Page 179 of You Found Me
Mattie folded Della into her arms. “We’ll stop by tomorrow. I have wedding plans and bridesmaids’ dresses to go over with all of you, and it’s super handy we’re all in one place.”
Adam gave Ward a friendly slap on the shoulder. “You saved Della, which means you saved all of us. That means we get to bombard you with attention. Don’t worry. We’ll give you at least twenty-four hours all to yourself.”
“Gee, that long?”
Adam’s grin was malicious. “If you’re lucky.”
Mattie pulled him away with a well-practiced “Ignore him.”
Della elbowed him in the ribs. “Smile, Warden. They love us and we love them.”
“Right.” Ward had never been hugged so often in such a short amount of time by so many different people. If it didn’t stop soon, his leg was going to give out.
Finally, it was down to Elyse and his little sister.
“I left the casserole in the fridge,” Elyse said. “There’s heating instructions on the foil.”
“Thanks.” Ward supposed he could spare one more hug. He gave his stepmother a long one. “Love you.”
“I know, sweetie. I love you too. We all do.” Elyse sniffed. “We’ll check in on you tomorrow.”
“Lucy, will you still run lines with me?” Samantha sounded tentative but hopeful. “I mean, now that you’re Della again?”
Della threw her arms around the teenager. “Oh, sweetie, I’ll always be Lucy for you. Of course we’re running through those lines. I can’t wait to see you in that holiday play.”
It took a lot longer than Ward thought it should, but finally it was just the two of them in the house.
The woods around them swarmed with security, but he could ignore them.
Della tucked her hands around his arm, an unconscious gesture of possession he was really starting to like. “So now that you have me alone, what are you going to do with me?”
He led her away from the door. “First, we’re going to help each other up the stairs.”
“That could take a while,” she commented as she eyed his sore leg. “You’re limping.”
“So are you.” He grasped the rail with his free hand. The first step hurt like hell. “But it’s this or sleep on the couch.”
“Come on, Warden.” Della put his arm around her shoulders and gripped his hand tight. “Lean on me.”
They made their way slowly upstairs, then down the hallway toward the master bedroom.
There were at least a dozen sunflower-filled vases scattered throughout the room, and two big sunflowers rested on the pillows. He wondered who’d added that little touch.
Della picked one up and twirled it through her fingers as she eyed him. “What do we do now?”
“I was thinking of doing this.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, slow and soft. Her arms went around his neck, and she melted into him.
“That sounds…promising,” Della murmured. “Then what?”
Ward glanced at the bed. “Then what I’d really,reallylike us to do…is take a nap.”
“That,” Della breathed, “sounds amazing. Let’s do that.”
They climbed into bed and he pulled the blanket up over them with a satisfied sigh. Della rested her head on his chest. He tightened his arm around her. “I love you, Lucy.”
“I love you too, Warden.” She sighed. “It’s good to be home.”
Epilogue