And then he did something that stole the last breath from her lungs.
He slipped a small ring box from his shirt pocket.
“It’s not flashy,” he said. “Just a simple gold band with three diamonds. For our past, our present and our future.”
Her lips wobbled, tears sliding silently down her cheeks. His idea of flashy and hers were completely different, because this ring was stunning.
Lyle got down on one knee in the middle of the dusty drive, dogs barking in the distance, and the faint snort of horses in the barn reminding both of them where they were. Right at home.
“Heather Prescott, will you marry me? Will you build a family with me and Charlotte and Pudge and the whole dang barnyard crew? Babies. Clients. Maybe a goat or two?”
She laughed and cried in one glorious sound, dropping to her knees to kiss him. “Yes,” she whispered against his mouth. “Yes to all of it.”
She was in his arms then, somewhere between kisses and laughter and half-sobs of relief. It was messy and unfiltered and utterly beautiful.
Behind them, the screen door creaked open and Charlotte’s tiny voice floated out like a bell. “Uncle Lyle, did you ask her yet?”
Lyle held out his arms and the little girl ran to them. He reached for her and lifted her right into their joy.
“She said yes, bug. We’re going to be a family.”
Charlotte’s arms flew around Heather’s neck. “Yay! I told you she would!”
Heather blinked away fresh tears and laughed. “The two of you have discussed this?”
Charlotte grinned, and Heather noticed she was missing both front teeth. Hopefully the tooth fairy had found her way to Montana. Pudge gave an indignant meow from her arms. “Yep. And Aunt Dora, too!”
“Now, let’s don’t be giving away all of our secrets, bug,” Lyle admonished.
Heather laughed. She didn’t care who he’d discussed it with. He’d just professed his love and asked her to marry him, making her the happiest woman in the whole state of Texas.
Standing there, kissed by morning light, surrounded by animals and love and home, Heather saw clearly what she’d been fighting for all along.
Not just justice or survival.
She’d fought her way back to herself. To love. To family. To trust and her forever.
And it was right here in Bear Valley.
EPILOGUE
The sun poured golden light across the Bear Valley horizon, brushing the tops of the rolling hills with a painter’s hand. Wildflowers bloomed along the worn footpath, their soft fragrance wafting on the early evening breeze. Nestled within a quiet grove at the far edge of the Watkins ranch sat the pond, clear, glistening, timeless.
This was the place they’d chosen. Both for their wedding and for the future home they were building.
A natural clearing was surrounded by cottonwood trees and peppered with hay bale seating. Strings of lanterns hung from the branches, glowing like fireflies. A narrow wooden dock jutted out over the pond, wrapped in ivory chiffon and trimmed with simple clusters of wild blooms tied by Charlotte herself.
“This was the perfect spot,” Heather whispered, standing on the far side of the path, hidden just enough behind the tall reeds for tradition’s sake. Her gown was simple ivory silk, sleeveless and fitted, the kind of dress that whispered rather than shouted. Her hair tumbled down in soft curls, adorned only by a fresh lily clipped above one ear.
Lori, her sister-in-law, adjusted the hem one more time and offered a watery smile. “Frank’s already crying. Just a heads-up.”
Heather gave a shaky laugh. “And Lyle?”
“Looks like a man counting every second until you walk down that path.”
She let out a breath, then reached down to smooth the pink tulle dress of the flower girl beside her. “You ready, honey?”
Charlotte nodded solemnly. “I got the basket, and I told Pepper and Sherry to walk slow with me. Pudge is hiding in the basket, though.” She peeked down with a secret grin. “She said she didn’t want her fur messed up by the wind.”
