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“Bad news?” he asked as I quickly wiped my eyes.
I stood. “No, just the opposite.” I held the papers out to him.
He took the papers and skimmed them, nodding after a few moments. “Look at that. No more record.”
I lifted my chin higher, waiting for him to make some snide comment, except he didn’t. He returned the papers to me and said, “Congratulations, Bollard. I hope you keep your nose clean for my sister’s and your son’s sake. I won’t do you any favors if you get in trouble.”
Did I just hear him correctly? Did he just accept that I might be in a relationship with Candy? I grinned at him. “Oh, don’t worry. You forget my best friend is a federal agent. If I get in trouble, I’ll just call him.”
Ethan slapped me on the shoulder and then walked away, saying, “You do that, Mike. You’ll fit in just fine.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CANDY
Iknew what Mike was doing, although he hadn’t said where he was going. Laney had mentioned that today was his meeting with the judge. I waited on pins and needles to see if he would walk into the bar with a smile on his face or a frown. I prayed it was a smile.
While he was gone, we decorated the bar with balloons, streamers, and a huge congratulations banner. The tavern was closed today, but this was a special occasion. My entire family, the Youngs, and a few other people were all here. Plus, all the staff from the tavern were present, too.
We all expected Mike to arrive around three, but it was closer to four when he finally stepped into the bar, and we yelled congratulations. He stood there, shocked to see the people filling the bar, holding up glasses in a toast, and I rushed forward and put a glass of champagne in his hand.
I didn’t think others noticed, but I saw the slight sheen of tears in his eyes as he took the glass, wrapped his arm around my waist, and held me at his side.
“Thank you,” he said, and his voice was husky with emotion. “You all can’t understand what today means to me.” He let his eyes slip over the room, and they stopped on my brother, Ethan, where he chuckled slightly. Then they moved on to Laney and Evan. “I couldn’t have done this without you, Laney, Evan, Candy, and I want to thank you for believing in me.”
I pulled him tight to my side and laid my head on his shoulder for a moment.
He lifted his glass. “Here is to the new tavern and many happy customers!”
Everyone lifted their glasses and toasted, and then Mike turned to face me. “Give me one minute to speak to Laney and Harley, and then you and I need to talk for a second.”
“Wait, how did it go with the judge?”
He smiled almost sadly. “I’ll tell you that later.”
He brushed his lips over my cheek, then made a beeline to Laney and Evan, where he hugged her and shook his hand. I got pulled into another conversation, but I honestly couldn’t keep my eyes off the man. I was dying to know how it went today and what he wanted to talk to me about.
About thirty minutes later, Mike approached me with Harley in tow. “Can we have a few minutes of your time?”
“Sure, guys. What’s up?”
Mike and Harley escorted me from the room to the kitchen area, but Mike looked around at the activity and hustled us up the stairs to the office.
Once there, he closed the door and smiled down at Harley. “Harley and I have been talking.”
“Oh, you have, have you?” I giggled as Harley nodded dramatically.
“We want you to come home,” Harley blurted, and Mike nodded.
“Yes, we would like you to come home.”
I looked between them. Did he mean to come home to them? Or did he find a new place to live?
Mike stepped forward and took my hands. “We want you to come back home and be with us, Candy. We don’t want to be without you.”
“We want you to be my mommy!” Harley said excitedly, and I put my fingers over my lips. I hadn’t expected this. I honestly hadn’t, and I didn’t want to disappoint Harley if Mike couldn’t give me what I wanted.
Mike glanced down at Harley. “You could have held that back for a moment.” He looked back at me, and then he slowly went down on one knee, and my eyes practically popped out of my head as he pulled a ring box out of his pocket.
