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“How do you feel about me asking Hanna to be in our lives permanently?” I asked, my body bracing for her response.
“Do you mean, like, live with us?”
“I want to ask her to marry me. I don’t want to leave anything to chance. We should tell her how we feel and give her the chance to move forward with us, together.”
“Would Hanna be my mom?”
“That’s up to her. You have a biological mother, and Hanna would be your stepmother if we got married.”
“Could I call her S’mama?”
I chuckled at her play on stepmom and mom. “You can talk to her about what she’d prefer. But I haven’t asked her yet. What if she says no?”
“She won’t,” Ember said with the confidence of a seven-year-old.
“How can you be so sure?” I asked, my nerves getting the best of me. It was a nice idea, but was it the right move at this stage of our relationship? I wasn’t even sure we had a relationship to preserve. I might have messed everything up last night.
On the other hand, I couldn’t imagine Hanna not being in our lives. The thought sent a wave of pain through my body.
“I just know,” Ember said simply as she looked out the window.
Do kids have some sixth sense about these things? Or was I being foolish? I called Knox over Bluetooth, and his voice came over the speakers. “Hey.”
“You have some time to help us prepare for this date tomorrow?”
“Of course. You’ll be a miserable bastard if you don’t fix things with her.”
“I’m on speakerphone,” I reminded him.
“Sh—Sorry.”
I chuckled at his not-so-quick save. “Can you meet us in town?”
“Annapolis?”
I met Ember’s amused gaze in the mirror. “That’s the town we live near.”
“What for?” Confusion was evident in his tone.
“I need a ring.” My voice rang with confidence I didn’t feel.
Knox let out a breath. “Are you serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious about anything.”
“You think she’ll forgive you?” His tone was dubious.
I thought back to how she looked at me when I explained what had happened since last night. I’d uncharacteristically acted quickly on removing Brandy from my home and the farm. Talking to an attorney and drawing up papers was a serious move. But I couldn’t figure out how she felt about it. Was it too late, or had she been soothed by my actions? “I don’t know. This just feels like the right thing to do.”
“You have to follow your intuition.”
I instinctively knew that Brandy staying in the cabin wasn’t right. Everything that followed from there was a natural occurrence. Every move I made felt right, and I wasn’t about to stop now. “I feel good about this.”
I felt rather than saw Knox nod at my response. “I’ll meet you there. You need someone to watch Ember?”
“She’s going to help.” I wasn’t sure how much help she would be, but I wanted her to be involved in every step. I wouldn’t keep her in the dark about my relationship with Hanna. I wanted her to feel part of this family we were building.
Ember beamed in the back seat.
