The trip was everything I’d hoped for, and so much more. I don’t know if we hit leaf-peeping peak season, but the autumn colors were truly breathtaking. Especially from the cabin on the ridge overlooking Beaver Lake that Eric had rented from his friend. Eric and I sat there on the deck overlooking the spectacular trees of every color and talked for hours.
We also explored the downtown, uptown, and underground of Eureka Springs. Eric booked both walking and riding tours of the city, and then we explored its historic charms on our own. We visited Basin Spring Park, and all the old hotels, including Basin Park Hotel, the Palace Hotel and Bathhouse, and the Crescent Hotel and Spa. We saw St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, one of the many buildings that seemed to grow out of the mountains, and we were in the glass Thorncrown Chapel during a thunderstorm. Sitting there surrounded by lightning was a bigger thrill than riding any roller coaster.
Grotto Spring, the Carry Nation House, the many bed-and-breakfasts, some stately, some funky. I couldn’t have picked a favorite because doing anything and everything was special with Eric. The things we saw and did in the daytime . . . and at night.
Our four days came to an end too soon, but I loved the new closeness I’d found with my darling detective.
The weekend before Thanksgiving, we went to dinner at the farmhouse. Eric wore his usual jeans and boots but wore a long-sleeved shirt and a lightweight jacket. Not that it was all that cold, but I’d donned jeans and a light sweater against the nip in the air.
Sherry hustled us directly into the dining room, but when I asked if we were late, she pooh-poohed me. Eric and I sat at the end of the table, which was laden with food. Conversation centered on what Maise had on the menu for Thanksgiving. When I said I was afraid to ask what she was serving for Christmas, every one of the Six beamed at me, then wiped the goofy grins from their faces and changed the subject.
But that didn’t mean the covert glances at Eric and me stopped. I wasn’t wearing my sling tonight. Maybe they were concerned about my wound. Eric shifted in his seat and fiddled with his napkin as if he was nervous, but I chalked it up to him being on call.
At the end of the meal, I got up to ferry plates and the leftovers to the kitchen, but Sherry shooed Eric and me to the huge front porch. Amber and T.C. came with us.
“Sit, relax,” she said before hotfooting it back inside.
We sat in the swing, Eric gently pushing it with his foot because my legs were too short to touch the porch floor. The critters had raced down the steps to chase around the yard.
Since we’d been back from Eureka Springs, I’d been to Eric’s refurbished bungalow several times, mostly to watch football or movies. His parents had died years ago, so we’d naturally agreed to spend at least part of the Christmas holidays with the Six. He wanted to decorate and I promised I’d help, but I was iffy about putting up a tree in my apartment. I didn’t really think T.C. would climb it, but bat at the lights and ornaments? All bets were off.
As for New Year’s Eve, we’d discussed dinner and dancing but hadn’t made a final decision. It was enough to know we’d be together.
Eric’s phone buzzed with a text message. He checked it, then said we needed to go inside. I figured he’d caught a case, so I went in with him.
Instead of grabbing his jacket, he ushered me down the long hall to the back door. It seemed awfully bright in the yard, and I realized why when he took my hand and led me onto the deck.
A galaxy of patio lights hung from the house to the barn and back. More lights were arranged in a circle in between. Music softly played somewhere, and Amber and T.C. sat just outside the circle, their ears perked.
“Eric, what in the world did you do?”
“Wait and see.”
He escorted me down the deck steps and over to the circle of light. Then he aimed a thumbs-up toward Bernice Gilroy’s house, and the music gradually swelled until I recognized it as “Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid movie.
“The first time I kissed you, Bernice was playing our song.”
“I remember,” I said. “How did you get her in on this?”
“She summoned me while you were in the hospital. I set this up with her after we got home from Eureka Springs.”
“Set what up?”
He reached into his jeans pocket even as he went to one knee and held up a diamond ring.
“Nixy, I love you. Life is never a given, but what we have of it, I want to spend with you. Will you marry me?”
I don’t know when tears began sliding down my cheeks. I didn’t think of myself as a particularly sentimental or even romantic woman, but Eric’s softly spoken, sincere declaration melted my heart. The sizzle between us would never fizzle.
I smiled at him, nodded, and hoped my nose wasn’t running. “Yes, Eric. Yes.”
He took my left hand, slid the ring onto my finger, and stood.
As the music swelled, I heard Bernice cackle, heard the Six applaud, and heard the critters bark and meow as they rubbed against our legs.
Then Eric’s mouth met mine, and all I felt was the forever warmth of his kiss.