Meeting Miss Mystic (38 page)

She watched as her boyfriend crossed to her sister and offered her his hand. “Good to meet you, Thea. Really glad you came.”

“Thanks,” said Thea, and Zoë could tell she was a little impressed. Zoë hadn’t exactly had the best taste in men before Paul.

Paul came back to her side and leaned down, kissing her lips softly. “I’ll be back in a little bit?”

She nodded, mouthing
Thank you
to him then watched him follow Sandy out the door before turning her eyes back to Thea. She hadn’t seen Thea in over two years; coincidentally, the last time was right before the surgery that saved her life. Sandy claimed she’d come to the hospital to check on her for days after, but Zoë didn’t remember seeing her. And once Zoë had made it through the woods and was lucid, Thea never came back again.

Zoë patted her bedside, but Thea pulled a stool over from the corner of the room and perched on it, about a foot from Zoë’s bed, out of reach. Zoë folded her hands over her belly.
Don’t expect too much. She’s here. She’s here. It’s more than you could have hoped.

“You nervous?”

About my surgery? No. To see you? Yes.

“No,” said Zoë.

Thea looked at Zoë uncomfortably, shifting on the stool and swallowing.

“Still mad at you, Zo.”

Zoë nodded, tears burning her eyes. She looked down at her hands.

“But I still love you too.”

Zoë felt her face crumple into creases as her eyes filled with tears that coursed down her face as she shook her head back and forth. She didn’t realize how much she needed to hear those words, how much she had missed them. But the agony in Thea’s voice hurt her heart too.

Thea inhaled a ragged breath before continuing. “I know you’ve been trying to reach out to us. I’m getting there, okay? It’s just hard.”

Zoë peeked up through watery eyes to see her sister’s face wet with tears. She remembered all the nights Thea had held her in her arms after their mother died, how much she had needed her sister and how much she’d been there for Zoë. She reached out her hand, belatedly realizing Thea probably wouldn’t take it.

Thea bit her bottom lip, shaking her head back and forth as tears trailed down her face, leaving red blotches. Then, suddenly, she was sitting on the bed beside Zoë, facing her, holding her hand.

“I’m so…I’m so sorry, Thea,” she sobbed softly, her other hand, with the IV line, covering their clasped hands.

“I know you never meant to hurt him.”

“I will be sorry every day of my life.”

“He’s doing okay,” said Thea, caressing Zoë’s cheek with her free hand before leaning down to kiss her little sister’s cheek. “He’s a really amazing little kid.”

“I miss him every day.”

Thea looked away, and Zoë knew she wanted to change the subject away from Brandon.

“I like your boyfriend,” Thea said, sniffling. “He doesn’t look like an asshole.”

Zoë squeezed her sister’s hand, smiling through her tears. “He’s not. He’s the best.”

“You really moving to Montana?”

Zoë took a deep, shaky breath and nodded. “Yep. Sandy told you?”

Thea nodded. “It’s good, Zo. Make a life for yourself. Mama would’ve been proud.”

“Will you…will you two come and see me?”

Thea swiped at her tears with the back of her hand and smiled at Zoë. “We’ll see. Okay? A day at a time.”

Zoë nodded. Seeing Thea was more than she’d hoped for. Hearing the words I love you and holding hands? Her heart was full. They would find their way now. It might take a while, but they’d figure out how to be a family again.

Thea let go of her hand and stood up.

“Good luck today, little sister,” she said. “Let’s grab a slice before you go, okay? Next week or something?”

Zoë swallowed, nodding at her sister. “I’d love it.”

Thea headed for the door.

“Thea!” Zoë’s voice broke. Her sister turned around. “I love you too.”

“I know,” said her sister, offering Zoë a small smile before walking out the door.

***

“Give ‘em another minute,” said Sandy, flicking her nervous glance down the corridor. “We’ll see Thea when she comes out. I’ll walk her to the car and you spend the last few minutes with Zoë before they take her.”

“You have more experience with this,” he sighed. “I’m worried. I—”

“Aw, don’t be,” said Sandy, giving him a warm smile. “It’s just plastic surgery. No major organs. No major arteries. Nothing to worry about. Zoë’s a champ.”

“You’re pretty amazing too,” he said. “How’d you get Thea here?”

Sandy shrugged. “Told her Zoë was moving away. You should’ve seen those girls when my sister died. Never saw two sisters hang onto each other so tightly, not even me and Carly. That accident was a terrible thing, but it was even more terrible because they abandoned each other. And now Zoë’s leaving with you. Time goes too fast, you know? You can’t put off things for tomorrow if there’s time to do them today.”

“That’s good advice.” He paused. “You know, Sandy, if she had a dad, I’d talk to him about this, but she has you, and you’re everything to her, so I’ll talk to you instead: Is it okay with you if I ask her to marry me?”

Sandy’s mouth dropped open and she gasped before her lips turned up into the biggest smile Paul had ever seen. “I knew it!”

“What did you know, Sandy?” asked Thea, approaching them from Zoë’s room.

“I knew that Paul was good for Zoë.”

“Better be,” said Thea, looking him up and down with a hard look. “Take care of her, huh?”

“I aim to,” he said, grinning at Sandy, before standing up. “Excuse me, ladies.”

He knocked lightly on her door before entering. She raised her arms to him, and he rushed to her, sitting next to her on the bed, wrapping his arms around her as she sobbed against his shoulder.

“Sh-she said she l-loved me,” said Zoë between sobs.

“Of course she does, sweetheart. How could she not love you?”

“You th-think I’m a better person than I am.”

“Nope. You’re an amazing person who’s made mistakes. That doesn’t make you any less amazing. It makes you human.”

She took a deep, noisy breath through her nose and leaned back.

“I look awful.”

“I’ve never seen you look more beautiful than right this minute.”

She searched his eyes before taking a deep breath and cocking her head to the side, giving him a blotchy smile. “What did I do before I had you in my life?”

She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, and he bent his head closer to her, his heart hammering the hell out of his chest.
Now or never, Paul.

“I don’t know. But if I get my way, you’ll never remember another day without me.”

He leaned his head up, meeting her blue eyes that still surprised him sometimes, as they did now.

He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a tiny white velvet pouch, held together with a braided white, satin drawstring. He held it in his open palm so she could see it.

“I have something I need to ask you,” he said softly.

Her eyes widened and she gasped. For the second time in an hour, she dropped his hand and covered her mouth.

He knelt down on the floor beside her bed, pulling the hand away from her mouth and kissing the palm gently before lacing his fingers through hers.

“Holly Morgan, Princess Buttercup, Miss Temptation…Zoë Flannigan, I love all the pieces of who you are. I love your light and your dark, your happy and your sad, your giggles and your tears. I love your eyes whether they’re brown or blue, and I love your hair whether it’s like sunshine or night. I love your heart and the way it spoke to mine. I love the way you listen and the way you tease and the way you feel in my arms. I love you whether you’re a teacher or a web developer or an artist. But what I’d really like for you to be is…my wife.”

He released her hand to loosen the draw string then shook the little velvet bag until a platinum band holding a simple, perfect diamond plopped into his hand.

He held up the ring with one hand, and took her hand with the other, smiling into her glistening eyes.

“Zoë Holly Flannigan, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, and she started crying and laughing at the same time, nodding her head, and holding out her trembling left hand.

He’d been pretty sure she would say yes, but it was a relief to hear the words. How he managed to work the ring onto her fourth finger without dropping it, he didn’t know. But when he looked back up into her eyes, it didn’t matter. He leaned forward, kissing her tenderly, reverently, kissing his fiancée, his future wife, and if they were so blessed, the mother of his future children.

She leaned back from him and smiled then lowered her glance to the ring, admiring it. “If I’d been really clever, I’d have answered ‘As you wish.’ like the fairy tale.”

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again.

“We don’t need to be
like
the fairy tale,” he whispered. “We
are
the fairy tale.”

She kissed him back, her tongue slipping between his lips and finding his, deepening the kiss. He shifted on the bed, pulling her closer to him, making him almost forget that she was about to go into surgery until they heard an awkward “Ah-hem” behind them.

They pulled away, but Paul was transfixed by the stunning woman in his arms, by his future wife. He pulled her close until he felt her rest her chin on his shoulder.

“Dr. Drew!” said Zoë, who was facing the door to her room, and Paul smiled at the sheer happiness in her voice. “I’m getting married!”

***

Zoë had to stay in recovery for an extra hour before going back to her room, just to make sure that she came out of the anesthesia without any issues, but she had designated Paul as the person who could keep her company there.

He braced himself when they came to get him. He was relieved that the surgery went well, but nervous to see her bandages. It would hurt him to see her hurting.

To his relief, she was lying comfortably on her back when he got there, eyes open, bandages white and fresh around her face. He sat down in the chair beside her bed, taking her hand and bringing her wrist to his lips. He held it there for a long time, her strong pulse beating against the sensitive skin of his lips. She was okay. She was going to be okay. He was so relieved, he almost felt like crying.

“I had the strangest dream while I was under,” she murmured, her other hand falling softly on his bowed head. “I dreamed you proposed to me.”

He looked up with tears in his eyes, smiling at her tenderly, at her bandaged face. This was the face he would hold in his hands and kiss at their wedding. The face that would shudder with pleasure when they made love and one day would smile at their children. The face he wanted to see first thing every morning and last thing every night. The face that was Zoë Holly Flannigan, the woman who belonged to him, who owned his heart, who was his home.

“You weren’t dreaming,” he said, taking her hand and gently holding it up. He pulled the surgical tape off the ring, winding it once, twice, until it was free. The overhead lights caught the diamond and cast a rainbow of sparkles around the simple white walls of her recovery room. “And I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you said yes.”

“Thank God,” she whispered, smiling at him. “When can we go home?”

“Soon, love,” he answered, smiling back at her with all the love in his heart. “Soon.”

***

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Paul Johansson.

Paul had big dreams about falling in love.

He just didn’t have the best luck.

Until he met Miss Mystic.

And his dreams became real.

And they lived

Happily

Ever

After.

THE END

Thank you so much for reading Paul and Zoë’s story! I hope you loved it!

And continue on for a sneak peek at

What Were You Expecting?
Heart of Montana #5!

*****

Katy Regnery loves to hear from her fans!

Connect with her on
www.facebook.com/KatyRegnery

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www.katyregnery.com

Don’t miss Katy’s other
Heart of Montana
books, published by Boroughs Publishing Group:

BY PROXY
(
Heart of Montana
#1—Jenny Lindstrom’s story)

THE CHRISTMAS WISH
(
Heart of Montana
#1.5—Tess Branson’s story)

MIDSUMMER SWEETHEART
(
Heart of Montana
#2—Erik Lindstrom’s story)

SEE JANE FALL
(
Heart of Montana #3
—Lars Lindstrom’s story)

MEETING MISS MYSTIC
(
Heart of Montana #4
—Paul Johansson’s story)

Amazon link for BY PROXY, Heart of Montana #1

A sneak peek at
What Were You Expecting?
Heart of Montana #5

Chapter
1
May Day

Maggie Campbell was drunk.

She was good and drunk and having a damn good time, but a frustratingly difficult time keeping her balance. The revelers from the annual Gardiner May Day celebration had somehow ended up at the Blue Moon Raccoon Saloon when the rain started pelting them from every direction. Everyone who’d been listening to the band on the high school football field had run for cover and a sizeable crowd had amassed at the local suds purveyor. After a few hours at the bar, Maggie and her friend Paul Johansson were definitely the worse for wear.

“Maggie, give us another toast!” demanded Maurice Evans, beer held high over his head, shaking in his unstable grip to shower him lightly with sloshes.

Likely owing to the fact that drunken Maggie had a strong, cheerful brogue and a cache of ribald toasts bestowed upon her young ears by her often-drunken Scottish father, she’d become a crowd favorite and they unplugged the jukebox every thirty minutes or so to request another celebratory cheers. Of course, this meant that twice an hour Maggie chugged a beer, the effects of which were affecting her aforementioned balance.