It took two hours for statements to be given, EMTs to check out Laurel and then Griff, and the cabin to empty out. A stray cat sauntered inside as the last person left.
“Who is this guy?” Griff asked, bending down to scratch the cat behind the ears.
“That’s Henry, but he doesn’t normally let anyone get close to him,” Laurel said, the lost look in her eyes was gone now, replaced by a tentative smile.
“How about some milk, Henry?” Griff asked as the cat rubbed against his pant leg. “Looks like I have a new friend.”
“So it does. I have a can of tuna if he’s hungry,” she said with more than a hint of surprise in her voice as she walked over to the cabinet.
Griff fixed a small coffee cup of milk. He caught Laurel’s gaze. “You must be exhausted by now.”
She shook her head.
“I finally feel free,” she said. “Really free.”
“It’s over,” he agreed.
“I don’t ever want to sleep again,” she said before opening the can and placing a small amount of tuna on a plate. She bent down and set the plate next to the milk cup. “Which I know isn’t realistic but I’m not tired in the least. Not right now.”
She stood up and smiled as Henry went for the tuna.
Griff figured it was now or never. He needed to tell her how he felt before he found an excuse not to.
“I’ve waited a long time for someone like you to walk into my life,” Griff said to her as they stood there in the kitchen with Henry at their feet. “I’m not a kid and I’ve dated a whole lot of people. Enough to know when someone special walks into my life.” He reached out and took her hands in his. The current of electricity running through him was a comfort now.
The look in her eyes encouraged him to keep going.
His heart pounded wildly inside his chest because for the first time, if this person walked out of his life, he realized he would feel the ripples of that decision for the rest of his life. So, he dropped down on one knee.
“You deserve to know how I feel before you make the decision to stay or leave,” he continued, staring into those beautiful blue eyes of hers. Now that the threat was gone, she was free to roam and he wondered if she would consider staying in Gunner.
Her expression was unreadable and despite facing stab wounds, bullets, and all manner of destructive forces, saying these next words was the scariest thing he’d ever done or would ever do. There was no denying the fact he’d fallen hard for the big-eyed beauty.
“I don’t want to scare you with what I’m about to say, but I think you should know that I’ve fallen in love with you, Laurel. I’m in love with you.” Saying anything more might just cause her to jump up, get in her car, and ditch him forever, so he waited to hear her response.
A slow, beautiful smile spread across her face.
“I knew from the second we met there was something very different about you, Griff Quinn,” she started. “Believe me when I say that I never believed in love at first sight. Until you. Getting to know you has opened my eyes to what an incredible and caring human being you are. I love you and I count myself the luckiest person in the world that you feel the same way.”
Griff shot up to his feet, pulling her into an embrace. He kissed her lips, her chin, her neck. He slowly skimmed his lips across her skin until he reached her mouth again. He claimed it with bruising need this time.
His pulse skyrocketed and his heart thundered in his chest.
He slowly made his way down the nape of her neck and back up until his mouth was within an inch of her ear, and then he whispered, “You should know that I’m all in when it comes to this relationship. And I mean that. You have my word. You have my heart. And when you’re ready, if that day ever comes, you can have my forever. I’d like you to do me the great honor of marrying me.”
Laurel’s hands came up to frame Griff’s face. She brushed the backs of the fingers on her right hand against his cheek when she caught his gaze.
“Griffin Quinn, I don’t need a whole lot of time to know what we have is special. If you’re asking me to marry you right now, my answer is yes,” she said, and his heart danced.
“Yes?” Griff needed to hear confirmation just to be sure he could trust his own ears.
“My answer is yes,” she said. “I will be your wife. I will marry you. And I will love you for the rest of my life.”
“I have only one request,” he said, mustering a serious expression.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” she asked.
“Two actually,” he realized.
“Okay. What are your two requests?” she asked.
“One, we nab Mrs. Brubaker at least once a week for dinner at our place,” he said with a smile.
“Done,” she said. “I don’t even have to think about that one. She would love that.”
He smiled.
“And the second?” she asked.
“I’ve always wanted a pet. A cat actually. We have to adopt Henry and give him a home,” he said as a smile spread across her face.
“That’s a no-brainer,” she said. “I’m happy to give this sweet kitty a permanent home.”
“That’s all I need to hear,” he said before scooping his bride-to-be in his arms.
“But first, I need to make a call. There’s someone I need to speak to,” she said with a serious expression.
“Whatever you need to do.” He set her down so she could grab her phone and then took a step back. “Do you need privacy?”
“No,” she said as the corners of her lips upturned. “This will only take a few seconds.”
She punched in a number and then put the cell to her ear.
“Marissa, it’s me,” she began as the smile widened. “How are you?” She said a few uh-huhs into the phone. “How are the babies?”
Now, the smile had spread across her beautiful face.
“Good. I want to hear all about them and how you guys are doing,” she continued. “Can I call you tomorrow?” A brief pause was followed by, “I’ve missed you too. Everything is okay now. I’m not leaving your life again.”
When she ended the call, she beamed.
“They’re good,” she said. “And we’re going to have a ‘coffee date’ tomorrow via the phone to catch up on all that’s been happening.”
“That’s good news,” he said, picking her up again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“Thank you,” was all she said. “You’re amazing.”
“I can say the same thing about you,” he said before carrying her into the next room and into bed. This cabin might be a temporary space, but there was no doubt in his mind that he’d found his permanent home in Laurel.
He kissed her, long and slow.
Home.
Griff’s cell buzzed before the sun came up the next morning. He had half a mind to ignore it. Except it could be bad news.
“I’d better check to see what that is,” he said to Laurel. Her eyes glittered with desire and she’d never been more beautiful to him than right then.
“Okay,” she said, pushing up to sitting on the bed.
He scrambled to locate his cell before the call rolled into voicemail. There it was, hiding underneath his backpack. He grabbed it and answered with surprise. What was his father doing calling?
“Griff here.”
“Hey, son,” Archer Quinn said.
“Sir,” Griff stated. His father had always insisted on a formal greeting.
“Harding was shot,” his father said.
“When? Where?” Griff asked as more questions pounded the backs of his eyelids.
“All I know is he was serving a warrant when it happened and he’s in surgery now,” his father said.
Griff’s heart dropped.
“When will he be home?” he asked.
“I’m headed to the hospital now,” his father said. “Austin General. Get there as soon as possible.”
With that, the call ended.
“Is everything okay?” Laurel asked a stunned Griff.
“It’s one of my brothers. He was shot on the job,” Griff stated as the shock and horror of that statement started to sink in.
“I’m so sorry,” Laurel said. Her forehead creased with concern and she immediately jumped into action. “Is he okay?”
“We’ll know by the time we get there,” he said. At least, he hoped there would be good news.
“What can I do?” she asked.
“Go to the hospital with me?” he asked.
“I’ll throw on clothes and be ready in five,” she said.
He needed to do the same. And then he needed to get on the road. He might not have spoken to his brother in the past ten years, but Quinns would always be there for each other when the chips were down. This was no exception. Even if the last time they spoke had been one helluva argument.
“Would it be okay if I call Marissa on the way?” she asked. “I don’t want to disappear on her again.”
“Of course. I want you to have everything your heart desires,” he stated and meant every word as he kissed his bride-to-be.
And then prayed his brother would survive.