“Zo—”
“Not finished.” She continued to scribble in her notebook. “But just because we don’t need to catch this moose doesn’t mean we aren’t one hundred percent capable of doing so. This is for us, not you. So hush. I’m sure you have all these witty things to say, but I’m working.”
Everyone suddenly grew very quiet, startled and staring behind Zoey.
“Here’s what we’re going to do.” Zoey held up the game plan she’d drawn. “Lana, we’re going to need some spaghetti. No, hear me out on this.”
Lana’s breath caught, not hearing a word her friend was saying.
“Hey, Zo?” Graham said gently. “I know you’re busy, but I can’t wait anymore, darlin’.”
Zoey turned around and saw what the rest of them were seeing. Graham had knelt on one knee in the snow, a ring box in his hand.
“I wanted to ask you on Christmas Eve,” Graham told her. “Jake has a special outfit. It was supposed to be a thing. But I can’t…”
He cleared his throat, and for the first time since they’d met as children, Lana saw Graham at a loss for words.
“Zo, you’re just…and I can’t…”
The poor man was completely overcome. Lana reached for Rick’s hand, unconscious of the action until his fingers tightened around hers.
“Need some help there, buddy?” Easton asked kindly.
Graham shook his head. “I can do this,” he said. “I want to do this.”
He wanted to, but it was clear he was fighting back tears. Graham was not the kind of person to let people see him cry, and keeping those tears away was causing his shoulders to shake with the effort of containing his emotions.
Zoey knelt in front of him, taking Graham’s hands in hers. “Graham Barnett. You have made me so happy from the moment I walked into the Tourist Trap,” she told him with a watery smile.
“That was my line,” Graham told her, voice cracking despite his curving lips.
“And every day since has only been better.”
“My line too.”
“I love you, and I can’t imagine spending a day without you at my side. You and me and Jake. Our family.”
“You’re really good at this,” Graham said in a low, rough voice.
“So if you’re going to ask me, it’s okay. You already know what I’m going to say.” Zoey pressed a kiss to his rough knuckles. “Also, it’s really cold down here.”
“Dammit,” he groaned. “I love you.”
Wrapping her up in his arms, Graham whispered something into her ear, something Lana couldn’t hear. Immediate tears filled Zoey’s eyes, but she was smiling too as she nodded. Another whisper, more words that were for them and them alone. This time, Zoey was bawling as she choked out a yes.
Then Graham put the ring box in her hand. Zoey gasped as she opened it and saw what was inside. A sparkling diamond set in a hand-carved cedar band, decorated with delicate images of the forest and mountains of Moose Springs.
“Did you carve this?” Zoey asked, eyes huge.
Graham nodded, wiping at her tears and keeping her tucked close. “Do you like it?”
“This is perfect.”
The couple finally seemed to realize they had witnesses to their engagement, and they turned. Lana had managed to keep herself contained until the moment Zoey looked at her, holding up the ring box.
“Lana, we’re engaged!” Zoey said, as if she couldn’t believe it herself. With a squeal of delight, Lana closed the distance between them and flung her arms around Zoey.
The others gathered in to congratulate the couple.
“You can put it on,” Graham said into Zoey’s ear. “I did make it for you.”
“I’m afraid I’ll drop it. What if it falls off my finger? What if I ruin our happily ever after? I have really slim fingers. No, it’s staying in the box.”
“What if you lose the box?” Graham countered.
At her worried look, Graham took the box from her hands and carefully slid the engagement ring onto Zoey’s finger.
“It won’t slip off.” He glanced over at Lana. “L helped me size it right.”
“You knew?”
“Dearest, everyone knew the night he met you.” Lana was feeling a bit misty-eyed herself. “I told him your ring size the day you decided to stay in Moose Springs.”
Lana turned to Graham, and to her pleasure, he squeezed her in a hug so tight, he lifted her off her feet. Setting her down, Graham kept an arm around Lana’s shoulders.
“Thank you for bringing her up here,” Graham told her. “I met the love of my life because of you.”
“Zoey brought herself here,” Lana assured him. “She would have found this place eventually. I was lucky enough to be here when she did.”
“Yeah, me too.” He squeezed her shoulders. “How are you? You took a dip in an ice bucket yesterday.”
“I’m fine. Not even a sniffle. Rick’s been taking good care of me.”
Graham followed her line of sight to where Rick was standing with Easton.
“He’s a good guy. Being around you has made him a lot happier than I’ve seen him in years. Let me know if he causes you any trouble. I’m happy to play protective big brother anytime you want.”
They shared a grin.
“Thank you, but I can’t imagine him doing a thing wrong,” Lana told him. “Actually, since I have your ear, I was wondering if I could talk to you. Not now, obviously.”
Sighing dramatically, he leaned into her. “You’re going to make me do actual mayor things, aren’t you? On my engagement day. You’re so mean to me. They haven’t even sworn me in yet.”
“Oh, no one will care if a few formalities are skipped. I only want a little meeting to talk about some things we can both do for Moose Springs. I’m thinking Jonah desperately needs a day off and some help.”
Chuckling, he pressed a swift kiss to her temple. “All right, darlin’. Only because I love you.”
He ambled away to rejoin his friends, steal a kiss from his fiancée, and wrap Zoey up in his arms. Knowing those two, they wouldn’t be letting go of each other anytime soon. Standing off to the side, Lana watched them celebrate. Four friends…five now that Zoey was officially one of them.
Rick came up to her, his Santa beard now tucked into his coat pocket.