Page 106 of Daybreak

On the day of their wedding, he was going to be the man who put it on her finger. “These are perfect, and I need a wedding band for myself.”

A short while later, he left the store with his purchases, stopped at one kiosk on his way out of the mall and bought flowers, then at another kiosk to buy a dozen macarons, and headed home.

* * *

Holly came home to see flowers on the dining table and three flavors of macarons beneath the glass dome of Gunner’s cake stand. The table was set, and she could smell something savory in the warming oven.

Gunner was standing beside the island, smiling. She dumped her briefcase and purse and threw her arms around his neck.

“Honey! This is so beautiful! What’s going on?” she asked.

“You’ve been taking such good care of me, I wanted to do something special for you,” he said, then cupped her face.

She shivered. The way he looked at her said it all, and then he kissed her and took the ring out of his shirt pocket. At that point, she lost focus of everything around her but this man and the sound of his voice.

“I love you, Holly Dillon…with every breath in my body. I asked you before without rings. I’m asking you again with my heart in your hands. Will you marry me?”

“Yes, a thousand times, yes,” she said, then watched him slip the ring on her finger. The overhead lights caught in the facets, sparkling like starlight on her hand. “It’s beautiful, Gunner, and it’s a perfect fit.” She kissed him again and then threw back her head and laughed from the sheer joy of it.

He was grinning. “Not bad for the last standing rooster at the cockfight?”

She rolled her eyes. “You are never going to let me forget that, are you?”

“Honey… In the middle of a very painful, serious event, you made me laugh. It was the best moment of that day, so hell no, I’m not going to forget it,” he said.

A timer went off behind them.

“Dinner is about to be served,” he said.

“What are we having?” she asked.

“Chicken.”

“Hopefully not that raggedy rooster,” she said.

Gunner was still laughing as he went to get the casserole out of the oven.

“I’m taking it out. You don’t want to add a burn to your arm, too,” she said.

“Oops, good call,” he said. “It’s actually chicken pot pie from the Whole Foods deli, but they’re good. I’ll get the salad. It came out of a bag from the same place, and your favorite macarons for dessert.”

They worked together as if they’d been doing it for years and then sat down together. Holly looked at the ring on her finger again and thought of the years to come, and then Gunner bowed his head.

“I am a blessed man. Amen, thank you Lord, and pass the pepper.”

She giggled, pushed the shaker within reach, and took her first bite. “Ummm, Chef Kingston, you outdid yourself. This is so good.”

* * *

It was the wee hours of the morning when Holly woke to a whisper in her ear.

“I can’t sleep. I need you. Let me love you.”

So, she did.

Chapter 20

Within three weeks, a local well driller out of Amarillo had drilled the water well for their home, and a pump installer had set the pump and provided the well house to cover it. A contractor and his crew were waiting to break ground the next week.