Chapter Nine

Carter squeezed her hand and smiled. He hadn’t felt so at peace for a long time.

“Gamma used to say that lightening bugs were God’s way of saying hello.” Abby chuckled.

“I’ve never heard that before, but I like it.”

“I never believed it before. I’m starting to think that maybe there are happy endings.”

Abruptly, Abby let his hand go and she turned to him. “Carter, listen. Let’s not do this now.”

He stared at her. “Do what?”

She sighed and looked up at him again. “This. I don’t want you to feel trapped. This is what, your first week back? And all of a sudden you think you’ve got a whole new set of responsibilities. Well, let’s just wait and see what happens, okay?”

“You said you loved me.”

“I do. More than I ever thought I could love anyone. But I don’t want you to settle for something that might not be perfect for you. Do you know what I mean?”

“No. I’ve never settled for anything in my life. I still love you. After all the time and distance and attempts not love you, I still do. I can’t help it. I don’t want to wait and see what happens. I want to be with you. Starting now. Till death do us part.”

She stared at him through the darkness. “Are you proposing?”

Defensively he said, “Maybe. What if I were? Would you honestly turn me down? How on earth can I prove to you that I’m ready for this? That I want this? It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”

She shook her head. “I’m not trying to decide for you what you’re ready for. I just don’t want you to rush into something you only think you’re ready for. God, does that even make sense? Look, I’m not the queen of relationships, okay? I just want you to really be sure. I just want you to be happy.”

“Well you make me happy. The whole time I was away from you I was unhappy. Now that I’m back, it’s like life has been breathed back into me. The best I was hoping for was running into you and not having the old pain dredged up again. This is more than I ever thought possible. You love me. That’s all I want. You’re it.”

Tears were trickling down her cheeks by now. She sniffled a little and looked away, not wanting him to see, but he took her hand in his and said. “Abigail Lockhart, I love you. Be my wife.”