He tightened his grip on the boys and got them all outside into the cold, fresh rain.
Despite the fact that the babies were crying and that they’d just endured a nightmare, they had survived. They were all alive.
But there was no time to celebrate.
Kelly collapsed on the ground in front of him.
The first thing Kelly saw when she opened her eyes was Nick.
His forehead was bunched up, his eyes beyond intense, and his hair looked as if he’d been shoving his hands through it.
She sat up. Or rather she tried to, but Nick eased her right back down. That’s when she realized she was lying on a quilt on the kitchen floor.
“You fainted,” Nick explained.
Yes. She remembered that. While she’d been trying to escape, the smoke had gotten to her. But how had she gotten from the stables to the kitchen? It was a good guess that Nick had carried her there.
“Where are the babies?” she managed to ask.
“They’re fine.” He leaned a little to the side, and she spotted both Joseph and William. Greta was sitting on the floor and was changing them into dry clothes. However, the moment the boys noticed that Kelly was looking at them, they wiggled out of their nanny’s embrace and walked toward Kelly and Nick.
The boys were a welcome sight, even though William was shirtless and Joseph’s feet were bare.
Kelly made another attempt to sit up, and this time Nick didn’t stop her.
“Mama’s going to be all right,” Nick assured the boys.
William and Joseph picked up on the sounds, and both said the words that were absolutely precious to Kelly. “Ma-ma.”
Even after everything that’d happened, that made her smile.
Nick reached over and pressed the intercom that was on the counter next to her. “Zeke, let me know when the ambulance gets here.”
“I will,” Zeke answered. “Oh, and Cooper’s here. He’ll deal with the sheriff and anything else that comes up.”
“Ambulance?” Kelly repeated. Her smile vanished, and she glanced at the boys, Nick and her own body. Other than some minor scrapes and bruises on her hands, they were all fine.
“The ambulance is a precaution,” Nick added softly, obviously trying not to alarm her.
Kelly eased away from the babies, who were now more interested in exploring the antique-glass cabinet knobs, and she took Nick’s sleeve.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. And her imagination leaped to the worst possible conclusion. “Eric and Paula aren’t really dead and they got away.”
“No. They’re both really dead.” He shook his head, groaned and rubbed his hand over his face. “But I nearly got you killed—again.”
Oh. So, that’s what his dour look was about. Kelly was actually relieved. What they’d been through was horrible, and witnessing two violent deaths hadn’t been easy. But considering what could have happened, they were lucky.
Kelly moved closer to Nick and because they both needed it she kissed him. He didn’t exactly return the kiss, though. Instead he pulled her into his arms and gave her a very hard hug.
“There’s no reason to feel guilty,” Kelly whispered.
Nick didn’t answer. And that’s when she knew she had to do something—even if they weren’t alone in the room.
“I’m not giving you an out this time,” she said, putting her mouth right against his ear. “It was never just sex to me.”
He pulled back and met her gaze. “It wasn’t for me, either.”
Kelly’s smile returned. That was far more than she could have hoped for. “Good. Maybe we can build on what we’ve already started.”
“No.”
Kelly shook her head, certain that she’d misunderstood him. “No?”
“No maybes. I’m going straight for the bottom line here. Will you marry me?”
She thought she might faint again. The blood rushed to her head. Her throat tightened. She couldn’t speak.
William draped a pot holder over her head, giggled and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Not to be outdone, Joseph kissed her, too.
Kelly was still sitting there, dumbfounded and with a potholder on her head, when the housekeeper came rushing in. “Here it is, sir. I took it from the vault.” She handed Nick a small velvet pouch.
Nick glanced inside, thanked the woman and then promptly gathered Joseph and William into the crooks of each of his arms. “Will you marry me?” Nick repeated. “We can raise our children together.”
Kelly had every intention of saying yes, but Nick apparently wasn’t finished. He had William and Joseph each catch one side of the string on the pouch, and he prompted them to hand it to her.
She took it and extracted the ring. It was a simply set yellow diamond. And perfect. It was exactly the kind of ring she would have chosen.
“It belonged to my grandmother,” Nick explained. “Now say yes.”
Because she wanted this moment to be perfect, she raked the potholder from her head, moved closer so she could gather Nick and her sons into her arms.
“Say yes,” someone shouted.
It took her a moment to realize it was Zeke. And his voice was coming from over the intercom.
“How many people heard this proposal?” Nick asked.
“Everybody in the house,” was Zeke’s response.
Kelly winced. So much for making this a perfect moment. But even with Nick’s very public proposal, it was still perfect.
Nick nodded. “Good. I’m glad everyone heard. If she says yes, it’ll save us from having to make an announcement.”
All eyes turned toward her. Nick. Greta. And even the boys, who seemed to sense that something huge and wonderful was about to happen.
Kelly kissed William and Joseph on their cheeks and saved an adult kiss for Nick. Considering they were in an embrace with two active squirming boys, the kiss was still hot and memorable.
Just like her husband-to-be.
“Yes,” Kelly answered. “I’ll marry you. And, yes, we’ll raise our sons together.”
And she’d never been more certain of anything in her life.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-0448-9
STORK ALERT
Copyright © 2007 by Delores Fossen
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