“Because of what you said. Because of things I’d heard Walt say in the past. He talked about Sundays with you and your mom. How you two would pick flowers from the backyard together. They were your mother’s fondest memories, baby.”
“They were?”
He nodded. “I went to your dad’s old place and asked the new owners if I could dig a bit. They are in construction, so they didn’t mind. Turns out, dahlia tubers—or roots, as it were—stay in the ground awhile. So I read way more than I’d ever need to know on the Internet on how to harvest them and brought them here.”
“Jacob Lock,” she said and threw herself into his arms and kissed him with everything she was. Because he hadn’t just given her flowers or a home or a business—he’d helped her find what she’d been missing in all three. And he’d given her the greatest gift of his love.
“Thank you,” she said.
He kissed her long and deep and finally pulled away. “There’s nothing to thank me for. I can’t keep up with all this.” He waved his hand in the direction of the dahlia mud heap. “I need you to move in with me, marry me, and take over. Right after you go on a date with me.”
She smiled. “So this was your plan the whole time, huh? Lure me with flowers, only to try to tie me down?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Well, how can I say no to that?”
He kissed her again and picked her up, all but running to the bedroom.
Their bedroom.
In their house, where they could build a life together. And Laura had never felt more supported in her entire life.