set the bag on the floor. “I’ll get to that. First, is Chloe okay?”
For a split second, she thought something had happened out in the chicken coop, then realized he was just asking in generalities. Her voice cooled. “Yes. She’s fine. But of course you know that.”
“Roxy filled me in on what happened. I’m sorry I left the way I did.” He toed the bag, but his eyes didn’t leave hers.
If he thought she was going to make this easy for him, he was wrong. Yes, she’d been ready to go back to Seattle and demand an explanation, but some of her resolve was wavering now that they were face-to-face. Still, she had to see this through, so she took a deep breath and let him have it.
“You hurt me, Kaleb. You hurt Chloe. We needed you, and you walked away.”
He nodded. “I know. And I have no excuse, other than to say it’s the first time since Grace’s death that I’ve had to face the possibility of losing someone else I’d come to care about.”
“So you thought it was better to turn your back on us instead?”
“Yes. It was stupid and cowardly, but I was also afraid that my past might poison anything we could have together. As a family.”
“A family?” Her heart skipped a beat. “I don’t understand.”
“Every time Chloe feels an ache or has a simple headache, I can’t guarantee I won’t leap to the worst possible conclusion. The thought of forcing you both to live in fear—to witness what I become during those times...” He stopped, a muscle working in his jaw. “I thought it might be in everyone’s best interest if I just left you in peace. But the reality is, I couldn’t bring myself to stay away. And when I went to find you a few days later, they told me you’d left.”
“You didn’t try to call.”
“No. I told myself I had my answer. I should just let you go. It was better for everyone.” He took a step forward. “But I’m not so sure that’s the truth. Because it’s not better for me. And I’m hoping it’s not better for you.”
She swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“Would it change things if I told you I love you? That I love Chloe?”
She wanted nothing more than to fling herself into his arms, but she couldn’t live with someone who burned hot one minute and cold the next. She’d been there, and it pretty much sucked. “And the next time Chloe has a migraine? Or a stomachache? Will you leave again?”
He reached out and took her hand. “I’m not going to lie, Maddy. It’ll scare the hell out of me. And I’ll want to run. Every single time. You’ll have to help me not to.”
“How will I do that?”
A tiny thread of hope began unwinding in her heart, just like the string on their kite at the festival. He loved her. He’d admitted it. Wasn’t that enough?
He reached into the bag at his feet and pulled out two small jewelers’ boxes. They were identical in every way. He held one out to her. “Open it.”
Heart pounding, she took the box from him. Clicking up the lid, she found a heart-shaped ring nestled in a bed of gray velvet. “I don’t understand.”
He took the box from her and unearthed the ring. “It’s a promise ring. A promise that I’ll stay, no matter how scared I am. No matter how tough the road ahead might seem. A promise that I’ll be there for you. And for Chloe. The second box has a ring just like this one. For her. Roxy gave me your sizes.”
“But how...?”
“She called your mom, who measured your fingers while you slept.”
Maddy glanced at the door. “She knew you were coming. That’s why...”
All that talk about unpacking suitcases had been just that. Talk. Her mom and her sister had known what she wanted before she did.
She loved this man.
But could she trust him? Could she believe he would be there for her and Chloe, no matter how hard it got? She took the ring from his hand and toyed with it. She caught a glint of something inside the band. She turned the ring to the light to make it out.
My heart. My love. My life. No matter what.
Her eyes prickled, moisture coming to them and then spilling over.
Kaleb touched the second box. “Chloe’s ring says the same thing. But I wanted to talk to you alone before she saw it.”
“Roxy was in on this?”
He nodded. “I tracked her down when I couldn’t find you. For a week, she refused to return my calls, and when she finally did, I had to convince her that everything I just told you was the truth.” He smiled. “She put me through the wringer.”
Maddy could well imagine. Was that why Roxy had told her he was a groveler? “What did she make you do?”
“You’ll see in just a minute.” His fingers reached out for hers again, twining their hands together. “I asked Roxy to call your mom and have her take Chloe outside, in case you told me to get the hell out of here.”
He lifted her hand and kissed it. “I’m hoping you’ll ask me to stay instead.”
Maddy scrubbed her palm over her face before closing her fingers around the ring. “I’m not going to ask you to do that. I want you to go.”
When he flinched, she hurried to cup his face in her hands. “You misunderstood. I want you to go, because I want to go with you.” She closed her eyes, love and relief pouring through her. “I want to go home to Seattle.”
He didn’t move for a long second, and then he was crushing her to him, kissing her, murmuring words she didn’t understand with her ears, but felt with her heart.
When he finally let her come up for air, he took her right hand and slid the ring over her finger. “So is this a yes?”
“It is. Roxy promised me you were a good groveler, but that you were just a little rusty. She was right.”
He smiled. “Ah, so that’s what she meant. She told me when the time was right I would understand.” He reached back into the bag and pulled out an old-fashioned oil can. “She told me I should take this can and apply the contents liberally.”
“I bet she did.”
Kaleb tunneled his fingers through her hair. “She was right. I’m a great groveler, and I plan to grovel for the rest of my life, if you’ll let me. I love you, Maddy.”
“I love you too. But maybe we’ll keep the oil can around, just in case.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hugged him close. “Take us home.”
“I need to tell you something that might make you change your mind.” The words were hesitant enough that they made her lean back to look at his face. “I had genetic counseling after Grace’s death and it confirmed I carry the gene for
