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Warm fuzzies spread through me at the word. Sam asked me to marry him the night of Thanksgiving. He surprised me with a beautifully romantic proposal in front of my family. He got down on one knee and everything. It was perfect.
Then, once the excitement wore off, we both wondered why people wait as long as they do to get married after getting engaged. Neither one of us was interested in a big to-do for a wedding, so we found a Saturday when Sam wasn’t on shift and invited his mom and my parents to a secret ceremony at the courthouse.
That was a couple of weeks ago now, and we swore everyone to secrecy. We wanted to be the ones to tell everyone, and this is the first time we’ve had a chance to gather as a group since Thanksgiving.
“I’m wonderful. How are you?” I respond.
“I couldn’t be better.” He gives me another kiss. It takes everything I have not to escalate it into something more. His calling me husband gets me hot every time.
“When do you want to tell everyone?” I ask.
Sam looks around. “How about right now?”
“Are we going to tell them the other part of our news?”
“They’re going to find out eventually, so we might as well tell them everything at once.”
I adjust my body to take in the entire room full of people we love. The dining room and kitchen are just as full, and the noise level in the house is a constant buzz of conversation.
After everything that happened to me over the summer, this feeling of happiness is more welcome than ever. The nightmares that plagued me for months began to abate after I started talking to a therapist. The process of finding one is the only reason it took me as long as it did to set up an appointment. I’m grateful Sam kept pushing me to reach out to someone, though. It’s helped more than I ever imagined it would.
With Jeffery’s help, we were finally able to find concrete evidence that Dr. Hutton orchestrated the attack on me. While I think I would’ve been okay knowing he was getting jail time for endangering his research participants, I’m even more relieved to know he will be punished for his crimes against me, as well.
Paul was going to be charged with conspiracy for his role in falsifying the data, but the prosecuting attorney made a deal with him instead. In exchange for testifying against Hutton, they didn’t charge him with any crime, but he was fired from the company. Not only did he cause major damage to our research studies, ruining every ounce of credibility he once held, but he also used Inez’s credentials to cover his tracks. I’m not sure where he ended up after he testified. There was only one other person on the osteo team who helped cover up the bad data, and they were also charged with conspiracy and reckless endangerment.
Pharmatech is still trying to overcome this disaster, and while I debated about finding a new place to work, I ultimately decided to stay. I was proud of how our CEO handled the situation, and I still believe in the work being done. If I can continue to help make people’s lives better, I don’t see any reason to leave the company.
Looking at Sam, I raise my eyebrow to see if he’s ready to make our announcement. He grins, slipping two fingers into his mouth to make a sharp whistle.
The room grows silent immediately. My mouth goes dry with everyone’s attention on me.
“Carter and I have an announcement to make.”
“Please let it be a baby!” Natalie shouts from the couch while Carson snoozes in her arms.
I shake my head with a laugh. “Sorry to disappoint you, sis, but it’s not a baby. As most of you know, Sam and I got engaged over Thanksgiving. What you don’t know is that we decided against the big fanfare of a wedding and got married a couple of weeks ago at the courthouse.”
The shocked cheers make me grin. Sam lifts his hands in the air, trying to get everyone to settle down. “Hold your horses. There’s more we need to tell you guys.”
When there’s only a low murmur, I finish sharing our news. “We’ve also bought a house in Sonoma so Sam can stay on at the firehouse, and as of today, we are now approved to be foster parents.”
“Holy shit, you guys!” someone yells. I think it’s Matthew, but I can’t be sure.
Mom and Dad swarm us first, with Sam’s mom, Danika, following closely behind.
“Thank goodness you finally told everyone. I’ve almost slipped up twice!” Mom shouts. She squeezes me in a hug while Danika hugs Sam. Then they switch places.
Of course, we told our parents our plans about fostering before anyone else. For starters, there was no way we could keep the move from them for any length of time. Secondly, we wanted their opinion on whether we should go through the foster program or not. Our parents know us best, and we trusted them to give us an honest answer. Danika gave her wholehearted approval without question. My parents asked us for more details about fostering and how we planned to prepare for a placement. They weren’t disapproving—far from it, actually. They just wanted to ensure we’d taken the time to do our research.
“We are so proud of you boys. Whatever you need to get a space ready for a foster kiddo, just let me know,” Dad says, patting me on the shoulder. He’d give me a hug if Mom and Danika weren’t still standing in the way.
Then the rest of my siblings push their way into the circle to ask a million questions about the house and when we’ll get our first placement. Sam and I try to answer as best we can, but we only know the basics for now. Our plan is to foster to adopt in the hopes that we can provide a safe home for a kiddo who needs it the most.
“Where’s your house?” Sara asks. Ben is next to her, his arm wrapped around her waist.
“It’s in the same neighborhood as Quinn and Cooper’s house,” I tell her.
Sara gasps, excitement shining in her eyes as she jumps up and down. “Yay! This is perfect. Now you have no reason to skip our get-togethers.”
