34. Zoey

Chapter 34

Zoey

"Are you sure I should be coming with you?" Sophia glances at herself in my full-length mirror and tugs on the hem of her dress uncomfortably.

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Because I don't know any of these people and it's Christmas! No one wants to spend Christmas with strangers." Sophia sighs and shakes her head.

"You're not a stranger, Soph. You're family." Colt sneaks up behind her and wraps her in a big hug. "Tucker's going to tease the crap outta you. Skylar's going to love having someone else there to bust my balls, and Gran might be the happiest woman in the world if you ask her about her pie secrets. Lord knows Skylar's never going to bake a pie."

"Are you sure they want me there?" She blinks up at him.

"Yes. And if they don't, I'm not going either."

"Oh, please!"

Colt moves around until he's in front of her and he squats until they're eye level.

"If you don't want to go, say the word. I'll call and cancel right now. I'll throw some steaks on the grill and we'll have a very unconventional Christmas dinner, but I'll be just as happy here with the two of you, as I will be there."

My hand clutches my chest as I watch the man I love. He's perfect for me. More perfect than I could ever imagine someone being. I love Sophia to death, but when she's uncomfortable, she tends to be difficult to deal with. Yet, Colt knows how to handle her like a pro.

More than anything, Colt doesn't seem bothered to have her here even when it messes up his plans. That says a lot about who he is.

"No. I'll get the stupid cookies," she huffs before stomping into the kitchen.

"By the way, you look beautiful!" He calls after her retreating back.

"Shut up, Colt!" She calls back.

I waste no time going to him and wrapping my arms around his waist. I rest my head on his chest and close my eyes.

"Thank you for being so amazing, even when she's being a brat."

"She's twenty. She' s supposed to be a brat." Colt rubs a soothing hand up and down my back. "Plus, a lot happened this week and I'm not sure where her head is at."

"You're an amazing man. I'm lucky to have you."

"And I'm lucky to have you." He lifts my chin and presses a searing kiss to my lips.

"I believe you've all met Zoey." Colt stares down at me with the biggest smile lighting up his face.

"Hold on, little boy. I thought her name was Leslie." Gran wags a finger in his direction.

"First off, I'm not a little boy, Gran. I'm the sheriff. Second, her real name is Zoey and now that she doesn't need to hide from anyone, she wants to go by Zoey."

"Well, I'll try my hardest, but I'm old. When I slip up, try not to hold it against me." Gran winks at me before stepping past me and over to Sophia. "Now, I hear you're the baker and I need to teach you all of my secrets. Come sit with me and I'll spill the beans… but don't tell Judith because she's been trying to outdo me for years." Gran takes Sophia's hand and pats it lovingly as she leads her over to the couch. She glares at Judith, Colt's grandma as she goes. The old woman flips off Gran and rolls her eyes.

"You've officially lost Sophia for the night." Skylar chuckles. "Gran's going to talk her ear off."

"Gran's so happy right now. Look at how her face is lighting up." Willow smiles before turning her attention to me. "So, now that you're safe, are you staying in Maple Springs, or moving back home?"

"Wow, Ma, way to go straight for the jugular, huh? Don't feel like easing into it on Christmas?" Tucker rolls his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Zoey. You can tell me to mind my own business." Willow waves a hand through the air like she's erasing her question from existence.

"No, it's ok. I know I'm going to get asked this a lot when school starts back up." I let out a long breath and shake my head. "The short answer is I don't know."

"What's the long answer?" Tucker asks. He's so much like Willow, it's kind of entertaining.

"I don't know." I chuckle. "I never thought Jimmy would actually get caught. I thought I'd be living the rest of my life peeking over my shoulder and expecting him to pop out. I'm not sure it's even hit me yet. This is the first time I've been safe in a long time."

"I' m going to need a one-year notice for you to quit your job," Skylar says firmly with a nod of her head.

"One year? Didn't you just up and leave one morning without telling a soul. Then didn't return for ten years. I had to become a freaking sheriff just to make sure you were still alive!" Colton glares at her.

He tries to act like he's over her disappearing for an entire decade, but it still hurts him. He's forgiven her and he understands her reasoning, but it's still difficult.

"Let's leave the past in the past. I'm back in Maple Springs, married to Tucker, and popping out his babies. It's like I never left." She rolls her eyes.

"Wait… babies?" I arch a brow and watch as Skylar's cheeks pinken.

"Fine! I'm pregnant. I wasn't going to tell anyone until dessert, but clearly Zoey should be a detective."

"How old is Duke?" Colt raises a brow.

"Oh, you know exactly how old Duke is! He's almost six months old. I got pregnant the first time we…" She widens her eyes as her sentence trails off. "It's not my fault this man doesn't know how to keep his hands to himself." She motions towards Tucker.

"I guess you're just trying to make up for lost time. Hey, didn't I get yelled at and punched a week ago for asking if you were pregnant?" Colt folds his arms over his chest and glares at the two of them.

"In our defense, we didn't know I was pregnant then." Skylar keeps her head held high and doesn't sound even a little bit sorry.

"Uh huh. It sounds like I'm an amazing detective and your body is too stupid to even realize what's going on inside it."

"Oh yeah? How's Mr. Raven's house been? Did we catch the bandit?"

"No, because there isn't a bandit. That would imply someone is stealing something. This person is just being a prick and vandalizing Mr. Raven's property."

"Is it really vandalizing if nothing is destroyed?" Tucker arches a brow, making Colt narrow his eyes on him.

"Exactly how many kids do you plan on popping out?" Colt ignores Tucker and turns his attention back to Skylar.

"I don't know. What does it matter?"

"Well, I need to know how much money I'm going to need for the cuss jars. Riley's bleeding me dry."

"Or you could just not curse, Uncle Colt," Riley singsongs as she walks past us with Duke in her arms .

"Oh! Give me the baby!" I hold out my hands and Riley happily hands Duke over to me. "Hey, handsome. How are you?" I coo, loving my time I get with Duke.

He smiles and blows raspberries in my face. When I settle him on my hip, he grabs for my hair and flashes me a big toothless grin.

"I can't wait to have a baby," I gush, holding him closer.

"Dang, I guess you need to find yourself a daddy." Tucker smirks at Colton.

"Well, like Skylar, I was planning on waiting until after dinner, but I guess that's not allowed." Colton rolls his eyes.

I watch him carefully with furrowed brows. I have no clue what he's talking about. What was he planning on waiting for?

"Let me just take Duke and get his diaper changed before we eat." Skylar lifts the baby out of my arms, but makes no move to leave the room. I frown because I just got the kid and I'm already losing him.

I watch in surprise as Colt drops down to one knee and stares up at me with so much love in his eyes.

"Zoey, I know this is fast. Like insanely fast. You might even think I'm crazy for doing this… but I knew you were it for me the moment you punched me in the nose for scaring you. I was even more sure after we kissed for the first time and I begged you to move in with me. But watching Jimmy stomp over to your car, that was when I knew without a doubt, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. All I kept thinking was how I couldn't live without you. How I couldn't stand the thought of something happening to you. I want you to be my wife, Zoey. Will you marry me?"

The front door opens and shuts, but I don't pay a bit of attention to it. I'm too focused on the man kneeling in front of me to care who just showed up.

"Aw, man! I missed it!" Pecker whines.

"Yes," I whisper as I nod my head through the tears gathering in my eyes.

Colton stands to his full height and tugs me into his arms. He kisses me more passionately than I expect with so many people watching. When he pulls back, he slips a gorgeous solitaire onto my left hand and grins at me.

"I can't believe you agreed to marry me," he whispers.

"Did you think I'd say no?"

"Kinda. We've been dating for less than a month."

"I'm tired of surviving, I want to live. I want to do what makes me happy and marrying you would make me happy. "

"Good, because I wasn't going to let you go." He presses a chaste kiss to my lips. "But now we need to discuss where we're going to live."

"I think Maple Springs is a great place to have a family." I lift my shoulders in a shrug.

"That would make me so happy, babe. But I understand if you'd want to move back to Philadelphia with your family." He cups my cheek, staring deep into my eyes. He cares so much about me he's willing to move away from his loved ones to make me closer to mine.

"No, I like it here… but maybe we could visit my family frequently."

"Anything for you."