Page 178 of Small Town, Big Storm

For Holly.

For him.

He takes my hand in his, holds tight.“I had this whole speech planned and…” A shake of his head.“Somehow it doesn’t feel right now.Not with you here in front of me, not with our future all around us.”His fingers squeeze mine.“I spent most of the last decade running.Leaving.Shutting down.Hiding from the past.”

I inhale shakily.

“I used to think that coming back here would remind me of the past, that it would turn me into a person I didn’t want to be.”He smiles.“But the truth is, coming home to Cedar Hollow gave me everything I never knew I was missing.”

My breath rushes out of me.“Honey?—”

“It gave me Holly.”He smiles at our daughter, who waves excitedly from the open door.“And”—a squeeze—“it gave meyou.But it’syouwho gave me a family, baby,” he whispers, those gray eyes going glassy with tears.“Youwho made me want to stay.”

A tear slips down my cheek.

He wipes it away.“I love you, Poppy Baker.Will you marry me?”

I open my mouth.

“She says yes!”Holly shouts.

Laughter rings out all around us, but most beautiful of all is Storm’s.

I touch his jaw, turn to our daughter, holler back, “I was getting there, baby girl!”

“You were takingforever!”

More laughter, but I’m already dropping to my knees in front of Storm, taking his face in my hands, and kissing him until the laughter fades and the stick-tapping and whoops take over.

Only then do I draw back.

“Is that a yes?”he asks lightly.

I grin.“Oh, it’ssoa yes.”

Then he’s slipping the ring on my finger and kissing me senseless and scooping me into his arms again so I can be safely deposited off the ice.

“I like the jersey, Poppyseed,” he says as I find my feet.

I grin at him, tug lightly at the hem of the Harrisburg Hawks jersey that bears his last name and number.“Had it in the back of my closet,” I tease as I lean closer, my whisper for his ears only.“Right beside the red bikini.”

He touches my cheek as I step back.“You’ll pay for that later.”

“Good,” I tell him.“Because I’m looking forward to a whole lifetime oflaters.”

Clover

The excitement still reverberates through the arena long after the final buzzer.

Chants demanding that Storm and Poppy kiss are punctuated by congratulations and animated breakdowns of the best plays of the game.

Unmatched saves by Brit Plantain.

Crazy dekes by Lake Jordan.

Insane passes by Gray Roberts.

Killer shots by…