Page 120 of Escape

“I thought I was going to lose you today,” he said. “I thought I was going to be too late.”

“You weren’t, though. You got there on time,” I reminded him.

Huck’s chin tipped down slightly. “Maybe. But he was still able to get his hands on you.”

“I’m here, Huck. I’m okay. You made it that way.”

“I’m going to marry you, Josie.”

My body jerked back at the unexpected words, even though my hands remained firmly held in Huck’s hands.

Noting my shock and inability to speak, Huck said, “I’m sorry if telling you that isn’t romantic, but I need you to know. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, but I thought I’d give you time to heal, to get back on your feet, and to just be you. After today, I can’t. I want to be married to you, honey, and I don’t think I’m going to be able to wait years to make that happen.”

Huck Davidson wanted to marry me.

I could have cried.

As much as I appreciated his noble intentions and willingness to give me the time to figure out my life, I didn’t need it.

I pulled my hands from his, brought them up to frame his face, and said, “I can’t think of anything I’d love more than to know I get to spend the rest of my life with you, to know you’ll be there with me through all the things I want to accomplish in my life. It feels right, Huck. It feels like it’s the way it was always meant to be. And honestly, this is just hitting me now, but I kind of like the idea of accomplishing these next big things in my life with a last name that belongs to a man who truly loves me instead of to one who could take his hands to me. So, I like your idea, and I’m ready whenever you are.”

He glanced outside, returned his attention to me, and said, “I think the courthouse is already closed today.”

I grinned at him and shrugged. “They’ll be open again on Monday morning.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded furiously, the smile plastered on my face. “Yeah.”

Huck held my stare for a few more seconds before he kissed me. Then he said, “Tomorrow, I’m taking you shopping for a ring.”

My heart exploded in my chest. “And what are we going to do tonight?”

He shot me a knowing look, his lips twitching. “We’re going home to celebrate.”

Home.

There was that word again.

Maybe he’d been referring to the physical place. But once he’d just said it to me, I realized it wasn’t about that at all.

For me, home was wherever Huck was.

Because he was the only one who’d ever shown me how it was supposed to feel inside a real home. It was warm, safe, and loving.

And that was precisely what I’d needed my entire life.

So, I leaned close and kissed his mouth before I whispered against his lips, “Take me home, Huck.”

He didn’t hesitate to oblige.

EPILOGUE

Huck

Three Years Later

When I stood in one of the self-defense training rooms just over three years ago and had one of my coworkers tell me that my trip to a local diner might result in me meeting the woman of my dreams, I all but laughed in his face.