Ian played in the surf with Jamison another half hour before dragging him up the beach to their towels. Savannah was already under the umbrella, pulling food from a picnic basket.
“Bet my boys are hungry.” She put plastic plates in front of them, then stacked them with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and potato chips. “I was going to call you tonight,” she told Ian. “I talked to Misty today.”
“Yeah? How’s she doing?”
“Great, considering. She complains about the heat and humidity of DC, but she’s really enjoying the work. I think she secretly loves knowing more about counterfeiting than even the best guys in the Bureau.”
“It’s a wild way to start a new life, that’s for sure.”
“Aunt Misty’s going to move here to be with us,” Jamison told him, his eyes bright with excitement.
Ian lifted his brows at Savannah. “Is that right?”
“She says they’re going to let her transfer after another six months,” Savannah said. “She thinks she might be able to get in at the San Diego offices. Wouldn’t that be amazing?”
Right now, everything seemed amazing—this amazing woman’s love, this perfect family, enjoying a job he’d started out hating. But, yes, the offer of redemption Misty had received from the FBI was truly remarkable.
Gianna had played a pivotal role in that plan, but Ian also knew it was the best alternative, because once they’d processed all the evidence, it turned out that Misty had done an excellent job of erasing all direct connections between herself and the passports. And while everyone knew Misty was the counterfeiter, none of her prints were found on the equipment. Authorities hadn’t been able to link the bank account where Lyle had sent payments to Misty either. And the other circumstantial evidence wouldn’t have put her behind bars.
Now, Misty worked at the Pentagon, tracing and uncovering counterfeiters by dissecting their fake documents, then training federal agents how to do the same. She was out of debt, out of Hazard, and making a real difference. She often said the only thing that would make her life better was living close to Savannah and Jamison.
“Turns out her father left her with something more valuable than anyone would have guessed—a skill only a handful of people around the world possess,” he told Savannah. “And having her in San Diego sounds downright perfect.”
“Sure does,” Savannah said, smiling at him. “All the people I love in one place. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
“Well, I hope all your wishes haven’t come true, quite yet, because I have a surprise for you.” He looked at Jamison. “Want to help me out here?”
He turned those big blue eyes on Ian with a grin that melted his heart, the same way his mother’s did. “Yeah.”
Ian pulled his wallet from his shoe, then the black box, hiding it in his palm. He planted one knee in the sand and pulled Jamison to his side.
“What are you two up to?” she asked with a suspicious tone.
Jamison rested against Ian’s side as he offered the box.
Savannah’s smile evaporated. Her gaze darted from the box to Ian to the box again. “What…”
He blew out a hard breath. “Okay, here goes.”
Jamison grinned at him. “You got this.”
It was something he told Jamison every time he was afraid to do something, and now it made both Savannah and Ian laugh so hard, they had to take a second to catch their breath.
“Let’s try this again.” Ian cleared his throat and lifted the lid on the box. The solitaire sparkled in the sunlight.
Savannah gasped and tented her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide.
“I love you and Jamison more than anything in the world,” he told her. “I want us to be a family. A real family.” He took another quick breath and pushed out the words that both terrified and thrilled him. “Savannah, will you marry me?”
She pulled her hands away from her mouth at the same time that she took a sharp breath. She tried to speak, but the words didn’t come out. Tears spilled over her lashes, and she fanned her face with her hands.
“Are you okay, Mom?” Jamison’s concerned frown turned on Ian. In a secretive tone, he said, “Uh-oh. You made her cry.”
Savannah laughed, squeezed Jamison’s hand, and choked out, “Happy tears, baby.” Then she looked at Ian, and his heart grew wings. “Yes. Yes.”
Ian exhaled, and relief gave way to joy. So much joy, he felt like he’d implode. Savannah rolled to her knees and threw her arms around him.
“Family sandwich!” Jamison yelled, jumping in.