Soldier on Her Doorstep (16 page)

Lisa's own mouth went dry. He was smiling. That was a good thing, right? He walked toward her. She had a flashback to the night before. When he'd stalked her in the same way.

He caught her in his arms and tugged her forward. She resisted. Or tried to.

“Lilly…?”

“Is fine,” he said, dropping a kiss to her nose before moving down to her mouth.

Lisa wriggled in protest.

Alex sighed. “I was just telling her something. Something I wanted her to know first.”

Lisa tried to pull away from him again, but he held her tight. She was powerless. As good as an insect caught into a spider's web.

“Don't you want to know what I told her?” Alex asked.

She stopped wriggling.

He leaned back, his upper body giving her room but his lower body holding her in place.

She nodded. She wanted to know. Badly.

“You do?” he pressed.

“Yes.” She wished her voice wouldn't give out on her in times of need. It sounded no better than a frog's croak.

“I told her,” he said, brushing the hair from her cheek, “that I was going to ask her mommy to marry me. I had to check she was okay with that first, before I did it.”

Lisa stared at him.
Marry her?
So he
wasn't
leaving?

“I thought you were going. That you were leaving. That you were telling her…”

Alex stopped her. Covered her mouth with his and kissed the words from her.

“Did you not hear what I told you last night?” he said, when he'd kissed her into stunned silence.

She stared at him. She remembered plenty about last night.

He caught her in his arms, lifting her from her feet and tucking him against her just like he had the night before. “I love you, Lisa.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “If you'll have me, I want to stay. I'm not going to run. Not now. Not ever. You've taught me that. Made me realize I need to believe in family, in love, in myself again.”

She closed her eyes and burrowed into him. Smelt the tangy aftershave that had taunted her from day one. Touched the biceps that had called to her from the first time she'd seen him shirtless. Pulled at the base of his neck to steal a kiss from pillowy lips that had begged to be touching hers from the moment she'd started falling for him.

“So you want to marry me?” She breathed the words against his cheek.

“I thought I was the one who was supposed to ask the question?”

She laughed. A head thrown back, deep in the belly laugh.

“Well, hurry up and ask me so I can say yes,” she teased.

He didn't put her down. Just kept her folded in his arms, holding her like he'd never let her go.

A little voice squeaked from behind them.

“Mommy?”

Lisa let Alex swing her around to her daughter. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face if she'd tried.

“Did you say yes?”

Lisa didn't say anything.

He hadn't officially asked her, but of course she would say
yes. How could she not? She loved Alex. As much as she'd loved Lilly's father. So much.

Alex dropped to one knee. He took Lisa's hand.

“I think it's time to make this official. Lisa, will you please put me out of my misery and say you'll marry me?”

“Yes, Mommy. Say yes!” Lilly squealed.

“Yes,” whispered Lisa.

Alex stood to wipe away her tears.

“I love you girls, you know?”

“We know,” chirped Lilly.

Yes, we know, thought Lisa. And we love you too.

Earlier this year—weeks ago, even—she'd thought her heart would never open to another human being. Hadn't ever wanted it to.

But now she knew otherwise. She loved Alex now, and she'd loved William then—and still did. But her love for William was in the past: a loving, vivid memory to hold on to.

Alex was now.

Alex was her future.

A
LEX
ran his fingers over the emblem lying flat over his chest. The khaki shirt felt nice against his skin. Felt right.

Two months ago he'd been lost. A man without a path. Without a destiny.

Now he was happy. He had a future, and he no longer lay awake at night in a sweat with the world at play on his shoulders.

He tugged on his boots and grabbed the paper bag resting on the counter. He took a peek inside. And smiled. Neatly wrapped sandwiches, a token piece of fruit, and two big slices of cake.

It didn't matter how hard he tried to suppress it, the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth couldn't be stopped.

Alex walked out onto the porch. The lake's water shone in the early-morning light; the trees were waving shadows around the far perimeter. He stood there and looked.

When he was serving, even before that in foster care, he'd never dared to imagine a life like this. A life where everything was possible. Where he had a chance to make his own family, where a woman loved him, and where he could be part of nature every single day.

He walked across the front yard, jingling his keys.

A tap made him look up.

Lisa stood in the window, her hair like a halo framing her face. Lilly was standing in front of her.

His two girls. His two beautiful girls.

He raised a hand and then blew them a slow kiss. His lips brushed his hand before he released it to wave softly up to them.

Lisa pretended to catch it while Lilly giggled. That infectious bubble of laughter that she was so prone to throwing his way.

Alex turned, his hand going up behind him in the air as a final goodbye for the day. He heard the flutter of the flag as it waved proudly in the wind. He didn't have to turn to know it was looking down on him. The same flag that he'd tucked in his bag when he'd first joined the army. It had seen him safely through plenty of hard times, and now it was flying high in the air as a tribute to the friend he'd lost during wartime. A symbol, an ode to William and to how they'd fought over there in the desert. He wanted to show William that he'd take care of Lisa and Lilly until the day he died—just like William had looked out for him at the end.

Alex unlocked the truck and jumped in the cab. Something gave him a feeling that the other National Park ranger would give him a rough time about driving a baby-blue Chevy, but he didn't care.

The rumble of the engine signaled he was on his way.

National Park ranger by day, husband and daddy by night.

Somehow life had finally given him a hand of cards he wanted to play.

He turned up the radio and sang along to the country and western channel Lisa had it permanently dialed to.

He would have preferred rock and roll, but if Lisa wanted country he didn't mind one bit.