Because of the fan’s drone she didn’t hear her doorbell. When she finally realized someone was at her door, she got to her feet and hurried across the room. She threw open the door and on the other side of the screen was the largest bouquet of flowers she’d laid eyes on. While she couldn’t see the man behind it, she could easily identify him by his boots.

Glen.

He waited a moment, then peeked behind the flowers and beamed her a smile. That slow sexy smile of his, capable of melting the hardest hearts, the strongest wills.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he said, his smile growing wider. “Aren’t you going to let me in?”

Wordlessly she unlatched the screen door and opened it for him.

He carried in the flowers and set them in the middle of her coffee table. They towered over it, filling the room with a profusion of glorious scents. Then he kissed her cheek and said, “I’ll be right back.”

When he returned, his arms were laden with gifts. She noted the chocolates, the basket of exotic fruit, the bottle of champagne. He set everything down next to the flowers and added three wrapped gifts.

“What’s all this?” she asked, glancing at the table and then at him.

“Bribes,” he said, looking very pleased with himself.

“For what?”

“I’ll get to that in a moment.” Taking her by the shoulders, he guided her back to the sofa. “Sit,” he instructed.

She complied before she realized she should have made at least a token protest about being ordered around, but curiosity won her over.

“Here,” he said, handing her the smallest of the wrapped gifts. “Open this one first.”

Christmas didn’t yield this many presents. “Don’t think you can buy my love, Mr. Patterson.”

“I don’t need to, Ms. Frasier,” he said confidently. “You already admitted you love me.”

For the fleetest of seconds Ellie wanted to argue, tell him she’d been emotionally distraught at the time, but it was the truth—she did love him.

Inside the package she found a pen. An attractive looking ballpoint pen. Puzzled, she raised questioning eyes to him.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“It’s very nice,” she said, puzzled but nevertheless excited. Before she had time to say anything more, he thrust another package at her. “This one is next.” He knelt on the floor beside the sofa while she unwrapped a shoe-size box.

“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?” she asked. She tore away the paper and stared in utter amazement at the mismatched items inside.

The first thing she pulled out was a Cal Ripken baseball card. Next she removed a shoelace, followed by rose-scented bath salts from Dovie’s store, and, last, an ordinary key. Ellie examined each thing again, wondering what she was missing. As far as she could tell, the items weren’t linked in any way.

“Is there a reason you’re giving me one shoelace?”

He grinned. “It’s blue.”

She would have described it as a dark navy, closer to black—but that was beside the point. “The key?” she asked, holding that up next.

“That’s to Bob Little’s vacation home on the gulf.”

“Why do you have it?”

“I borrowed it,” he replied, as though that answered the question.

“I see.” But she didn’t. Changing tactics, she reached for the pen. “What about this?”

He gazed into her eyes. “The pen is for something special. I was hoping we’d use it to write our names in that old family Bible of yours. Maybe Wade should do it for us after the wedding ceremony, but then—” He stopped abruptly and leaned back on his heels. “I’m doing this all wrong again, aren’t I?” Not giving her time to answer, he continued, “I spoke with Dovie earlier and she advised me how to go about this, but now I’ve forgotten almost everything.”

“You spoke to Dovie?”

He ignored her question. “Honest to goodness, Ellie, I don’t know what I said that was so terrible when I asked you to marry me before, but whatever it was I couldn’t be sorrier. I love you. I mean that.”

“I know.” She felt tears brimming in her eyes. She’d waited a long time for Glen to tell her how he felt.

“You do?” His relief was evident. “Dovie said I needed to tell you that, but I was sure you already knew. And I want it understood that my proposal doesn’t have anything to do with the bets Billy D’s taking over who you’re going to marry.”

“I’d forgotten about that.”

“I had, too, until Dovie reminded me. I love you, Ellie,” he said again.

“I know, but it doesn’t hurt to say the words every now and then. Or to hear them.”

“Dovie said the same thing.” He brightened at that, then clasped both her hands in his and got back on his knees. “Will you marry me, Ellie?” he asked solemnly.

When she didn’t immediately respond, he reached for the box she’d just opened. “I wanted to be kind of traditional about this,” he said. “The baseball card is something old. I’ve had it since I was in junior high. The scented bath salts is something new. The key’s something borrowed, since Bob said we could use his house on the gulf for our honeymoon. And the shoelace is something blue.”

“Oh, Glen.”

“I’m miserable without you. Nothing seems right.”

It hadn’t been right for her, either.

“I know Dovie said I shouldn’t mention this, but I want you to know that even though we’ve waited two months for the farrier’s appointment, I’d cancel it if you decided Tuesday was the day you wanted to get married. I’m that crazy about you.”

“You’re sure this isn’t because of Richard.”

“Yes,” he said firmly. “Very sure. Although I’m grateful to him, otherwise I don’t know how long it would’ve taken me to realize I love you.”

“Then I’m grateful to Richard, too.”

“We’ll buy an engagement ring together, anything you want. Only please don’t make me wait much longer.” His eyes filled with such hopeful expectation she couldn’t have denied him anything. “Ellie, you’re my friend, the best friend I’ve ever had. I want you to be my lover, too. My wife. The mother of my kids. I want us to grow old together.”

Rather than respond with words, Ellie wrapped her arms about his neck and lowered her mouth to his. She’d yearned for this from the moment he first kissed her. She understood now, with all her heart, what poets meant when they wrote about being completed by a lover, a spouse. She felt that. He completed her life.

Glen placed his arms around her waist and pulled her from the sofa so that she was kneeling on the floor with him. They kissed again and again, each kiss more fervent than the last.

“I hope,” he said, drawing back from her a fraction, “that this means yes.”

“Mmm. Kiss me.”

“I have every intention of kissing you for the rest of our lives.”

“That sounds nice.” And it did. She tightened her arms around his neck. “What’s in the other box?”

“It’s for the honeymoon,” he mumbled.

“You were sure of yourself, weren’t you?”

“No,” he countered, nibbling her neck. “I was a nervous wreck. We are getting married, aren’t we?”

“Oh, yes.” She sighed as his hands closed over her breasts. “Married,” she repeated, liking the sound of it.

“We’re going to have a good life together,” Glen whispered. He kissed her. “I promise.” Another small kiss. “I’m crazy about you, Ellie.”

Ellie grinned. “You already said that. But for the record, I’m crazy about you, too.”

She pressed her lips to his.

Eleven

Time was running out and Richard knew it. He had to leave Promise and soon. It wouldn’t take Grady more than a few days to discover there was no money. The check Richard had given him was written on a closed account; it was going to bounce like a rubber ball, and when Grady found out... Nor would he be able to hold off paying his creditors much longer. All he needed was a week or so to get everything ready. No one would think to look for him in that old ghost town. He’d just quietly disappear.