Boarlander Silverback (Boarlander Bears #3)(59)

Bash, Emerson, Harrison, and Audrey were cooking what smelled like hamburgers on the new built-in grill the boys had constructed where the old ant pile used to be, and their laughter echoed across the park. On his porch, Mason nodded a greeting to her and plucked soft notes on his old guitar. He would leave here soon and move into Damon’s house when it was finished, and a wave of sadness took her. He would be missed. Already, she felt a hole in her chest from his absence.

Usually she rode straight back to 1010 where she and Kirk had been staying, but today, he sat on the steps of his own trailer, the first one on the left. His long legs were bent, his muscular arms draped over his knees, his long hair fallen forward as he gave her one of those breathtaking crooked smiles. She still couldn’t believe he was hers.

“Did you finish the trailer?” she asked hopefully.

“Maybe,” he teased.

With an excited squeal, she cut the engine and bolted for him. He caught her and spun her in a slow circle.

“That isn’t your surprise, though.” He settled her on her feet and pulled up the sleeve of his white T-shirt. Down the inside of his bicep, in perfect script, was a tattoo that read ghost.

“You got a tattoo for me?” she asked, heart in her throat as she traced the new ink. It was his first.

He pulled her hand up, then kissed the small, neat letter K that she’d had done just beside her pink heart. “I know we can’t show everyone your claiming mark. The world isn’t ready yet, but this we can do. This claiming mark is legal.”

“Okay,” she said thickly. She couldn’t even put into words how much this meant to her.

“You ready to see our trailer?”

“Yeah.” He’d been working on it non-stop lately, but hadn’t allowed her to see the inside.

Kirk led her up the steps, and just before he opened the beautifully stained dark wooden door, he said, “Close your eyes.”

She did and clutched onto his bicep as they stepped inside. It still smelled of sawdust and new paint.

Kirk sipped her lips and whispered, “Okay, Ally Cat. Open them.”

Alison gasped as she spun in a slow circle, scanning their home. Kirk had opened up all the walls and supported the new ceiling with natural wood beams. The large bedroom area took up one third of the home on the right, there was an open living room in the center with refurbished chestnut wood floors. There was wainscoting and designer paint in different shades of gray, and even the couch and coffee table looked new, perfect in the space. She laughed at the large painted picture of a gorilla ripping the cord of a chainsaw under a rainbow. It looked like a six year old made it, and in the bottom right-hand corner, Willa had signed her name. It added the perfect amount of interest and color on the long back wall. The kitchen was the real showstopper, though. It had glistening granite countertops, antique white cabinets, and a large farmhouse sink. It looked like it belonged in some fancy magazine.

“I wish I could give you more. You deserve more,” Kirk said from behind her. “But this is what I have to give. A refurbished trailer home, a C-Team crew of shifters…and me.”

“That’s more than enough, Kirk. It’s everything.”

She turned to hug him, but he wasn’t where she’d expected. Instead, he was down on one knee, a white gold band encircled with tiny, shimmering diamonds in his hand.

She clasped her hands over her mouth to keep the sob in her throat and blinked hard to keep her tears at bay.

His smile was big and his eyes sincere as he uttered the words, “We can’t marry right now, but someday, things will be different for us. I know they will. And until then, I’d be honored if you wore my ring. Ally…”

“Yeah?” she asked in a small voice.

“Will you have me as your husband?”

With a jerky nod, she dropped down to him and hugged his neck as tight as she could. He rocked them gently and massaged slow circles on her back.

This was it.

This was the moment she would cherish for always. The moment Kirk had chosen her in every possible way. She hadn’t known what family—real family—was before she’d stumbled into Boarland woods that first night, but Kirk had known just what she needed and had given it to her.

A home, a crew…him.

He didn’t think he had much to offer, but he didn’t see. Before him, her life had been lacking. It had been dark and hard, but he’d come in and made it blindingly beautiful.

From now until forever, she would never have to question where she belonged.

No matter what happened from here on, she would face it beside the man who had fought for this moment and earned her heart.