Harvey Johnston sat on a bench in the big grassy area outside the station. Asher replied that he’d be out in a minute, so I wandered over to say hi.
He stood and tipped his hat to me. “Afternoon, Miss Grace.”
“Hi, Harvey. How are you today?”
“Okay. Except those damn squirrels stole my ax.”
I raised my eyebrows. The squirrels around here were routinely blamed for things going missing, but an ax? “Really? How big was it?”
He used his hands to indicate what seemed like a normal-sized ax. “’Bout like that.”
“That must have been pretty heavy. Do you think a squirrel could lift it?”
“Not a squirrel.” He raised a finger. “But they’re organized.”
“Why do you think they took it?”
He narrowed his eyes. “That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I hope you find it. Or that the squirrels return it.”
“They will if they know what’s good for ’em.”
“Hey, beautiful.”
I turned at Asher’s voice, a smile already on my face. “Hey.”
He slipped a hand around my waist and placed a light kiss on my lips. “I missed you today.”
“I missed you, too.”
“You better marry that girl, Bailey,” Harvey said.
Asher laughed. “You think so?”
Harvey nodded gravely and his eyes were surprisingly clear. “Yes.”
“Thanks, Harvey. I’ll keep that in mind.” He winked at me. “I need to grab something before we go. Come with me?”
“Okay, sure.” I turned to Harvey. “Bye, Harvey. I hope you find your ax.”
He tipped his hat to me again. “Bye. Ax, right. Gotta find it. Damn squirrels.”
Asher put his hand on the small of my back and led me toward the building. “What’s he talking about?”
“I don’t know. He said squirrels took his ax.”
“Huh. I’ll take Levi out to his place and we’ll make sure he can chop his firewood. Or just do it for him again. That might be the problem.”
One of the large garage bay doors rumbled open, and we stopped just before reaching the concrete driveway. The engine lights flashed.
“Uh-oh, they must have gotten a call. Do you have to go?”
“No.”
The engine pulled out of the station, but it didn’t seem to be in any hurry. It stopped, and I realized there was something strung up on the side of it. A banner. It read…
Oh my god.
I gasped, my mouth falling open. The banner on the side of the fire engine read Grace, will you marry me? in bright red letters.
“Asher—” I started to speak, but stopped short. He was down on one knee.
Taking my hand, he smiled up at me, and my heart nearly exploded. “Grace, you’re my best friend and the love of my life. You’re it for me. I want to spend the rest of our lives making you happy. Will you marry me?”
Trembling and nodding, with tears running down my cheeks, I gave him the only answer I ever could. “Yes.”
It took me a second to realize he was holding a box. Then slipping a ring on my finger. Everything was a blur of tears and giggles and kisses and I love yous. Arms thrown around his neck. My feet lifting off the ground.
He put me down and I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself. I looked down at my shaking hand, at the ring shining on my finger.
“Do you like it?” He tucked my hair behind my ear.
“I love it so much. I love you so much. Oh my god, we’re getting married.”
He smiled again, his dimples puckering in his cheeks. “We sure are. I love you, Grace.”
It was about then that I realized applause was coming from the garage bay. Chief Stanley and a bunch of the crew walked out, clapping, whooping, and hollering. Logan cupped his hands around his mouth to shout his congratulations and Levi smiled at us as he clapped.
But it wasn’t just the fire department. Gavin and Gram were there, and so were my mom and Elijah. A crowd of our friends and neighbors emerged, clapping and smiling. Someone had balloons and people started setting up tables on the grass. A couple of the firefighters hung a big Congratulations Asher and Grace banner on the side of the building. It looked like half the town was here.
“Oh my god. You did all this?”
“Yeah. Originally it was just going to be the banner, but you know how people are around here. It turned into a surprise engagement party pretty quickly.”
“I guess it’s a good thing I said yes.” I nudged him.
He slid his arms around me. “I never had any doubt.”
Neither did I. I think a part of me had always known I’d marry Asher Bailey. And I’d been right.
13
Grace
The bar was so crowded, we were lucky to have gotten a pool table. I chalked the end of my cue, as if that was going to help my game. At least I wasn’t playing against Asher. He sat off to the side with a beer in his hand and a little smile on his face, watching me. I’d been making sure to bend over in front of him as often as possible. Which wasn’t helping my game, but it was fun.
We had come out with a few guys from the fire station and their girlfriends to a bar near the college. It was packed tonight—a mix of locals and college students. Everyone in town knew this place had the best nachos, so it tended to fill up, especially on a Saturday night. The din of voices was so loud it drowned out the music playing in the background.
Tamara took a shot and missed. Fortunately for me, my opponents were about as good as I was—which wasn’t saying much. The guys had graciously insisted the girls play first, which really meant they wanted to do what Asher was doing—sit back and watch us bend over the table.
I took a drink of my beer, then set it down. Leaning over the table, I lined up a shot and took it. The ball rolled right into the corner pocket.
“Yes!” I pumped my fist into the air and tossed a look over my shoulder at Asher. “Did you see that?”
“I saw it. Nice one, beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
I glanced into the crowd near the bar and accidentally locked eyes with Josiah Haven. He was tall and thickly built, his beard and plaid flannel shirt giving him a lumberjack vibe. A common look around here.
Josiah’s gaze flicked from me to Asher. They didn’t exchange a glare, exactly—it was more like a mutual agreement to ignore each other. This bar was close enough to the college to be neutral territory. I didn’t really know Josiah, but I got the impression that he had no more interest in starting trouble than Asher did. His eyes flicked over me, then he walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Asher tipped his beer bottle to see how much was left, then gestured to mine. “Want another one?”
I wasn’t quite finished, but it was only my first. “Sure, I’ll take another.”
He got up and gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll be right back.”
The other guys—Matt, Randy, and Christian—left with Asher to get more drinks. The bar was packed; it would be a while before they got back.
Alex, Randy’s girlfriend, played her turn. Then Jess was up. I liked them, although I’d only hung out with them as a group of couples, never just the girls. Still, we had a nice time when we went out. I missed my friends from college, but I was gradually rebuilding my social life here.