Page 85 of Runaway

“Not ever?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Nope.”

I reached over, grabbed his hand, and pulled his chin until he faced me. Then I smiled. “Grandma is going to love you, Mark. Don’t stress about it.”

He slammed a quick kiss into my lips, then disappeared. He was already out the door and stretching from the hour-long drive as I chuckled, climbed out, and shoved the keys into my back pocket. Green shrubs, trees, and the quiet shuffle of movement filled the air as I beeped the lock, then reached out for Mark. His hand slid effortlessly into mine, without a second thought, and I tugged him toward the main door.

“She’s a pretty easy audience.”

“Well, she did give Joshua your number.”

I shot him a look of warning—he betternotbring that up—and he winked. Joshua wallowed in prison on several local and federal charges. He’d be locked up for a good, long while. Just the way he deserved.

“I’m excited to see her,” I said with a delicious little shiver. He squeezed my fingers.

“Me too, Stella Marie. Me too.”

He pulled the door open and put a hand on the small of my back as I slipped by, the hot Floridian air ushering us inside. Two steps into the main waiting area, and I came to a quick stop with a gasp.

A banner of balloons and an assortment of people in wheelchairs, walkers, or loafers, waited only a few feet away. Grandma sat in the midst of them, her pillow of gray hair and bright smile like a beacon.

“Welcome!” came several stuttered shouts, and Grandma smacked an old man with a baseball cap that said RANGER across the top.

“Bad timing!” she squawked. “We’re supposed to say it together!”

Another poorly timed effort followed, and I giggled into my hands. Seeing Grandma, and her entire Bunco club, sent a frisson of electricity all the way through me. Mark’s family had been so warm and accepting. Now, mine could be as well.

She stood up, arms bent and hands on her hips.

“Well?”

With a laugh, I stepped forward and embraced her. She held me tight, her soft skin and the quiet tremble in her voice just like home.

“I’m always glad to hug you,” she said in a teary voice. “But that’s not what I meant.”

Startled, I pulled away. “What do you mean?”

“Well?” She motioned behind me. “What are you going to say?”

I glanced back, then gasped. Mark knelt on one knee a few steps away. Something glittered in between his thumb and pointer finger. Shock rippled through me as I slowly turned. He smiled, and all nerves, all fear, were gone. Nothing but certainty filled him now.

“Stella Marie,” he murmured. “Will you officially be mine?”

With trembling hands, I reached for him. He stood and trapped my hand. Cool metal slid onto my left ring finger. An ostentatious diamond sparkled there, set with smaller ones in a white-gold setting.

“Mark, I . . .”

Unable to finish the thought, I just gaped at him. He leaned forward to whisper, “At this point, it’s a good idea to say yes or no.”

Laughing, I grabbed his face.

“Yes, Mark. Forever.”

He was smiling when our lips touched, and another ragged, unsynchronized, but heartfelt cry filled the air from the Bunco club. I wrapped my arms around Mark’s neck with tears in my eyes and held him close.

Grandma called out, “That hunk is my grandson-in-law!”

A deep chuckle reverberated through his chest as he held me close. I’d found my home forever. Now I knew, without a doubt, that I'd never have to run away again.