Darcy continued to pace until she heard Mason mention Grayson’s name, and that stopped her. She certainly hadn’t forgotten about the children, but with Nate’s injury, she’d put him at the top of her worry list.
Until now.
She hoped Grayson wasn’t phoning because there was a problem. She moved closer to him so she could try to hear, but the call ended quickly.
“Grayson and the kids are on their way here,” Mason relayed. “Everybody’s okay.”
The blood rushed to her head. A mix of relief and happiness overcame her when she realized she would soon get to see Noah and Kimmie. But Darcy knew there wouldn’t be total relief until she saw Nate. Until she talked to him.
Until she asked him about that
question.
Heaven knows how long that would be. Besides, he might not even know what he’d said. Nate had been in so much pain, and mixed with the blood loss and the shock, he might have been talking out of his head.
Everything suddenly felt still and silent. None of the Rylands were on their phones. Like her, they were fully in the wait mode. Except for Mason. He was studying her with those intense, steely eyes.
“Well?” he asked.
Darcy froze. Because even though that one word hardly qualified as a question, she was positive what Mason meant. After all, Mason had been in that SUV, and he’d almost certainly heard Nate’s question.
Kade lifted his head. Looked at Mason. Then at her. “Well what?”
Oh, no. She hadn’t wanted to do this tonight and especially not before she’d had a chance to speak with Nate.
But apparently Mason did. “Right before the medics took him into the E.R., Nate asked Darcy to marry him.”
The room was suddenly so quiet that Darcy could hear her own heartbeat. It was racing.
All three Rylands stared at her. And stared. But it was Dade who walked toward her. He stopped just a few inches away, and she braced herself for a good tongue-lashing about how she’d played on Nate’s vulnerability.
“What was your answer?” Dade asked.
She managed to shrug, somehow, though her muscles seemed frozen in place. “There wasn’t time for an answer.”
Dade waited, still staring, and it became clear that he expected her to reveal what that answer would be.
“I want to tell Nate first,” she explained. And she braced herself for Dade to demand to know.
But he reached out, put his arm around her and eased her to him. He brushed a kiss on her forehead. “I hope you’ll say yes.”
Darcy couldn’t have been any more stunned. “You do?”
The corner of his mouth lifted, probably because all that shock had made it into her voice. “You’re good for Nate.”
Kade stood, crammed his hands in his pockets and walked closer, as well. “You are good for him,” he verified. “It’s nice to see Nate happy for a change.”
Again, she got another dose of being stunned. “I’m in love with him,” she blurted out.
Oh, mercy.
She hadn’t expected to say that. Not to them, anyway.
“Does he know that?” Dade asked.
Darcy shook her head, causing Kade and Dade to grumble under their breaths. “You need to tell him,” Dade insisted.
She would. Once she could speak. And once she got past the whole “maybe Nate was talking out of his head” thing. Maybe he wouldn’t remember proposing to her.
“I hope like the devil that you two get married the same time as Kayla and Dade,” Mason mumbled. “No way do I want to wear a monkey suit twice.”
Kade huffed. “Ignore Mr. Congeniality over there. You name the date for him to be in a monkey suit, and he’ll be in one. There are four of us and one of him.”
Mason matched that huff. “Yeah, and it’ll take all four of you weenies to try.” He sounded serious enough, but Darcy suspected he was joking.
She was about to ask for clarification, but the door behind them swung open.
And there was Nate.
His shirt was open, exposing the bandage on his shoulder, and his left arm was in a pristine-white sling. He looked exhausted. And really confused when his gaze landed on all of them.
Darcy hurried to him, slipped her arms around his waist and tried to give him a gentle hug. “You’re okay?” she asked. And she cursed the tears that came automatically.
“I am,” Nate verified. “The bullet went straight through. No real damage. The doctor says I’ll be fine in about a week or so.”
Now, here was the flood of relief that she’d waited for. Nate was all right.
He brushed a kiss on her cheek and ducked down to make eye contact. “Is something, uh, wrong?”
“No,” Darcy jumped to answer. Unfortunately, Dade and Kade jumped to answer with their own noes.
Mason just made a snorting sound. “I told them about your marriage proposal. And Darcy told us that she’s in love with you.” He looked at Nate. “Yeah, we were surprised, too. We didn’t consider you, well, all that lovable.”
That brought on some snickers from Kade and Dade, but Nate just kept looking at her. “Did you tell them the answer to my proposal?”
Suddenly all eyes were on her again. “No. I said I needed to talk to you first.”
Nate’s face dropped, and around her she heard the murmurings of the Ryland brothers as they started to leave, giving them some time alone to absorb what she was about to say. Of course, judging from the sudden mood in the room, they thought she was about to say no.
So, Darcy tried one of Nate’s ploys.
She kissed him. She didn’t keep it exactly gentle, either. It was best if he knew just how deep, and how hot, her feelings were for him. She didn’t break the mouth-to-mouth contact until Mason cleared his throat, a reminder that Nate and she weren’t alone, after all.
Darcy eased back and looked Nate in the eyes. “I’m in love with you.”
Nate smiled that little smile that made her want to kiss him again. And haul him off to bed.
But bed could wait.
“Yes,” she added. “I want to marry you.”
Nate’s smile suddenly wasn’t so little. “Good. Because I’m in love with you, and I definitely want to marry you.” He hooked his uninjured arm around her and hauled her closer to him for a perfect kiss.
One that caused Dade and Kade to whoop.
Nate and she broke away laughing. And then kissed again.
Darcy hadn’t thought this moment could get any better, but then she heard the familiar voices. Grayson was making his way toward them, and he was carrying both babies. Amazingly, both were wide-awake and were squirming to get down. Grayson eased them both onto the floor, and the two toddled into the waiting area.
“Here,” Kade said, peeling off his jacket and slipping it on Darcy.
That’s when Darcy realized she had blood on her top. Nate’s blood. And she didn’t want the children to see that. “Thank you,” she whispered to Kade.
“Anything for my new sister-in-law.” He brushed a kiss on her cheek and moved away so she could kneel down and give both babies a big hug.
Kimmie started babbling as though trying to tell Darcy all about their adventure at the safe house, and Darcy scooped up both of them so that Nate wouldn’t have to bend down for all-around kisses.
“Boo-boo,” Noah announced when he spotted the bandage on Nate’s shoulder, and when he kissed it, Kimmie repeated the syllables and kissed it, as well.
“Your mom and I are getting married,” Nate told Noah. “How do you feel about that?”
Noah looked pensive for a moment, then grinned and babbled some happy sounds.
Her son was obviously okay with this. “And what do you think?” Darcy asked Kimmie.
Kimmie looked at her uncle Mason. “Your call, curly locks,” he told her.
Even though there was no way Kimmie knew what that meant, she giggled and clapped her hands.
Darcy had never thought she could feel this much happiness, but then she saw Grayson, the only person in the room who hadn’t given some kind of thumbs-up. She wouldn’t take back her yes. She loved Nate too much to walk away because his brother disapproved, but she wanted it just the same.
“I’m in love with Nate,” Darcy told Grayson, just in case he’d missed that part.
Grayson nodded. “Then I guess that leaves me with just one thing to say.” He leaned in and brushed a kiss on her cheek. “Welcome to the family.”
A breath of relief swooshed out of her, causing Kimmie to laugh and try to make the same sound. Darcy looked at Nate and saw the love he had for all of them.
Nate kissed her despite the fact he had to maneuver through both kids to do that. “Ready to go home?” he whispered against her mouth.
Darcy didn’t even have to consider this answer. “Yes.”
And with Nate’s arm around her, they took their first step toward their new life together.
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781459219663
Copyright © 2012 by Delores Fossen
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