More Than I Could (91)

I steel my gaze at Chase’s. “Don’t worry. It won’t inconvenience you. Gavin is taking me to get a rental car so I can drive to the airport.”

Chase laughs haughtily. “No, he isn’t.”

“Gav …” I warn.

Gavin covers his face with his hands. “Don’t do this to me, guys.”

“You’re on our team, Uncle Gavin. You want her to stay.”

What? My insides soften as Chase’s features smoothen out.

“I have something to ask you,” Chase says.

“Yes,” I say, much to his surprise. I stand and grab my purse. “You can buy my brunch.” I head for the door. “Come on, Gavin.”

“Gavin, don’t you dare,” Chase growls.

“Megan. Wait,” Chase says.

I keep walking.

The sun shines high in the sky on this beautiful day. I walk across an empty lot beside The Wet Whistle toward Gavin’s truck.

“Megan!” Chase shouts behind me.

“Nope. You had your chance to talk. Now that I’ve accepted that I’m leaving—oof.”

I’m spun around by a frantic Chase. Kennedy is on his heels. Gavin follows with his hands shoved in his front pockets like he’d rather be anywhere else besides here.

I pant, trying to catch my breath. “What do you want?”

“Talk to me.”

“Why? Because you decide it’s convenient for you?”

“Listen to him, Megan,” Kennedy pleads.

I take a long, deep breath and summon my strength. “Talk.”

Chase twists his hat around backward. “I don’t want you to leave.”

“Cool. What else?”

“What does that mean?” he asks.

“That means I heard you, so you can continue to your next talking point.”

He furrows his brow, annoyed. “Why won’t you just talk to me?”

“We’re talking, Chase. But you hurt my feelings last night. You embarrassed me this morning in front of your mother. And this …” I look at Kennedy, then Gavin. “This isn’t exactly great for my ego either—not that I care about my ego. It’s just that you aren’t doing me any favors.”

“I just need five minutes.”

“You get five seconds.”

His eyes widen. “What?”

“One. Two. Three.”

Chase panics, digging in his pocket.

“Four. Fi—”

“Will you marry me, you giant pain in my ass?” he asks.

“—ve.”

My eyes grow as wide as saucers. I swear my heart skips a beat. I stare at a thin gold band he holds and wonder if this is real.

“I mean it,” he says, cutting the distance between us.

“Wha … Did you just propose to me?”

“He did,” Kennedy says. “You should say yes.”

I shift my weight from one foot to the other. “What’s going on here?”

“What’s going on here is that I can’t let you leave,” Chase says. “Kennedy and I can’t let you leave us.”

“We love you,” Kennedy says.

Tears fill my eyes, and my bottom lip trembles. A flock of geese flies overhead, calling to one another.

My breathing is ragged, but I’m afraid to reach for Chase. Instead, I pull Kennedy toward me, and she buries her head in my chest.

My gaze falls on Chase and his bright green eyes. The way my soul calms when I look at him is remarkable. It’s amazing how the situation between us remains, I think, yet just being close to him feels right. It doesn’t feel over between us. I don’t know if it could ever feel that way with him and me.

“What are you doing?” I whisper to him.

Chase smiles shyly. “I love you, Megan.”

My heart jumps so wildly that I take a step back. Startled, Kennedy pushes away from me. My sneaker hits a mud puddle, and the sole doesn’t grip the wet surface. It slips, sending me flailing through the air. I land on my back with a huge, noisy splash.

Chase runs to me and takes my hand, pulling me to my feet. Kennedy watches, unsure of what to do. Gavin, the prick, laughs.

I blow dirty hair out of my face and feel the muddy water drip down my forehead.

“Are you okay?” Chase asks.

His voice brings me back to the present, and I can only do one thing—I laugh.

I laugh not because it’s funny or because I’m embarrassed. I don’t laugh because mud finally got the best of me.

I laugh because my heart slowly melds back together.

“One day, you’ll wake up and realize that a piece of your heart resides outside your body. You’ll feel a draw to that place no matter where you are in the world. You’ll only feel whole and content when you’re there—and that will be your home. That’s where things make sense. That’s where you’re meant to be.”

I get it now. I understand what my mom was saying.

Peachwood Falls is where my life makes sense. I’ve only ever felt like myself, with intense peace and contentment, in the walls of Chase Marshall’s home. I’ve never been drawn to a place like I am in Chase’s arms.

I suppose that’s why nowhere else has ever worked out. I belonged here with this beautiful man, his adorable daughter, and his goofy brothers.