Convict

“New car?” he asked.

She looked at the car she rarely used. It was her mother’s old one, and she rarely touched it. Ryker had taken her car, not that she minded. Well, of course, now she did.

“No. It was my mom’s car. Anything else, Sheriff?” she asked, watching him visibly pale and shake his head.

There he went again with all of his judgment, but she ignored him. She ignored everyone, not even bothering to smile. She selected all of her groceries, paying careful attention to the frozen section so she could stock her freezer once again. She had a back-up generator in case of emergencies.

With everything selected, she made her way toward the pharmacy section, and selected a pregnancy test that was guaranteed to not only be accurate but estimate how far along she was. She didn’t care about that. Yes or no was what she was looking for, but she didn’t want to get anything wrong. After a few hours of shopping, she was fully stocked, and she left the supermarket, stocking her trunk once again.

When she climbed behind the wheel, her dog licked her face, and she found she could laugh again.

“You silly old boy.” She rubbed his head. “Let’s go home.”

Driving home went without a single hitch. Every second on the road, she was reminded of Ryker and the last time she’d been driving back home. He had a gun, and she’d found it somewhat amusing that he thought she was scared.

Wow.

She should have known she’d be the weird one and actually fall for a convict or an ex-convict.

Either way, there was nothing she could do about it now.

The moment she came to the clearing where she saw her home, she came to a stop, the brakes squealing as she stared at the car she hadn’t seen for a long time. There was no sign of Ryker, but the car was there.

Feeling sick, she drove forward and parked up in front of the car. Climbing out, she let the dog go, and she went to the back of the car, opening up the trunk.

She pulled out two sacks, and was heading toward the door when she stopped. There on her porch stood Ryker. He wore a pair of worn jeans and a shirt, and he looked … good. There was also a smile on his lips, and she dropped the groceries, not caring in that moment that they were supposed to get her by during the first snowfall.

When she ran into his arms, he picked her up and swung her around.

“I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so fucking much,” he said.

“You came back?” She squeezed his arms. “I’m not thinking this. You’re actually here, in the flesh?”

“I’m here, baby, and I’m hoping that with that big old smile, you’re happy to see me?”

“I’m happy to see you. So happy.” She ran her hands up and down his arms. “You’re back?”

“Yes, I’m back, and I’m not going anywhere.” He stroked her cheek. “I’m here to stay if you’ll have me.”

“Do you want to stay?”

“Of course I want to stay. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

She gasped as she watched him go down on one knee. “Scarlett, I’m a poor man, and even though my record is now clear, I’ve done time.”

“I know.”

“But I love you. These past few weeks have been torture, but knowing I’d be back here, name cleared, I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”

Tears filled her eyes as she nodded her head. “Yes, yes, I’ll marry you.” He got to his feet and she kissed him.

She’d been so desperate to feel him, and now that she had, she didn’t want to lose him.

Wrapping her arms around him, she held him tightly. “I didn’t think you were coming back.”

“I was always going to come back. This is where my heart is. You’re my home, Scarlett. No, you’re my heaven, and there was no way I was ever going to give you up. They can take everything else from me, but they cannot take you away.”

“What happened? What? Your name is cleared?”

“I’ll tell you everything. Let’s get this stuff inside. I know we’ve got some bad weather heading this way. It’s why I couldn’t wait another moment.”

They cleared the food from the trunk of the car, and once she was inside, she started to put all the groceries away.

He helped her, and she couldn’t stop smiling, not even for a moment. Her man was back home, and everything felt right again.

“What’s this?” Ryker asked, coming back into the kitchen from the pantry. He held the pregnancy test in his hands.

“Erm, you know what it is.”

“Do you think you are?”

“Does it change anything?” she asked.

“It doesn’t change anything, but we’re going to get married at the first opportunity.”

“And if I’m not?”

“Then we’ll be able to wait and have the wedding you always wanted,” he said.