“How is she?” I asked.
“She’s fine. Doesn’t even have a fever anymore,” Alex said. He walked into his kitchen and set the box on the counter. “She’s napping, so you need to be quiet.”
I nodded. “I should go see her.”
Alex shook his head rather forcefully. “Look, she’s been having trouble sleeping, and every time I’ve gone in to check on her, she’s woken up. You really shouldn’t.”
A mix of irritation and pride flowed into me. The mother in me bristled a little at Alex telling me what to do about my own daughter, but the fact that he cared so much about her to risk pissing me off almost made me teary.
“Hey, I wanted to show you something,” Alex said.
“What?”
“What I’ve done with my backyard.”
“You want to show me that right now?”
“Well, not like we have much else to do until Kadie wakes up.”
I let out a long sigh. I really did want to check on my daughter, but Alex was right. I didn’t want to wake her up if she was still getting over something.
Alex started walking, and I followed him.
Just as he put his hand on the knob of the back door, I said, “Wait. Where’s Carl?”
Alex glanced over his shoulder, a sudden flash of irritation passing over his face. He cleared his throat. “Oh, don’t worry about him. He’s checking some fence posts I set up the other day.” He opened the door and stepped out. “Stupid Carl,” he muttered under his breath. “What did I tell you?”
I blinked, wondering why he was upset with Carl. Maybe his partner hadn’t liked the fact that he’d taken a day off to watch his kid.
I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want to cause any trouble between Alex and Carl, but I wasn’t about to take Carl’s side when it came to Kadie’s father choosing his daughter.
It took me a few seconds after stepping outside to notice the lights. Several lines of fairy lights had been strung all around the back porch.
Alex grinned and flipped a switch. The lights came alive in all different colors: red, white, green, yellow, blue, pink, and orange. Pretty, almost beautiful. I could only imagine how good they would look once it was darker out.
“Did you do this for Kadie?” I said, turning and taking all the lights in.
“I did for someone very important to me, yes,” he said from behind me.
I turned back around, smiling, and blinked. Alex was on one knee with a box in his hand.
“So, I’m kind of keeping my promise,” he said. “I wanted to tell you how much I love you and not be lame, so I had Carl buy these lights in town and help me set them up.” He shrugged. “But it’s not like I could send another man to buy an engagement ring for me.” He flipped open the box, and a thin silver band lay inside. “Consider this a placeholder. I had Perri pick it up. She said you wouldn’t be too pissed with it as long as I promised to take you to get a better ring right away.”
My mind blanked as I listened to and watched him. “Wait. Carl? Perri? They knew about this?” I eyed him. “Is my daughter actually even sick?”
“Our daughter has a little cold, but she’s already mostly over it.” Alex gestured with the box toward his knee. “This isn’t comfortable. So, Aspyn, I love you, and you love me, and we already have a beautiful girl together. I have a nice house with more than enough room for you and our daughter, so I ask you, under the
watchful eye of God in heaven, if you’d be willing to marry a sad man like me.”
I tilted my head, just staring at him, my heart trying to jump out of my chest. I’d wanted to move in with him but never imagined he’d go this far.
It wasn’t like it didn’t make sense. We’d already been through our first rough patch, and we had a child. There wasn’t much reason not to get married unless we really didn’t think we had a future together. I was damn well sure we did.
Alex’s smile started to falter. I imagined most men didn’t like it when women thought too long about their marriage proposals.
“Yes,” I all but shouted. “I love you, Alex Kline, and I’d be happy to be Mrs. Kline.” I stuck out my hand, and he slipped the ring on.
Loud cheering erupted from both sides of me, confusing me. I whipped my head back and forth. Mama and Perri approached from one side. Carl and Joe came from the other. I imagined the only reason his wife wasn’t there was that she was on call.