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“Maybe.” Oh, who was she kidding? “Probably.” Like she could resist him. “Definitely.”
He laughed low, the way he did when they were in bed together and teasing each other. “I wonder how fast we’ll be able to kick everyone out of here tonight.”
“Won’t there be, like, sixty people?” She grinned at him. “Skinny-dipping might have to wait until tomorrow night.” And she would have to test the temperature of the water first. She pulled him closer to the tree house and then sat on the wooden plank swing hanging from one of the branches. “I haven’t done this in years.”
Thatch moved behind her and pushed her, swinging her high up in the air, her feet dangling, hair flowing. “Such a special place.” Hopefully, it would be a special place for them always.
Thatch grabbed the ropes and slowed her down, bringing her to a stop. “It’s even more special when you’re here.” He kissed her cheek and then her neck, making her body sigh with happiness. She turned her head to offer her lips too, but the sound of an engine interrupted them.
“They’re early. Probably because they can’t wait to meet you.” Thatch kissed her once more, and then they walked around the house hand in hand to greet the masses.
Over the next half hour, Lyric was introduced to so many aunts, uncles, cousins, and nieces and nephews that there was no way she would remember everyone’s names. His grandma arrived fashionably late in her newer-modelCaddy, and it was fitting how the crowds all parted for her car, the matriarch of their family.
Grandma Kay seemed to look for someone when she stood in the driveway.
“Thatch! You bring that girl right over here to me now,” she called, leaning on her bedazzled cane.
He gave the elderly woman a sweet gentle hug first and then nudged Lyric in front of him. “Gran, this is my girlfriend, Lyric.”
“So nice to meet you, Mrs. Hearst.”
“Gran,” the woman insisted. “Everyone calls me Gran. Oh, my, you are a beautiful girl.” She hugged her almost the same way Nancy had. “Welcome to the family, honey.”
“Thank you,” Lyric said at the same time Thatch cleared his throat. He was probably still nervous that comments like that would make her uncomfortable.
Little did he know.
The next hour passed in a blur of chitchat and yard games and kids and dogs running around, and it was so beautiful how this big family all came together, functioning in chaotic harmony.
“Grub’s on,” Carl called just after Lyric and Thatch had won a cornhole game.
Lyric didn’t know how long it took to get everyone through the buffet line, but she didn’t mind the wait as all of these people were so friendly and interested in her—where she’d come from, what she did for a living. A few of Thatch’s cousins even asked if she could put on an outdoor yoga class later in the week.
They took their seats at a table with Carl and Nancy and Gran, Liam, and Sienna. When the food was mostly gone and the sun hovered low over the tree line, Lyricgave Carl a wink. As they’d discussed on the phone when she’d called them last week, Thatch’s dad used an air horn to quiet the crowd.
“Thank you all for coming out to celebrate Thatch’s birthday.” He put his arm around his wife. “There were many times we wondered if he would make it home when he was serving his country, so every birthday we get to celebrate with him is extra special.”
Uh-oh.Lyric dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. She was already crying.
“Love you two.” Thatch stood up and hugged them both. “And thanks for a party that is somehow more epic every year than it was the last.”
Everyone started talking again, but Carl held up his hand. “Hold on, now. Our guest has something she would like to say too.”
That was her cue.
Thatch gave her a funny look as he sat back down and she stood, pushing in her chair and trying to get her nerves under control. It wasn’t only being in front of all these people that had her heart rate going. It was the anticipation of what would come—the future,theirfuture together. These people—the family Thatch loved—would all be a part of that future. That was why she wanted them all to be a part of the moment that would mean so much to both of them.
For a second she tried to squelch the tears, but the effort proved futile. She turned to the man she loved, the man who’d helped her believe in love, and tuned out everyone else sitting around them. “Thatch, these last five months have been the absolute best of my whole life.” She waited for the collectiveawwws to die down. “I love you in a wayI’ve never loved anyone else. I love you in a way I know Icouldnever love anyone else.” The rest of her speech got fuzzy, but that was okay because only one question truly mattered right now. “So I was hoping you’d marry me?”
“What?” He launched out of his chair and swept her up into his arms, laughing. “Are you serious? You’re asking me to marry you?”
“Yes, Thatch Hearst.” She could hardly see through the tears now. “Will you marry me?”
His smile turned serious as he gazed at her, almost like he was memorizing the details of her face. “I love you that way too, Lyric. I’ll never love anyone the way I love you.”
She felt that love all the way down to her toes. But she also had to tease him. “Umm… is that a yes?”
He held her face in line with his, his hands on her jaw. “Yes.” He kissed her lightly and then pulled back. “Hell yes.”
The party really started then. While they were kissing, the hoots, hollers, and toasts started and might’ve kept going on all night from the sound of things.
In the middle of all that noise, Lyric stared into Thatch’s eyes, only the two of them standing in the middle of a promise, a dream she never thought she would be able to claim.
But love had a healing power all its own.
