Page 52 of Maggie’s Match

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I thought of you and the folks while I was sitting there waiting to die,” he admitted. “Mainly, I thought about how I’d messed things up for years with Maggie.”

Emma smiled and then nodded. “Does that mean you’re going to make things right now?”

He nodded, then looked down at his body. “I gotta heal first before I can get down on one knee.”

Emma laughed. “I think she’ll forgive you this one thing.”

“You’re damn right I will,” Maggie said from the doorway.

The tears rolling down her cheeks told him that she’d heard his entire confession.

Emma stood up, kissed him again, then turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. He really did love his sister.

Maggie sat on the side of the bed. “Well?”

“Well… I’d like to wait—”

“Nope,” Maggie broke in. “Didn’t you just admit that you’d waited too long?”

He sighed, then smiled. “Okay, but you get the drugged-up version of a proposal.”

“Like Emma said, I’ll allow it this one time.” Maggie gently took his broken hand in hers. “Go on,” she encouraged him.

“Margaret Elizabeth Jackson, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” He winced at how stupid it sounded. “I can do better than that,” he said. He thought for a moment. “Maggie,” he started again, “you’re my heart, my hearth, my home. I can’t imagine, nor do I want to live, another day without you. Marry me.”

Since there was a fresh trail of tears streaming down her cheeks, he figured he’d done it right this time.

When she leaned forward and placed her lips over his, he felt his entire world shift.

“Yes,” she said against his mouth. “I’ll marry you.”

“Good. Now that I’ve just witnessed the most romantic scene in the hospital,” his sister said from the doorway, “how about we eat?” She held up a bag of food and set it in front of him, then she gathered Maggie into her arms and hugged her. “I’ve always wanted a sister.”

He lost track of time, lying in that bed. Maggie and his family were by his side the entire time, with the exception of several trips to the ice machine down the hallway and a fast-food run for him.

The burn specialist came to look at him shortly after lunchtime. He carefully removed the bandages on his leg and poked his skin in several different places. It was pure hell.

Thankfully, he determined that most of the burns weren’t too bad and would heal on their own.

This was the first time Rick and Maggie had gotten a look at the damage. Maggie cried when she saw the large red marks on his left shin. He didn’t know what to feel. In truth, he’d probably gotten worse abrasions from castrating cattle over the years.

Once, he’d taken a horn right in the ribs and his father had given him more than a dozen stitches. At least with the burns, he didn’t need stitches. Yes, his skin would probably look like the top of a pizza, but it was just skin. The doctors had explained his wounds were only skin deep. Rick knew this for sure since he could easily move his foot and toes without any muscle pain.

After that doctor left, his regular doctor came in and confirmed that he could go home in the morning.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t wish that meant going back to Fairplay. Still, he knew how important it was to Maggie to help her cousin open her bakery. After all, this was going to be Maggie’s first shot at opening an additional location.

He knew she was counting on this business to succeed so she could franchise out to a location in Tyler. Even though this bakery would have a different name than the shop in Fairplay, it was as much hers as was the first.

“You’re quiet,” Maggie said, sitting beside him on the bed.

“Just thinking about going home.”

She frowned slightly. “I meant it when I said we could head back to Fairplay.”

“I know.” He took her hand in his wrapped one. The specialist had removed a lot of the gauze that the ER nurses had wrapped him up in, claiming most of the burns would do better if they could breathe. He was thankful for it since there were only a few minor burns on his hand. “But this is important. Besides, I really want to see how this plays out.”

“Both Royce and his uncle are behind bars. State bars,” she added. “Doesn’t look like they’ll be getting out anytime soon. Not if your uncle has any say in it.”