He took his time, draining her of every drop she had to give before letting loose with his own explosion deep inside her. She felt the warmth flood into her center as his loud groan of pleasure filled the room. It always brought her happiness to know she could bring him such contentment.
After a moment, he pulled free of her and they laid down, slipping between the sheets and curling up against one another. Leslie tried to sleep, but now that her attention was no longer engrossed in ecstasy, she couldn’t help but consider what tomorrow might bring. They’re entire lives could change in one day. Her life had already changed dramatically once, for the better. Perhaps it was the universe’s way of balancing things back out to take this away from her, from them.
It felt like it took an eternity to go to sleep, but she finally drifted off, falling into an exhausted sleep that would only leave her feeling more tired than she already felt. Tomorrow would be a long day, perhaps the longest day of her life, and that said a lot, considering where she had already been. Still, no matter what, she knew she would stick by him. They would weather this together and they would always be a family, whatever that took.CHAPTER THIRTY-THREEThe rising sun brought a fresh round of anxiety, knowing that they might hear from the council today. Leslie could tell that Tucker was somewhat anxious, as well, as he paced back and forth out in the garden. Turning the girls over to Marla, she made her way outside to talk to him.
“I think we should pull up this entire section and replace it with roses,” he said, waving at a centerpiece in the garden that was currently just a bird bath and some running ivy. “I know the landscaper recommended this understated bit, but it needs some color. My mother loved roses,” he said.
“I still need to have someone bring over the old kettles from the barn. I sort of forgot about them after what happened in there,” she said.
“Not something you’ll ever have to worry about from him again,” Tucker said, his tone revealing more than the words did. “I’ll have someone bring them over. The big ones would look great with some of the creeping roses Mom used to have. In fact, if you go around to the back of the barn, I think some of her original plants are still intact and could be transferred. We could put the kettles on posts with a hook at the top and let them trail downward or something to that effect.”
“Working on your horticulture prowess, are you?” Leslie laughed.
“Maybe. Just an observation while I was out here clearing my head. I had forgotten the kettles too. They will look great spread about out here. I’ll get the sewing machine brought too. It’s not good for much else.”
“Sewing machine?”
“Yes, one of those old Singer ones with the foot petal. The heavy metal of it and the kettles are the only reason they survived the fire when so much was lost, but some of the rubber and wooden components were melted into the metal. It would still make an eclectic garden piece. That is, if you want it. Otherwise, I can incorporate it maybe into the guest house gardens when I get to those.”
“No. It sounds interesting. Have them bring it as well. We’ll have the gardener come out and redo it if you want,” she said.
He nodded and took her hand, kissing her on her forehead. Sitting on one of the benches strategically placed for the view of the mountains in the distance and a bed of tulips that would be beautiful once they bloomed, they held hands and talked for a while. Leslie realized that her husband was full of surprises, full of ideas, as they spoke. After a while, he stood and helped her to her feet.
“How about we go down to the restaurant and eat lunch. I could use some comfort food,” he said.
“Sounds good to me,” she replied.
They got changed and made their way down to the highway. Walking inside, Leslie was surprised to find his Aunt Meredith at one of the tables alone. Other than her, the place was completely empty.
“I had no idea all of you liked this place,” Leslie said, stopping by her table.
Behind her, she heard something clatter to the floor and turned around to find Tucker kneeling to pick something up. It appeared to be a fork that he had knocked off the table behind him, but as he laid it on the bench seat behind him, she realized there was something else in his hand. It was a ring, a diamond solitaire.
“Leslie, I know that we are already married on paper, but I want to do this the right way. Will you marry me?” he asked.