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Sara laughs, her smile wide and beaming as though the man’s questioning were ridiculous. “Yes, I know them.”
The officer nods and taps the side of the SUV, handing me back our documents. “There’s a roadblock a few miles up. You’re going to want to take the old highway if you’re going west.”
I nod and thank the man before driving on past the booth, a sense of relief softening my shoulders as we pass the wooden post sign that saysWelcome to Alaska.
“I slept through the whole thing,” Sara says, her tone upbeat for all she’s been through. “I’m sorry. It’s—”
“You don’t have to explain anything,” Brad says, holding her against him. “You needed the rest.”
You’d think the view would be enough to sustain my attention. Tall snowcapped mountains pop up behind a steep gorge that drops off on either side of the highway. All around us, Alaskan pine trees rise green, while turquoise lakes splash into the distant valley. It’s insanely gorgeous and completely stark from the tunnel of trees we’ve just come from. But as I watch Brad continue to snuggle Sara, I can’t help but dart my eyes back, enjoying the way her warmth fills my heart and gives me hope for the future.
“Two more miles and we’ll ditch this rig and start fresh,” I say, glancing back through the rear-view mirror again.
Sara smiles and sucks in a lung full of refreshing mountain air, my heart filling as I watch.
“This feels like a fresh start,” she says, brushing my arm from the back seat. “I love you all. You know that, right?”
My heart swells and I can’t help but pull the truck to the side of the road.
Brad opens the door, a cool rush of air filtering in before Sara pops out behind him. I walk around the truck and meet everyone on the shoulder of the road. I want to be patient, give the guys a second to get their own time with her. This is an emotional moment, but excitement takes over and I lift her up into my arms, holding her like the bride I want her to be as I look into her warm eyes.
“You’re everything. You know that?”
She smiles softly and leans up into my lips with a soft kiss. “I’m a mess is what I am. I don’t deserve any of you.”
Colin leans in and kisses her bare leg, covering the goosebumps popping over top her skin. “You couldn’t stop us from loving you now.”
“We figured it out while you were sleeping,” Brad says, kissing her hand. “You belong to us now. It’s kind of a thing.”
Sara laughs, but a tear peeks from the corner of her eye and drags down her cheek.
“What’s wrong, princess?” I ask, holding her tighter against my chest.
“Nothing. It’s just all that’s happened. I… I just really don’t feel like I deserve any of you. I mean, so many people are… because of me. And my mom… she—”
“She would want you to be happy,” I say, kissing her forehead. “She wanted you to start over and feel what she never felt. And Kemp and his wife would’ve killed you if—”
“I know,” she says, wrapping into me tighter. “I might just need to be reminded of that a few times… a day… for a while.” She smiles again and everyone circles around her.
“You belong to us now,” Colin says, kissing her head.
I make eyes with both of them, looking for the nod I need to continue. They both know right away what I’m thinking. I guess that’s part of the allure of our brotherhood.
I pull a silver keyring from my pocket and take off the key. “It’s not perfect, Sara, but we can’t wait another second. There’s no one in the world we’d rather spend our days with. We want to protect you, love you, and cherish you and that sweet baby. Will you be our forever? Will you marry us?”
Her mouth opens slightly, but her gaze warms as she hops from my arms and pulls us all into a hug. “Yes!” she shouts. “I will. I love you all so much. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
And with that, I’m pretty sure everything else will work itself out.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sara
I set a cup of tea down on the counter and look out at the valley set below. Mountains sweep across the horizon and clear blue lakes dot the spaces between. We’ve been here for two weeks, and I haven’t tired of it yet, nor do I think I ever will.
“How are you feeling after that appointment yesterday?” Zane asks, settling in beside me on the couch. He has a steaming cup of his own, though I bet his is caffeinated, which I severely miss.
“It was such a relief to hear the baby’s heartbeat,” I say, running my hand over my stomach. It hasn’t expanded much yet; the doctor thinks I’m about ten weeks along. Still though, I run my hand over top the skin imagining what it’ll feel like to have little feet thumping at me from the inside, or how it’ll feel when the guys feel the baby move for the first time.
