved into his body as he held me close.

I bit my bottom lip. “Maybe five more minutes,” I whispered.

He kissed my forehead, and softly spoke. “Let’s make it ten.”

When it came time to leave, Brooks grabbed the dry-erase board and held my hand as we walked out of the house. The rain was still falling heavily, and I started to hurry toward the car, but Brooks made me stop. “Maggie, wait! I forgot to tell you the only requirement to my promise of helping you complete your to-do list.”

“And what’s that?”

He flipped the board over, and I read the words.

Marry me.

“What?” I chuckled nervously.

“Marry me,” he repeated. Water crystals dripped down his nose and slid to the ground.

“When?” I asked.

“Tomorrow,” he replied.

“Brooks.” I laughed taking his hands into mine.

“And the day after that. And the day after that one, and the one after that, too. Every day, Maggie May. I want you to marry me every single day for the rest of our lives.” He pulled me closer to his body and the chilled rain somehow felt warmer in that moment. In that moment we became one unit in the pouring rain. His skin on my skin, his heart beating with mine, our souls linked together from that day forth. He grazed his lips against mine, and softly spoke. “Say yes?”

I squeezed his hands twice.

And we kissed beneath the rain.

That was it.

That was the big moment. That was what my father always told me would someday happen. Brooks was the moment I’d been waiting for all my life.

This time is forever.

Ten Years Later

“It’s too loud,” Haley shouted from the front row of the arena. She’d just turned six two weeks prior, and it was her first time seeing The Crooks live in concert. Brooks and the guys were celebrating their twentieth anniversary in the arena center fifteen minutes away from our house, and Haley asked if it could be her birthday present.

“It’s not too loud, you’re just a baby,” Noah mocked his younger sister.

“No, it’s a bit loud,” I replied. I reached into my purse and pulled out a pair of pink soundproofing headphones, and placed them on my daughter’s ears. “Better?” I asked.

She smiled wide and nodded. “Better.”

As the lights began to fade, Haley and Noah both started jumping up and down. When the band entered the stage, the kids seemed seconds away from losing their minds. Their eyes were wide with wonderment as they stared up at their papa.

Their hero. My love.

“Hey, Wisconsin,” Brooks said, wrapping his right hand around the microphone. “If you have ever been to one of The Crooks concerts, you know that we’ve never opened a show with a speech, but tonight is a bit different. Tonight marks the twentieth anniversary of the band, and tonight we are back in our home state to celebrate. So the guys and I thought it would be best to dedicate this show to the one person who made our dream come true all those years ago. There once was a girl who uploaded a few videos online, and she was the reason The Crooks were discovered. Hell, she even named the band.”

“We love you, Maggie!” the twins shouted in unison.