Beautiful Burn (The Maddox Brothers, #4)(97)

He pulled back, touching his forehead to mine, his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling with every quick breath. He looked up at me, his eyebrows pulling in, but before he could ask, I blurted out the answer.

“Yes.”

“Really?” he asked with a small, hopeful smile.

“But,” I began. His face fell, the hope in his eyes extinguished. “I have a lot of things I need to work on. I’m going to need a lot of time, and a lot of patience.”

He shook his head and sat up, ready to fight for me. He opened the box, plucking the small silver band with a single round solitaire diamond. “I know it’s not as big as Finley’s…”

“I don’t care about that. I just care about what this means.”

He slipped the band onto my finger and choked out a laugh. “Holy shit.”

I thought about his words, letting them bounce around in my mind along with everything I’d learned over the past two months. Returning to old relationships or starting new ones was a recipe for a relapse, and Tyler and I qualified as both. Knowing that, I knew no one could teach me how to love me better than him.

“Can we just…?” I began.

“Whatever you need, baby,” he said, holding my hand to his lips.

I settled back into my seat, and Tyler’s hand encompassed mine for the rest of the way back to Estes Park. I didn’t feel added stress or worry or anxious—quite the opposite. Everything had seemed to fall into place in the same day. The new Ellie was home, in love, engaged, and happy. I couldn’t imagine anything emotionally healthier than that. Not that I expected everything to be smooth sailing, but when I looked at Tyler, the only thing I felt was content.





CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT


Jojo poked her head around the corner, looking like she’d fallen asleep in a tanning bed. Her long blonde braid hung from the nape of her neck, swinging a bit in front of her shoulder. “Got a minute?”

“Sure,” I said. “Just let me finish up this…” I typed out a few more words, saved the document, and sat back in my office chair.

“How does it feel to be back?” she asked, collapsing into the love seat in front of my desk.

“Um … fine,” I said, nodding.

“And how do you like your new place?” she asked.

I nodded again. “That it’s not mine, nor anything that’s in it.”

“I know this is hard. It’d be harder without their help. Right now the focus is on getting well.”

“I know. Tyler says the same. He’s not even pushing me to move in with him, which is … weird.”

“But smart. Congratulations, by the way.” The synapses of Jojo’s mind were clearly firing, and I waited while she twisted the platinum strands hanging from the clear elastic band securing her braid. “Chief called today. He asked how you were doing.”

“The Alpine crew’s superintendent?”

“Yes, that Chief. He asked a few questions about your recovery.”

“Awkward.”

“He wants to give you another chance.”

“He does,” I said, dubious.

“The Alpine crew is on R&R now.”

“I know.”

“They’re leaving for Colorado Springs in two days.”

“I know that, too.”

“When they’re back, Chief asked me if you’d be ready.”

“Why would he want me to come back?” I asked, suspicious.

“He saw your latest feature on the forestry service. It’s getting great reception, and they would like to see it wrapped up on a positive note.”

“I guess the AP picking it up helped him make that decision?”

Jojo smiled. “I’m pretty sure Daddy would adopt you if he could. You put this magazine on the map. Ad space is booked up for six months. Subscription numbers set a new high every day. That was all you, Ellie. I can’t even take the credit for the last write-up. I used almost every word you wrote.”

“I noticed your name was absent.”

“With good reason,” she said, leaning forward. “Getting you well is our first priority. If you think it’s too much, too soon, we’ll push it back to next year’s fire season. Daddy wanted to make sure you knew that.”

I turned, seeing that Wick’s door was closed. It had been that way since I’d returned to a full-time desk job.

“No, I can do it,” I said, my heart thumping against my chest. I tried not to make my excitement too obvious.

Jojo’s entire face brightened. “Really?”

“Yeah. Just stop saying well. It makes me feel sick.”

She stood, shaking her head. “Absolutely. Won’t mention it again.” Not two seconds after she turned the corner, her orange face popped back in, her hot-pink lipstick bordering her bright smile. “That’s not true. I’ll mention it if necessary.”

“Understood.”

Jojo left me alone, and I leaned back, taking in a deep breath. The surface of my desk was still as empty as it had been on my first day, but for the three photographs I had framed. I picked up the metal five-by-seven, looking over the hideously cropped retake of a picture of Finley hanging on the wall of the chateau. It was ironic that that very picture had landed me the photography job in the first place, and just eighteen months later, it looked so amateur I had to lay it flat on its face several times a day.