34. Travis

travis

. . .

Two Months Later

C assidy and I have been in therapy for the past couple months. My biggest regret is not going sooner. For years, I held Cass on a pedestal, afraid that if I took the leap I would be rejected. I’ve spent most of my life in fear of loving someone and being loved in return. Cass and I have talked about it a lot when we began couple’s therapy. While there’s nothing wrong with our relationship, if anything it’s stronger than it’s ever been, we’re taking a proactive approach.

The floral shop grand reopening is tomorrow with a new name: Busy Bee Blooms. She’s decided to not return to her nursing position, but if she ever wanted to go back, I’d support it so long as it doesn’t negatively affect her mental health.

Cass insisted she needed to go to Linton to pick something up before the reopening, and a custom item I had made is ready. Finding the right jeweler has been a pain in the ass, Finding the right jeweler was a pain in the ass, but Caleb found a great one in Linton who made a piece for Ingrid a few years ago and gave me their information .

The original ring I bought for Cass wasn’t special; there are likely hundreds of women in the world who have the same one. With the help of the incredibly talented jeweler, Davis, we designed a custom setting and I was able to use a diamond from one of my grandmother’s earnings. There are trillion-cut garnets on each side of the diamond, set in white gold. According to Davis, garnets represent protection, love, and friendship. I can’t think of anything more fitting. He also added an inscription inside the band that reads: always yours. I know she’ll say yes, yet I’m still nervous as fuck to ask her to marry me.

Cass wouldn’t tell me where she needed to go, only that she needed to pick something up in Linton, asking that I drop her on the corner to not spoil the surprise. After I drop her off, I find a parking spot in front of the jewelry store. I walk in and Davis greets me immediately. “Travis! I wasn’t expecting you for a few days.”

“Me either.” I chuckle. “My girlfriend wanted to come up here to pick something up. Since you said it was ready, I figured I’d do the same.”

He glances at the front door, then back to me. “One minute, I’ll grab your ring.” He steps into the back room and returns with a dark blue velvet box. “Here we go.” As he opens it, a wide grin splits my face—it’s perfect. A moment later, the bell above the door chimes and he looks behind me at the sound. His eyes blow wide and he quickly shuts the box. “Ah, Cassidy, you’re early.”

Cassidy?

I turn to find my blonde bombshell strutting toward us with a small frown. “Travis? What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? What are you doing here?” I glance between her and Davis. “What are you supposed to pick up? ”

“Nothing,” Cass rushes out. “What are you supposed to pick up?”

“Nothing.”

“So, you don’t want to pick it up today?” Davis asks cautiously.

I take a deep breath. “No, I’ll pick it up now.”

Cassidy’s eyes narrow on me with a twinkle she can’t hide as she replies to Davis, “Same.”

I am not proposing to her in a jewelry store, but fuck when she looks at me like this, all I want to do is drop down to one knee and ask her to be mine for the rest of our lives. He packs mine up in a small bag and I thank him, then tell Cass, “I’ll meet you outside.”

As I brush past her, she grips my arm. “What’s in there?”

“You’ll have to see when we get home.” I brush a soft kiss on her cheek and make my way out the door.

What the hell could she be picking up?

A few minutes later, she exits with a matching bag and a beaming grin. Her smile was gone for so long, I cherish every one from her. “Ready to go, wildcat?”

“Yup! Are you really going to make me wait until we’re back home to open whatever that is? You know I hate surprises.”

“I know.” I wink and take her hand to lead her to the truck. “I like to see you squirm.”

The drive home, Cass is singing along to the radio and my nerves subside—I can’t wait to slip the ring on her finger. As soon as we’re home, I’m dropping to one knee. I unconsciously smooth my thumb over her ring finger where it’ll sit .

We pull up to the house, and Caleb’s truck is parked out front. “What is he doing here?” I mutter to myself.

Cass groans, “Why is he here?”

Between the jewelry store and this, something is up. “You didn’t invite your brother?”

“Why would I invite him? It’s ruining all of my plans.”

“What plans?” I narrow my eyes on her. “I have plans of my own, and I’ve waited long enough. I don’t care if he’s here.”

I hop out of the truck and round it to open her door, then with quickened footsteps, I’m practically dragging her to the front door. It’s unlocked and I shout into the house, “We’re here, and I need five minutes with Cass. Make yourself scarce!”

“Only five minutes?” Ingrid laughs as we pass her in the kitchen. “Well, at least it means your clothes will stay on.”

“Travis, slow down. Where are we going?” I don’t stop until we’re on the porch. I try to lead her down the steps to the trailer, but she stops me, tugging me backward a step. “No! Stop. I need you to sit down for what I’m about to tell you.”

Did I read this wrong? Is she breaking up with me?

No, she wouldn’t; she loves me.

Fuck, is she going to drop some medical news on me?

Cassidy gestures to the porch swing and I reluctantly take a seat. She paces for a moment, mumbling to herself as she fidgets with her small bag. “Cass, what’s going on?”

Glancing up, she stops and drops to her knees in front of me. “I had a whole thing planned for after the reopening party. It was thrown out the window on the drive home from the jeweler. You promised me you’d marry me if we weren’t already married. I was worried you only wanted to get married because of a stupid pact. I know now that you’d marry me because you love me as much as I love you.” She roughly pulls a small box out of the bag and opens it. There’s a titanium band with a small red stone, likely a garnet.

“Are you proposing, wildcat?” I tease, unable to hide my amusement.

“Shh, you’re ruining it.” Taking it out of the box, she asks, “Travis, will you marry me?”

“You’re fucking adorable.” I lean in and cup her cheek, kissing her softly. “Open the other bag.”

“That’s not an answer,” she huffs, sitting back on her heels.

“Yes, it is.”

Rolling her eyes, she opens the small box with her ring, and gasps. “Travis! You’re supposed to let me propose to you! Are those… garnets? So, that’s why Davis told me to add a garnet to your band! That sneaky bastard.”

“Come here, baby.” She climbs onto my lap, straddling me, and I slip on the band she bought. “Yes, I’ll marry you. I’d marry you right fucking now if you wanted.” I tuck a few windswept strands of her platinum hair behind her ear. “I love you, Cassidy, and I want you to be my wife. We’re going to spend the rest of our lives full of banter and so much fucking, and I can’t wait.”

Cass throws her head back in laughter. Though I’m not surprised, it wasn’t in the top five responses I anticipated. Once her giggles have subsided, the rejection must be painted on my face. She quickly schools her expression. “I love you so much.” Leaning in, she presses a chaste kiss to my lips, then my cheek. “Do you have any idea how much my heart aches when you aren’t here, the way it sings the moment you walk into a room. It’s always been like this with you. How many times did I quickly leave a room when we were kids when you were dropped off for a sleepover? Sixteen is a little old for a sleepover, by the way, but you were the first boy I saw as a man the day we vowed to marry each other. I’ve wanted you for… fuck , for decades! We danced around it, we flirted with a bullshit marriage pact, but in the end, we both knew it was also supposed to be the two of us.

“Baby, I?—”

“No, I’m not finished. I’m the one proposing, not you. I love you, Travis. Not like I love Ingrid or my family. I love you with my whole soul, which is way fucking better than fireworks.” I attempt to interject again, but she places her fingers over my lips. “I need to get this out. Travis Ulysses—we need to talk about that, because we are not carrying that on if we have kids—Harrison… My mind, heart, body, and soul are yours.” She swipes her thumb over my frown. “We’re doing the work. It’s going to be hard. But I love you, Travis, so fucking much. I’ll always fight for you.”

“Fuck, why do I want to bend you over right here?”

“Because you know you can’t with my family— our family —inside.”

My heart squeezes that I’ll not only have my feisty as fuck woman, but that small word “our” tugs at me. Caleb will be my brother, Pop will truly be a second father, and Cay’s kids will actually be my niece and nephew. More than that, Cass will be mine, my family. She always was, always has been, but this is different.

“Are you sure about this?” I confirm, and a sweet smile splits her face. “I love you Cass, but if you’re not ready, we can wait.”

“No, I’m ready for you to put a ring on this finger.” She wiggles her left hand expectantly. “Make me yours, Travis, permanently. And before you dare pipe up with some smart ass remark about how nothing is permanent and divorce exists, you know the only reason I would leave. You’ll never hurt me, so it’s not in the cards for us.”

I pull the ring from the box and her eyes don’t leave mine as I slip it on her finger. “I should’ve married you years ago, Cass.”

“We weren’t ready. Now? Well, we probably still aren’t, but we’re no longer two lonely people looking for love and acceptance. We needed time to get here.” Cass interlaces our fingers, toying with my ring. “I wanted to be the one to propose, here on this swing where I first fell in love with you. I know it’s not much; you deserve a grand gesture.”

“So do you.”

Cass brings her lips to mine, and if her family wasn’t here, I’d take things further. “Why are my brother and Ingrid here? Can we send them home?”

“I was thinking the same thing,” I laugh, then lightly smack her ass. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

We make our way into the house, finding Caleb and Ingrid in the kitchen. Her arms are wrapped around his middle, giggling at something he said. When they spot us, Ingrid asks, “Did he say yes?”

“Fuck, is that why you’re here? To spy on me?”

“To be fair,” Ingrid defends, “Caleb knew Travis was proposing, and I knew you were too, and when we compared notes, we thought you would’ve done it in Linton when you picked up the rings.”

Cass groans. “Well, he said no. ”

“What?” Ingrid spots our rings and smirks as she plays along. “Travis Harrison, you dared to say no to my best friend?”

I squeeze Cassidy’s side, making her yelp, then reply, “You all know I would have married her forever ago.”

“So, when’s the wedding?” Cay asks, surprisingly still okay I’m marrying his sister.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Not everyone has access to a pontoon boat for a surprise wedding,” Cass teases.

“Actually… I’m picking one up next weekend. It was my backup plan if you said no. I’d drag you out to the middle of the lake and ask you again.”

Cass playfully smacks my chest with the back of her hand. “You’re ridiculous. As if I’d say no to you.” I slide my hand lower, discreetly grabbing her ass. She rushes out, “Speaking of which, why don’t you two have a night out and we’ll see you tomorrow for the party?”

Caleb pinches the bridge of his nose, muttering, “I knew this was a bad idea. At least we didn’t walk in on you two.”

We hug both of them goodbye and the minute the door clicks shut, I grip Cass’ thighs and pull her legs around my waist. “All right, wildcat, your ass is mine tonight.”