Mountain Charm (27 page)

“Did you know that’s mine?”

“The land?”

Angelina nodded. “It was a gift from my parents before dad passed away. He said I might want my own place someday.”

“It would be a pretty spot for a house.”

“I think so, too.”

“And it’d be close to your mom.”

Angelina grinned. He knew how important that would be to her.

She twisted around in his arms.

“Dylan, will you build me a house?”

“I’ll build you anything you want.”

“Will you cook something besides spaghetti in our pretty kitchen?”

“I’ll take a gourmet cooking class if it will make you happy.”

“Will you marry me?”

“I’ll . . .” he blinked rapidly. “Wait . . . what did you say?”

Angelina gently traced his bottom lip with her finger.

“Will you marry me?”

He inhaled sharply.

“Are you proposing to me?”

Angelina nodded. “I was reminded today that life is too short. People say it all the time, but I don’t think they realize how true it is. Cancer is scary.
Life
is scary. I could die tomorrow. So if I can be happy
today
, why wouldn’t I choose to be? I’ve spent so much time worrying about everything. My dad. My mom. The shop. The spell. Mom once told me that I’ve fought so hard against what I’m destined to be that I’ve forgotten who I am, and she’s right.”

Dylan stroked her cheek. “So, who are you?”

Smiling, Angelina playfully pushed him back against the blanket. She crawled over him, and his hands settled against her hips as they stared into each other’s eyes.

“I’m a mountain witch, and when I was thirteen years old, I cast a spell and wished for you.”

Dylan grinned. “And now I’m here.”

“And now you’re here.”

“What are you going to do with me?”

Angelina teased his mouth with hers. “I’m going to marry you—right here at this pond. And we’re going to build a house and have a beautiful, blue-eyed daughter.”

“Just one?”

“Mom’s only seen one so far.”

Dylan smiled and rolled them over so that he could gaze down into her sweet eyes.

“This wasn’t a very traditional proposal, Angelina.”

“Nothing about us has been traditional.”

“I know, but this should be the one thing we do like normal people. I should be on my knee. Or at least have a ring.”

“Do you want me to take it back?”

Dylan frowned. “You can’t just take back a proposal. You don’t ask someone to build you a house and be your husband and then just take it back.”

“You forgot the gourmet cooking class.”

Her giggle was silenced with his passionate kiss, and when he finally lifted his eyes to hers once again, they were both breathless.

“Will you marry me, right here at this pond?” Dylan murmured.

It wasn’t the fairy tale proposal she’d envisioned as a little girl.

It was better.

“Yes,” she replied softly.

The next day, Dylan was sitting behind his desk at the office, finishing up his article on this weekend’s harvest festival in the Smokies. The other columnists couldn’t help but notice that he was in an unusually good mood, and it didn’t even cross his mind to keep the news a secret. He’d said
I’m getting married
more times than he could count, and he loved the way the three little words just rolled off his tongue.

They’d rolled off his tongue many times since last night.

Naturally, Celia was the first to know, and while she promised that she hadn’t predicted the exact timing, she’d had a “feeling” it would be her daughter doing the proposing. Dylan still wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but in the grand scheme of things, he knew it didn’t truly matter.

All that mattered was Angelina had said yes.

The first calls had been to his mom and Maddie. Both had been ecstatic, and Maddie’s high-pitched scream still resonated in his ears.

There was only one person left to tell, and while Dylan wasn’t sure it was necessary, Angelina seemed to think otherwise.

So far, Dylan’s interaction with his father had been limited. He hadn’t even stepped inside the boss’s office since the day he’d accepted the job. Charles didn’t usually deal with the writers—he left that to the lead editors in each department—so there had been no risk of accidentally bumping into each other at the copy machine.

I’ll just tell him I’m getting married and then walk out
, Dylan told himself as he rode the elevator to the sixth floor. The doors opened, and he nodded to the receptionist who told him he could go right in. He knocked anyway, and he waited to hear his dad’s voice before heading inside.

“Well, this is a surprise,” Charles said, folding the latest edition of the paper and placing it on his desk. “To what do I owe the honor?”

Dylan closed the door, and his dad offered him a seat.

“I don’t know why I’m telling you this—or if you even care to know—but I’m getting married.”

Charles’s face flashed with surprise.

“Mom and Angelina both thought you should know, so I’m telling you. We haven’t set a date, but it will be as soon as possible.” Dylan took a deep breath. “I’m not here for fatherly advice, so don’t strain yourself by trying to come up with something. They just thought you should know your only son is getting married.”

“And what about you? Don’t you think I should know?”

“I don’t think you care one way or another.”

Charles sighed. “You’d be wrong about that, and I wouldn’t insult you by offering any fatherly advice. I doubt there’s a thing I can teach you about being a good husband.”

Dylan didn’t know what to say to that, and anything he did say would probably sound like an insult, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

“Congratulations, son.”

“Thank you.”

“I assume you’ll be living in Maple Ridge?”

Dylan nodded. “We’re going to build a house close to her mom’s.”

“I know some local contractors. I could give you some names.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I’d like to,” Charles said. “What good is having a dad with connections if you don’t use them from time to time?”

Dylan honestly didn’t have a clue about hiring a reputable contractor, so he agreed to let his father give him some recommendations.

“I’m assuming you’re getting married before the house is finished?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty impatient.” Dylan grinned, and his dad smiled in return. “We’ll live with her mom until it’s ready. I practically live there anyway.”

“Sounds like you have everything under control.”

Dylan frowned. “Yeah, I just need to find a jewelry store.”

“You need a ring?” Charles asked. “I have a friend who owns a jewelry store downtown. We could go take a look if you like.”

“You have a lot of friends.”

Charles laughed. “That tends to happen when you’re the owner of a metro newspaper. Spencer’s Jewelry is a good choice. It’s a family-owned store that’s been in business for over fifty years. The manager’s name is Kirk. He’ll take good care of you.”

“I appreciate that.”

Charles jotted down the address and handed it to his son.

“Damn, your handwriting is as bad as mine.”

His dad laughed. “Don’t worry. I think our penmanship is the only thing we have in common. Well, that and our brown eyes.”

With a sigh, Dylan glanced down at his watch. This could be the biggest mistake of his life, but he was happy today, so he decided to give it a shot.

“It’s nearly lunch time,” Dylan said. “Would you . . . want to grab something to eat? And then maybe we could hit that jewelry store. I’ve never picked out a ring before, and since you know the guy . . .”

Charles couldn’t hide his smile.

“Yeah, that sounds good. Just let me make a call?”

Dylan nodded and tried to control his bouncing leg.

“Krista,” his dad said into the phone, “would you please clear my schedule for the afternoon? I’m taking my son to lunch.”

“Well, you’re right. This burger’s delicious.”

Charles squirted ketchup onto his plate. “I told you this place is great. It’s one of the few family-operated restaurants left on this block. Been around for decades.”

“You seem to be very into family businesses.”

“I’m into helping the local economy and small-business owners. The economy is horrible and families are struggling. I like to help if I can.”

“Yeah, taking care of family is important.”

An awkward silence filled the air as the men continued to eat.

“So, tell me about this fiancée of yours.”

Dylan smiled.
Fiancée.

“She must really be something if that grin on your face is any indication,” Charles said, chuckling.

“She’s amazing, yeah.”

As they ate, Dylan talked about the news story that brought him to Maple Ridge. Charles nearly fell out of his chair laughing when Dylan told his father about Angelina and her dad’s shotgun.

“You were doing a story on Appalachian witchcraft?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but I didn’t finish it.”

“So this was the article that caused you to lose your job in Nashville.”

Dylan stopped chewing and placed what was left of his burger on his plate.

“It was the story that caused me to
leave
my job, yes.”

“May I ask why?”

Dylan decided to play it safe. “Because there was no concrete evidence besides what was already published in books down at the local library.”

“And because you fell in love with the girl you were investigating.”

“That, too.”

Charles smirked, and Dylan decided it was time to change the subject before his reporter-dad started asking questions.

 “So, what do you know about engagement rings?”

“Not much. Your mom’s ring was just a simple gold band. It was all I could afford at the time. My other wives picked their own rings.”

“That doesn’t sound very romantic.”

“I’m divorced, remember? Being romantic obviously isn’t my strong suit.”

Dylan grinned. “Do you think you’ll ever marry again?”

“You never know. I’m still a relatively young man. I’m in good health. I did have a cancer scare last year, but it turned out to be a false alarm.”

Dylan then told his dad about Celia and her cancer treatments.

“Angelina’s been through a lot for such a young girl,” Charles said. “Her dad’s death. Her mom’s cancer.”

“Yeah, it’s been hard on her, but she’s strong. Really strong.”

“I’d like to meet her someday.”

“She’ll probably insist on inviting you to the wedding. I don’t want you to feel obligated to come, but—”

“I’d be honored to be there, son.”

Son.
Would he ever get used to hearing that?

Dylan quickly cleared his throat. “There won’t be a wedding at all if I don’t pick out a ring.”

Charles laughed and tossed his napkin onto his plate.

“True enough. Let’s go find your girl a ring.”

Dylan wasn’t naturally an anxious person, but as he walked toward the pond, he couldn’t ignore the trembling of his hands or the pounding of his heart.

It’s not like she’s going to say no. She proposed to
you
, remember?

Angelina was sitting on the blanket with a sweater wrapped around her shoulders. The sun was beginning to dip below the mountains, and the light reflected on the water.