“I just need to talk to him,” Alan said.
Annie dropped back to take photos of her family. She got the majestic Sierra Estrella Mountains in the background and hoped she captured the energy of the moment. There was excitement in her family’s faces. And as her finger clicked on the shutter she realized that she’d been looking too hard in all the pictures she’d taken for some kind of truth. Some kind of proof from her family of what they’d meant to her.
“Annie, put that camera down and come over here,” her father said.
She snapped one more of him, grateful that he looked fitter than he had in months. She dropped the Nikon, letting it hang around her neck by the strap. She noticed that Tucker, Vinnie and Billy had joined her family. Then she saw Jared standing in the middle of the loose circle of her family.
“What’s up?”
“Ah…I need to ask you something,” he said.
She swallowed hard. “Okay.”
Jared got down on one knee in the middle of her family and friends and took her hand in his. “Will you marry me?”
Her eyes widened, and tears stung the back of them. “Yes.”
Her family cheered and Jared got to his feet, pulling her into his arms. He kissed her long and hard.
“Congratulations,” Dave said, clapping Jared on the back. “Welcome to the family.”
“Thanks,” Jared said.
Annie stared up into the eyes of the man she loved as someone broke out bottles of chilled champagne. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Believe it, Annie.”
“This is going to be complicated,” she said, thinking that Dave and Tucker were always going to be competing against each other, as were the other drivers on both of their teams.
“We can handle that,” Jared said. “What matters most is the love we’ve found together.”