Car wheels crunched on the gravel drive. Beau ignored my shouted questions, most involving how many marshmallows he'd bought for the occasion to look out over the deck.
"There he is," he muttered.
But the car wasn't Finn's, it was Claire's white Jeep. "Claire is coming? Why is Claire here?"
Beau sighed and threw up his hands. "Fine! It's a Labor Day bonfire. I figured we could end the summer the way we started it."
I turned and looked at him. "Wow," I said, touched. "That's a great idea."
He smiled and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Well, it's been a pretty great summer." He kissed the top of my head. "One worth celebrating."
Behind Claire's car, his father's classic Corvette rumbled to a stop. His parents waved up at us and began the trek up the lawn. Behind them came Jonah's old car that their father had restored for him, with Ruby in the passenger seat. Gabe and Everly jumped out of the cramped back immediately. I squealed to see my friend again. "Everly!!"
"Look at what happens when I leave you alone!" she teased, gesturing to how I was leaning into Beau. I laughed and went thundering down the deck stairs to hurtle into her, knocking the bag of chips out of her hands.
The end of summer meant the nights were getting shorter and cooler. Beau herded everyone inside and orchestrated a potluck feast, but all the while he was checking out the window.
There was still no sign of Finn.
"How long has he been gone?" I murmured in Beau's ear when we met again at the refrigerator.
He looked pained. "Since last night, I guess. I don't know. He wasn't here when I woke up. We were up late talking about—" He caught himself and shook his head. "We were up late talking, so I slept in later than normal. I thought maybe he went for a walk, but his car's gone."
I felt a flash of guilt, remembering how Beau had gone looking for me and found that I had disappeared as well. I slid my arms under his, clinging to him for a moment. He sighed, then lifted one of my hands. Kissing my fingers, he flashed a smile. "He'll be okay."
"He will," I agreed.
Beau held my gaze in his hazel one for a long moment and then nodded again. "Okay!" he called over the din of his family. "I've got marshmallows and a bunch of toasting sticks, some of them better than others. Ready, set, go!"
Gabe shot out onto the lawn at a dead run, elbowing past Jonah, who tackled him around the knees. Which made it easy for Claire to shoot around both of them and claim the best marshmallow toasting stick for herself.
I nearly fell over the deck I was laughing so hard. "Come on!" Beau urged, waving for me to join them. "I snagged you the second-best stick."
It was a night just like the first one I'd spent with the Kings. A soft summer's night and the feeling of belonging. I went out onto the lawn and joined the family I'd created for myself.
Beau put his arm around me. I felt him stiffen when I went to slide my cold hand into his pocket. "What?" I teased. "Too much?"
He rolled his eyes. "Man, you really are terrible at keeping surprises from."
The chatter around the bonfire fell silent and everyone looked at us. My heart started thumping so loud I was sure they could all hear it.
"I wish Finn was here," Beau continued.
"So wait," I urged. "Whatever it is you have planned, wait to do it until he comes back."
"No." He took a deep breath. "I'm doing this now."
He dropped to one knee.
I heard Claire squeak, and a sigh from his mother. But the only thing I could see was Beau reaching into his pocket and pulling out the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. "Rachel Walker, we belong together. We both know it, fuck, we went through hell to figure it out." I clapped my hands over my mouth to hide my disbelieving giggle at the fact that he was cursing during his proposal. He grinned sheepishly when he realized. "Sorry. But yeah. We figured it out, and now I'm sure. I'm more sure of this than I've ever been of anything. I want to belong to you forever." He stood up and slipped the ring onto my finger. "Will you belong to me?"
I looked around at the happy faces watching us, holding their breath, waiting to find out if I would belong to them too. The only face that was missing was Finn's and I knew it had to be killing Beau that he was doing this without his twin here to see it. And that made me love him even more. "Yes!" I shouted, clasping his smooth face between my hands. "I'll belong to you. I'll marry you. Yes, yes, yes!"
Everyone clapped as I kissed him. Gabe whooped so loud that it covered up my whispered request so that only Beau heard it. "But only on one condition."
He pulled back and looked at me, worry furrowing his brow. "What's that?"
I cupped his face again. "You have to grow back the beard."
THE END
More from Crown Creek
Where is Finn?
Find out in Some Dirty Secret, coming out in May, 2018.
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