Epilogue
One year later
TRAVIS SET A travel coffee mug on the bedside table. “Christine?” he said as he kissed her cheek. “It’s time to get up.”
Christine slowly cracked one eye open and frowned. “Travis, it’s still dark outside.”
“I know,” he said as he helped her into a sitting position. “We need to hurry if we want to make it on time.”
She pushed her long hair out of her eyes. “On time for what?”
“You’ll see.” He checked his watch and nervously twirled the welcome-to-Vegas keychain around his finger. The car was packed with everything they needed to have breakfast at Christine’s favorite spot while they watched the sunrise. He was glad he listened to Laurie’s suggestion to buy a picnic basket from the general store.
Christine tilted her head and her eyes widened as she noticed he was dressed in a raincoat, jeans and hiking boots. “Give me a hint.”
“It’s on my bucket list.”
Her mouth tilted in a knowing smile. “I’m pretty sure we’ve done everything on your bucket list. Twice.”
“I keep adding things,” he admitted. Although this goal had been on his list for a while. Right around the same time he imagined Christine pregnant with his child. That would be years down the road, but it would be worth the wait.
This dream had also taken some planning and all of Cedar Valley had helped in one way or another. It turned out the townspeople could keep a secret if they really wanted to. “I want to make this dream happen today.”
“Why today?” she asked, her voice husky from sleep.
“I can’t wait anymore.”
“It’s Saturday, isn’t it?” Christine asked as she rose from the bed. “This is your busiest day of the week.”
“I got it covered.” He had truly made Cedar Valley the Pacific Northwest weekend destination. It had been a lot of hard work, and there had been times when Christine was the only one who believed in him. Now other small towns wanted to hire him as a consultant.
“You seem pretty excited,” Christine said.
“I am.” He slid his hand into his jeans pocket and his fingers curled around the diamond engagement ring. He fought the urge to blurt out the proposal right now. He’d wanted to ask months ago but he’d waited until he knew Christine was ready to take the plunge. “This will be our most memorable weekend yet.”