Page 11 of The Sailor

Evelyn quickly shook her head. “No, I think with all the help around here, you guys can have a night off from dishes.”

“Oh, but we can still help,” Britt protested. “It’s not a big deal.”

“No, you two go on. We got this,” Linc assured them.

Chad pulled Britt up from her seat and took her hand in his. “Come on, Peach. Before they change their minds and make us mop the floors or something.”

Britt laughed. “As if you’ve mopped in the last month or so.”

Chad smiled at her and they headed for the door that led to the back deck. Marit had spotted stairs off the deck earlier, so she assumed they’d head down to the beach that way.

The second the door shut behind them, Evelyn shoved her chair back and grabbed her plate. Knox and Linc did the same, both of them grinning.

“Come on, Zach! Get your and Marit’s plates in the sink so we can go watch,” his mom said urgently.

“Watch what?” Zach asked, sounding confused but obediently standing and reaching for her plate.

“He’s doing it! He’s proposing to Britt!” Evelyn said with so much glee, Marit couldn’t help but smile.

“Holy shit, he is?” Zach asked.

“Language. And yes! We need to give them a second to get to the beach, but then we can sneak onto the deck and watch!”

So that was why the whole family was here. It was obvious Zach had no idea, but his other brothers were in on the secret.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” he grumbled, as he brought their plates to the sink. “I would’ve made a cake or something.”

“And totally given away that something was up,” Linc countered. “It’s bad enough Mom couldn’t help herself and made her gingerbread cookies. It’s a good thing Britt doesn’t know she only makes those on special occasions. And for the record, I didn’t know until Mom called and ordered me to come over for dinner tonight. I almost said no, because I have stuff to do on the house, but she insisted and ended up spilling the beans on why she wanted me here.”

“Same with me,” Knox agreed. “I was supposed to work late, but managed to get off on time and came straight here.”

“I was going to tell you, but you weren’t answering your phone,” Evelyn accused, giving Zach a look.

Marit almost laughed when he wrinkled his nose in obvious chagrin. “I was working,” he said simply.

“Right . . . so, now you know. Come on, everyone stay quiet on the deck. We don’t want Britt to suspect anything. Linc, you’re going to take pictures, right?”

“Yes, Mom. I got it.”

“She has to suspect something’s up,” Knox said, as they all made their way toward the deck door. “It’s not as if they’ve ever actually found any sea glass on our beach. There just isn’t much glass in our cove.”

“True. But I think she’s gonna be pretty happy with the rock she finds this evening,” Evelyn practically cackled.

“Please tell me Chad didn’t go down earlier and hide a ring in the rocks on the beach,” Zach asked. “With his luck, a seagull or eider duck has stolen it by now if he did.”

Evelyn smacked Zach on the shoulder playfully. “Of course not. It’s in his pocket.”

“You’ve seen the ring?” Linc asked their mom.

“Of course. I helped narrow down which one he wanted to give her.”

Marit couldn’t help but smile at the exchange between mother and sons. But she felt like an outsider. She wasn’t sure she should be here for such an intimate moment in this family. Though it wasn’t as if she could tell Zach she wanted to leave. She had a feeling if she asked, he wouldn’t hesitate. He’d leave before seeing his brother propose to Britt if that’s what she wanted to do.

It was a strange feeling to have. To know that someone would willingly give up something important to themselves, just for her. She wasn’t sure what to do with that knowledge. Especially after only knowing Zach for such a short time.

She pushed the unsettling feeling to the back of her mind and followed the others out onto the deck.

The land the house sat on was gorgeous, of that there was no doubt. Marit saw water views every day, all day. She’d thought she was immune to the beauty of coastal Maine. But she was wrong. The sun was just starting to set, the trees around the cove were in full bloom, and there was a slight breeze, making the temperature comfortable, if not a little cool for her in her T-shirt.