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The pain that flashed in her eyes gave him the answer he’d been hoping for.
“The mistake wasn’t in asking the question. That wasn’t what I meant. I meant every word I said that night.” He released her hands and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “But I should’ve asked you properly. My proposal shouldn’t have been spur of the moment in the heat of a tense situation like that. You deserve better.” He sank to one knee and winced at the pain in his side. The stab wound from the night at the Ricketts Estate was still tender. It had given him some trouble, but IV antibiotics had rid him of the fever that had plagued him for several days, and he was doing much better.
“Are you okay?” Samantha’s eyes searched his. “Maybe you should stand back up.”
“Why? Are you planning to turn down my proposal?”
She smiled and shook her head.
He took the ring box from his pocket and opened it. “Samantha Rollins will you do me the honor of becoming Samantha Garrison?”
The seconds it took her to answer were torture. He searched her eyes, but couldn’t read them. Then she pulled him to his feet and held him close.
“Honey, you didn’t answer me.”
“Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you, Gavin.”
He let out a relieved breath. “That’s good to hear. I settle on an office building in Bloomsburg in four weeks, but I would’ve had to get out of the contract if you’d said no.”
“You knew my answer before you asked.”
“I couldn’t be sure.” He slid the ring on her fourth finger and brought her hand to his lips. “I love you.”
Her lips brushed his. “I love you, Gavin Garrison. And I will follow you to New York City if that is where you need to be. I’m prepared to give up the farm house and go wherever you lead.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” He lowered his lips to hers and drank in the sweetness that was all her before ending the kiss. “I would never ask that of you. You belong in the woods, and I belong with you.”
Getafreebonusscene for peek into what happened to Samantha’s Uncle Richard.
Bonus Scene
RichardascendedRedRockMountain in his Ford Pickup on his way to the Ricketts Estate following a meeting at Clayburn’s Farm. He was almost certain that Jeremy Sr. had been on the verge of signing the gas lease, but he’d gotten a call that required his immediate attention. He’d be sure to stop back in the morning to give him another opportunity. They were a nice family and deserved some good fortune. This deal was as good as it got around here. Having come from money, Richard had never suffered want like some of his neighbors, but he empathized the best he could, and when it was within his power to do it, he offered people a gas deal.
But right now, he needed to switch his focus. He’d spoken with an agent at the FBI that afternoon before he’d gone out to Camp Lavigne Road for his meeting with Clayburn. After tonight’s board meeting, he expected to have enough to take the Continental Alliance down. It had taken years to entrench himself deep enough in Mason Kennedy, Jr.’s inner circle so that he would be privy to the intimate details of their plans, but it had finally happened. He knew enough to put a stop to the animals. He had names, dates, and locations. But he needed one more thing to top it all off. The location of the wedding for the prominent New York socialite they’d kidnapped five weeks earlier. The girl was afraid they would kill her little brother if she didn’t cooperate. They showed her pictures of the boy in his hospital bed with that monster, Warden standing over top of him.
Their cruelty knew no bounds, but the worst part was the way they manipulated people into believing they were doing God’s work. Richard was a Christian, and seeing people twist God’s word for their own nefarious purposes didn’t sit right with him. Richard’s sister had come out the other side stronger than when she’d been taken, and she’d made the best of a difficult situation, but that didn’t excuse what the Continental Alliance did behind the scenes to put her in that position. What they continued to do to other women.
He pulled up outside of the Ricketts Estate and parked between a Jaguar and a Porsche. His was the only vehicle there with dents and dings. The other members liked to show off their toys. Mason met him at the door and shook his hand before turning to his right. “You remember my son, Mason Kennedy, III, don’t you, Richard?”
“Of course. Good to see you again, son.”
“I think you’re the last to arrive, so we can head on over to the conference room. Can Mary pour you a drink?”
“A water would be great.”
They took their customary seats around the big conference table, and a moment later, Mary returned with his water. He smiled his thanks and took a long sip.
“Shall we call the meeting to order, gentleman?”
They went through the rigmarole of proper meeting protocol, and then Mason, Jr. stood. “Our first order of business tonight is to introduce one of our friends from our satellite branch in our nation’s capital, FBI Agent Philip Monroe. He’s come to give a talk on safety.”
Richard looked at Mason and knew that he knew. The jig was up. Philip Monroe was a member of the Continental Alliance, and everything he’d told him that afternoon had been fed back to Mason. The chances of him leaving the estate alive weren’t great. He took a gulp of his water, and a wave of dizziness hit. As he reached for the table to steady himself, Mason locked eyes with him. Then walked over and placed a hand on his arm. “Are you all right, Richard? You don’t look so good.”
Everything went black.
* * *
