Lost and Found (25 page)

“
Oh,” the tears began to
fall, “that is beautiful.”

Ed started the truck and pulled out of
the lot. “We all got home as they were in the bathroom laughing. So
I sat down and made her shave my head.”

Darcy reached over and placed her hand
on his arm. “That is precious.”

“
Well, Clara and Christian
chickened out.”

She laughed. “Christian did? I
wouldn’t think that was his style.”

“
Back then it was.” He
turned the corner. “Anyway, it was when Dad was engaged to Kathy.
She was not impressed, but I’m glad he did it. It meant the world
to Mom.”

“
And that was why you all
got that tattoo?”

Ed smiled. “Yeah. She said she was
going to do it, and we all showed up. She cried the whole
time.”

“
I assume not just because
it hurt.”

He only smiled, but she understood
it.

Ed couldn’t wait for his mother to see
what Darcy had done, so he drove to their house. His father was
mowing the lawn, which reminded Ed that he’d better do the same. If
his grandfather ever saw the yard in its current state, he’d take
back the house.

His mother was on her knees digging in
the flower bed that the family had spent a weekend building for her
a few years ago. It seemed when her children moved away, she still
had the need to grow things and watch them blossom.

His father turned off the mower as
they climbed out of the truck. “Well, look who came to finish the
lawn.”

Ed laughed. “That didn’t work when I
lived here.”

“
Don’t I know it.” He shook
his hand. “Hello, Darcy,” he said and leaned in to give her a kiss
on the cheek.

Ed smiled. She’d become accustom to it
in time, the affection his entire family would shower on her. A
powerful feeling rose in him. He couldn’t wait to see the
expression on everyone’s faces when he proposed on Tuesday. Darcy
thought the tattoo was overwhelming, emotionally. He was going to
knock her socks off.

His mother stood from her kneeling pad
and pulled off her gardening gloves. “What a nice surprise.” She
kissed Ed on the cheek and then did the same to Darcy. “What brings
you two by?”

Ed nudged Darcy. “Show
her.”

Darcy lifted the tape from her skin
and pulled back the gauze cover to reveal her new
tattoo.

Just as Ed had expected, his mother’s
eyes filled with tears.

“
Oh, Darcy, it’s
beautiful,” she said as she raised her hand to her chest. “Carlos,
look.”

“
That’s some mighty nice
ink,” he complimented as he rested a hand on Ed’s
shoulder.

“
I hope you don’t mind that
I used your design. Ed suggested it, and it’s just such a beautiful
design.”

“
Oh, why would I ever
mind?” His mother wiped away her tear. “My son loves you, and
you’re part of this family as well as your own. I’m
honored.”

She pulled Darcy into a hug—not just
any hug—but one that crushed your bones and filled your heart with
love. Yep, this was the right woman. If he loved her as much as he
did and his family loved her too, how could it be wrong?

Darcy lay in Ed’s bed, wrapped in his
arms. After they’d visited his parents, he seemed to be very
conscious of the fact he hadn’t been home much. So very
domestically, they’d gone back to his place and she had vacuumed
and dusted while he had mowed the lawn. Darcy had never been more
comfortable.

She lifted her arm to look at the
tattoo on her wrist in the moonlit shadows of Ed’s room. Family.
Never in all her life did she think she’d mark her body so
permanently, but it meant everything to her.

Ed caressed her shoulder and then
placed a kiss against her skin. “Does it hurt?”

“
It itches, but it’s just
so beautiful.”

“
You’re
beautiful.”

She giggled. But then a serious
thought filled her head, and the need for an answer squeezed at her
heart. “You love me, right?”

“
Yes.”

“
And you said I’m part of
this family.”

“
Yes,” he said, but his
voice waivered. “What are you getting at?”

Darcy turned to face him. “I love you.
I’m just so glad that I bumped into you that day.”

Ed smiled. “I’m glad you say that. You
were pretty pissed.”

“
No. I was embarrassed.
Besides, my mind was focused on something so unimportant at the
time.” How could she ever have wanted to chase down who she was?
She knew who she was. But she pushed that thought out of her head.
“Is this forever? Tell me, do you really want me
forever?”

Ed propped himself up on his elbow.
“Yes. Are you doubting me?”

“
No. I’m—oh, I don’t know.
It all seems so fast.”

“
And time means nothing
when you fall in love, and neither does age.”

Darcy nodded. “You do want to marry
me, right?”

The worry in his eyes softened. “Yes.
When the time is right, I want to marry you.”

“
And family?”

“
The bigger, the
better—unless you don’t want kids.” The line between his brows
deepened.

“
Oh, no. I want kids. And
having been alone all my life and now seeing what you have, I want
lots of kids.”

“
That’s a
relief.”

“
But I don’t know anything
about who they’ll be.”

Ed ran his fingers down her arm.
“They’ll be you and me.”

“
I understand that. But I
don’t know if I have some strange genes that, well, maybe they
won’t be perfect.”

Ed shook his head. “A child is
perfect.” He sat up, and she followed. Ed turned so he was fully
facing her as if he had a point to make. “Darcy, I have every
intention of marrying you and having a family with you. I don’t
care who you were before you were a McCary. And I’m not much
different in not knowing what will come from me when we have kids.
My dad knows almost nothing about his own genes, but we all turned
out okay. Besides, even if there is something quirky that happens,
I’m going to love any child you give me.”

The ache in her chest eased. “You’re
going to marry me?”

He smiled again. “I’m going to marry
you, and don’t you dare think this is your proposal. I’m going to
make that special.”

“
I can’t imagine you could
top the feeling I have right now.”

He caressed her cheek. “I
promise.”

Darcy took his hands in hers and then
shifted her eyes to his. “Are you really going to make me wait
until our wedding night to make love to you?”

Ed’s mouth curled into that sexy smile
she loved. “I take it you’re over my being a gentleman.”

“
I’m so over
it.”

“
And being totally modern,
the whole premarital sex thing is okay with you.”

She bit down on her lip.
“Ed…”

“
I’m just
clarifying…because I’m over it, too.”

And with that, his hands came to her
hair, and he pulled her to him. His mouth was hot and more eager
than she’d ever known. This wasn’t a mistake. This was true love,
and as he lowered her back to the bed and moved on top of her, she
tumbled into the abyss of absolute happiness.

Darcy finished her work on Tuesday
afternoon and then turned off her computer. She wondered if she’d
truly accomplished anything. Her head had been in the clouds for
the past few days.

Ed had turned her world upside down
when she met him, but when she made love to him—time stood
still.

In time, perhaps, it would be the
normal to be so happy. But, for now, she was enjoying the euphoria
of happiness.

Darcy looked around and wondered how
she was going to get home with all of the office gifts she’d
received for her birthday. Mary Ellen had ordered a birthday cake,
which they had cut at lunch. She’d brought her a birthday basket
full of bath salts and lotions, too. The human resource department
had sent her flowers, and one of the ladies from accounting had
brought her balloons. She’d never had this much attention on her
birthday. How could anyone top it?

Ed called her from his office, and she
turned and walked through the door, an enormous smile pushing at
her cheeks.

“
You look happy,” he
said.

“
I’m in awe of all the
attention I’ve been given today. Top that with the fact that I’m
absolutely in love with the greatest man in the world, and yeah—I’m
happy.”

“
Is this guy you love as
good looking as me?” He gave her a wink. “Okay, I’m headed out to
pick up Christian and take him to his appointment. Mom is expecting
you whenever you get done here. She’s worried you won’t like
lasagna.”

“
I love
lasagna.”

“
Good answer.” He smiled as
he picked up his keys. “I love you. I’ll see you soon.” He walked
around his desk and pressed a long, hard kiss to her lips and then
turned to walk out the door. “By the way,” he said as he walked
away, “you’re not going to be living in the basement much longer. I
think you’d better start packing and just move in with
me.”

He never looked back. He just kept
walking.

Darcy’s heart beat faster in her
chest. She looked down at her wrist and then squeezed her eyes
closed. Family—and Ed was hers.

Christian hobbled to the truck, and Ed
tapped his fingers on his arms, which were crossed over his chest.
“You are so slow.”

“
Next week I’ll kick your
ass for that.”

“
I bet you will,” Ed
laughed as he watched his brother struggle to climb into the truck.
He’d help him if he needed it, but he was sure Christian would do
anything just to be a little independent.

Once he was in, Ed closed the door and
walked around to the other side. He climbed in and started the
truck.

“
Oh, before I forget,”
Christian said as he dug into his pocket and pulled out the ring
box, “I don’t want to be responsible for this anymore.”

Ed opened the box and looked down at
the ring. It was perfect. Darcy had been happy when he’d left her
at the office, but in a few hours, she’d be over the
moon.

“
So you’re going to ask her
tonight?” Christian asked as he fastened his seat belt.

“
Yep. Or at least make it
official. We’ve been doing a lot of talking about it.”

“
I’m happy for you. I was
beginning to wonder if your time had run out.” He
laughed.

But Ed had, at times, wondered that
too.

Ed pulled up in front of the hospital
and let Christian out, and then he went to park. As he climbed out
of the truck, he received the text message from Darcy that she was
at his parents’ house with his aunts, cooking dinner.

He could only imagine the chaos in the
kitchen, and the laughing and gossiping.

Ed walked through the hospital, and
the thought that his future wife had made her entrance into the
world in that very building on that very day was a bit surreal. How
amazing that her path in life would bring her back to Nashville and
to him.

Christian was already in the exam room
when Ed made it to him.

“
Do they need to cut your
leg off, or do you get to keep it?”

“
Totally get to keep it,
but we are discussing bionic upgrades.” Christian laughed. “Oh, and
if you want to get going, you can. Uncle Curtis is on his way over
from the clinic. They found Darcy’s records. He’s on his way to
pick them up.”

A chill ran down Ed’s spine. He still
wasn’t sure he liked the idea of giving her the information, but
what would it hurt? The woman who had given Darcy away was dead,
and soon, she’d be his wife—he’d always take care of
her.

Ed looked at his watch. It really
wouldn’t be anything to wait for his brother and uncle, but it
would be a few more minutes with his love if he could ditch his
brother.

“
So he’ll bring you to
dinner then?”

“
He said he’s headed that
way after he’s done here. I’ll catch a ride with him.”

Ed nodded and turned for the
door.

“
Hey, Ed,” Christian
called, and he turned back. “I’m really excited for you. I can’t
wait to see the expression on her face when you give her the ring.
So make sure I’m there.”

“
I will.”

The fragrant aroma of garlic from his
mother’s house met Ed out in street. She was putting on a
spread.

It wasn’t that he was late, but this
family loved a dinner together, which was why they did it so often.
His sister’s car was already there. Regan, Zach, John, and Arianna
were there. Tyler’s car was there which meant Spencer was there
too. Avery must have come with her mother, for they traveled as a
pair most the time. And, of course, Darcy’s monster of a truck was
parked there, too.