CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Two months later …

“Come on, come on,” Billboard urged as O’Shea sat on the floor patting Zoe and Cheeto. “Ethan and Rory think they’re going to have us stumped this time, and I want to prove them wrong,” he said.

O’Shea sighed, having a difficult time getting up from the two furballs head-butting her legs. Not because she was still hurting, but because she missed the little devils. When it had come time for her to cart her cats back to Billboard’s house, they’d refused.

Well, at least Zoe had refused. Cheeto, the tiny dickens, had simply gone along with what his bestie and mentor had decided. And there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Zoe had made up her mind to stay with the Jakes’. Every time O’Shea had tried to entice the savvy feline into her carrier, she’d complained heartily and sashayed away.

Not that the pair weren’t happy to see O’Shea when she came for visits. They actually basked in her attention. But every time she suggested that they might want to come live with her again, they turned up their pretty pink noses and disappeared.

“Okay,” O’Shea finally agreed, getting up and brushing her fur-covered hands on her jeans. Her ankle was healed enough that she didn’t need Billboard’s help, but of course he was right their making sure she didn’t teeter, anyway. “I can see these babies have had enough. It’s time to get down to business.”

Billboard rubbed his hands together. “The business of tracking,” he stated gleefully.

“Yup. I’m so glad Ethan and Rory have become good friends,” O’Shea smiled. “It’s too bad Lakisha and Rainie are a little too old to want to join them for fun in the woods, but at least the pair still come to the gym and help out with their self-defense classes.”

“Yeah. But maybe this is good for Ethan and Rory. If the older two were part of the kids’ adventures here, they might try to take over.”

“True,” O’Shea agreed, following Billboard out the door.

They walked down the back steps and she glanced toward the expanse of treed acres in question. “So, where do you think we should start?”

“Right here,” Billboard stated.

When she looked over toward him, he was down on one knee, a black velvet box cradled in his hands.

“Wha…?” O’Shea sent a hand to her mouth.

Seriously ? He was doing this now?

Was she surprised? Yes…but no.

Ever since she’d been in the hospital and Billboard had said that he wanted to marry her, she’d kind of been waiting for him to pop the question, but they’d had so many other issues to contend with first…

Hobbling down to New Orleans to close up her apartment and say goodbye to all her fellow officers had been one. Spending time with Cedric, Libby, and their two new boys, Acadian and Guidry, who’d been born a month early but were doing exceptionally well, was another. Then there’d been the distasteful stuff…

O’Shea hadn’t been at all sure about making visits to her mother, father, and…grandmother. But Billboard had wanted to meet them so he could put faces with some of the nasty stories O’Shea told. She’d reluctantly agreed.

If she hadn’t been on the verge of puking every moment they’d stood in those side-by-side, nightmare houses, O’Shea would have truly appreciated Billboard’s defense of her. It was something she could cherish now, since she was at a distance, but at the time…

Billboard had walked right in, no fear at all in his demeanor. He’d been alpha all the way, making it perfectly clear to her parents that neither one of them was ever to call or text her for money, ever again. Or for anything , actually. If they thought they had a bit of something they believed needed to be communicated, they could write a letter. Period. End of discussion.

Then Billboard had upped the ante.

Striding next door, he’d let himself in, found her startled grandmother, then let the woman know that she was a despicable human being. When she’d snapped to, and postured like she was in charge, he’d overridden her bravado by warning her he was having people he knew down here watch her like a hawk. And if she ever tried to interact with a child, any child, ever again, she could kiss her ass goodbye; nobody would ever find her body.

O’Shea and Billboard had then proceeded to drive a van full of stuff and her car back to New England, move her into Billboard’s house where they’d integrated her furniture and belongings with his. Then she’d had to meet with her new department in Boston and fill out endless paperwork for her upcoming job which she was starting in two days.

The list of things to accomplish had seemed to go on and on forever, and it wasn’t until a few days ago that O’Shea felt like she could catch her breath again.

And now…this.

O’Shea wanted to chuckle.

Knowing Billboard, she’d expected him to do a whole, romantic thing. Dinner, a movie, or a show. Something a little flashier than asking her in Anna’s back yard. But did she mind? Hell no . She’d take Billboard any way she could get him; she was so freaking in love with the man, it had to border on crazy.

“O’Shea,” Billboard rasped, then cleared his throat, clearly nervous.

That was another thing O’Shea really loved about BB. He was such a soft touch underneath all the gruffness he showed the world.

She waited patiently.

“I love you so much,” he told her, his heart in his eyes, “more than I could ever have imagined. I want to be with you for the rest of our days, have babies with you, and share all the good times and the bad. Would you…?” He coughed the roughness out of his voice again. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

O’Shea was beside him in a blink, ignoring the ring box for a moment to reach out and cradle his head in her hands, threading her fingers through his thick hair. She leaned down, and holding him still, pressed her lips to his, pouring her soul into the innocent touch.

When she drew back, she knew her eyes had filled with tears.

“Of course I will, Billboard,” she told him shakily. “I’m so in love with you that I wouldn’t leave you even if you kicked me out. I’d erect a tent in your back yard and squat there until you came to your senses.”

Billboard laughed, which is what she intended. There was no need for the moment to be too serious.

He responded in kind. “I’m sure, if that were the case, my mother would let you stay in her side of the house until you both convinced me I was an idiot.”

O’Shea grinned through her tears. “That would be nice.”

Yeah. Because Billboard’s matriarch had embraced O’Shea fully, unlike the mother O’Shea had never been able to trust. O’Shea loved spending time with the woman, hearing stories of Billboard’s childhood over cups of tea. They’d shopped together, shared meals a few times a week, and even ganged up on Billboard sometimes. Jokingly, of course. It was all almost too wonderful to be believed.

O’Shea turned her eyes to the small bundle Billboard carried as he nudged her to get her attention. He opened the box.

There, nested within, was a blue sapphire surrounded by small diamonds in a starburst pattern. It was exactly what she would have picked, herself. Something that didn’t stick up and get in the way of her active life. It was gorgeous and perfect.

“I love it, Billboard,” O’Shea breathed, and held out her hand.

Both of them shook as he placed the ring on her finger, then he got up off his knees, gathered her in his arms, and proceeded to kiss every thought out of her head. There was nothing shaky about that delivery.

“Mmm. Let’s go home,” O’Shea murmured once they came up for air. Not that they hadn’t made love twice already that morning, but O’Shea couldn’t get enough of Billboard, and it seemed the feeling was mutual.

Billboard groaned. “As much as I like that idea, we don’t want to disappoint Ethan and Rory.” Billboard was the voice of reason, but he also had an impish look in his eyes. “I tell you what. We’ll find them quickly, treat them to a late lunch and some ice cream, then we’ll head home and I’ll spend the rest of the day showing you how much I love you.”

O’Shea smiled up at him. “That sounds like an excellent plan.”

Billboard took her hand and practically dragged her into the woods, starting at a point that he told her had been pre-arranged for their hunt.

“Okay.” Billboard paused once they were five feet into the trees. “What do you see?” he asked.

O’Shea had been taking some lessons from Sarge and… her fiancée …! She almost wanted to squeal at the new designation she had for Billboard, but she settled for a quick kiss, then bent to her task. The sooner they found the kids, the faster they could be back at Billboard’s house and strip each other naked. Uh, her house, as well. It was taking a little getting used to, but at Billboard’s insistent prompting, O’Shea was starting to have it sink in that what was his was hers, and vice-versa.

But for the moment…

Tracking had never been a big part of what O’Shea had done in New Orleans. Still, she was a quick study, and was fast to spot a broken twig at ankle height. “There,” she pointed.

“Good. And which way does it tell you they went?” Billboard questioned, clearly proud.

She looked at the attitude in which the twig was bent, and with complete confidence, stood straight and pointed ahead and to their left.

“Excellent,” Billboard praised, beaming. “Now let’s see what else we can find.” He indicated that she should go first. “And don’t worry, they promised no boobie traps this time.”

That was good. She didn’t want to end up in a pit or get ankle-lassoed up a tree. Especially since her body could still be a little twingy every now and again from her injuries.

The clues, at first, were a little hard to find, and Billboard had to straighten her out a few times. But after the first ten minutes, the signs started becoming clearer, almost as if the pair were hurrying, and not paying as much attention to cover their tracks.

“Silly of them to have gotten sloppy,” O’Shea snorted, as she spotted an actual footprint in some soft dirt.

“It’s probably because they heard us coming, and know how close we’re getting,” Billboard smirked. “They can’t escape us now,” he said with certainty. “Let’s go.”

This time he trotted off first, with O’Shea right on his heels.

O’Shea grinned. The kids would be disappointed that they hadn’t been able to throw Billboard and O’Shea off the trail, but their mortification would be mitigated once they found out that lunch and ice cream were in their future.

“We’re close,” Billboard called back over his shoulder, keeping up a steady trot. O’Shea was amazed he could stay on the trail while moving so rapidly, but she trusted him to know what he was doing.

He eventually held a hand back toward her, and she took it easily, jogging to keep up. His legs were longer than hers, but she managed. O’Shea had been hitting PT hard over the past two weeks, and had regained most of her stamina.

“Ahh,” O’Shea acknowledged gleefully, seeing a familiar outcropping of rock up ahead. “They’re headed for the clearing. My guess is they’re hoping to confuse us in the grassy area, then reenter the woods somewhere random on the other side to throw us off their trajectory.”

Billboard snickered, agreed, and kept moving.

At this rate they’d spot their quarry in three…two…one…

What the fuck ?

O’Shea almost tripped to a stop.

Instead of the large, empty expanse of grass she expected to see, along with perhaps two sheepish kids, there was…

Everyone.

O’Shea took a moment to shake her head, making sure it was real, and…

Yup .

All the SOS people were there, as well as Anna and the kids. O’Shea spotted Billboard’s mother. And… Oh, my God ! There was Cedric, Libby, and the twins! Even grumpy Agent Vessers was in attendance.

They were all standing in rows, leaving an aisle down the middle, like…

O’Shea’s mouth dropped open. Light dawned when she saw Mizzay standing at the front, looking like an officiant, cradling a book in her hands.

“You… I… Are we…?” She couldn’t form a single, coherent sentence.

“Yeah, O’Shea.” Billboard looked nervous. “If it’s alright with you, since all our friends and family are here, I thought we might get married.”

Nobody. Nobody had ever done anything this wonderful for her in her entire life.

O’Shea didn’t hesitate. She threw herself at Billboard, hugging him desperately around his large torso; pressing her cheek up against his broad chest where his heart was beating hard.

“You wonderful, sneaky, silly man. This is…beyond words,” O’Shea gruffed, her eyes beginning to precipitate again. If there’d been tears when he’d given her the ring, there was a veritable flood, now.

“ Of course we’ll get married,” she choked out unnecessarily. “I love you.”

Applause and hoots became just a bunch of background noise while they shared an epic kiss.

When O’Shea finally drew back, she said the first thing that popped into her head.

“I guess this means ice cream will have to wait.”