Page 110 of Bad Decisions & Back Roads

Timothy was in the middle of some dramatic reenactment of the bat flip now, arms flying while everyone yelled over him.Sofia was laughing so hard she could barely reload her NERF blaster.

Something inside me loosened.Not just because there was an answer, but for the first time, the future didn’t feel like something I had to survive alone.

I grinned at Mason, emotion thick in my throat.“Thank you.”

“Time to eat!”Lisa cried out.“TV off, boys.”

There were a lot of groans.

Lisa said.“You can pause it and resume it later.It’s called modern technology.”

Once everyone settled around the table, an odd hush fell over the room.It didn’t make sense with this crowd.Sundays at the Hurst farm usually sounded like war—chairs scraping, people talking over each other, somebody already halfway through a second helping before grace was finished.

But now?

Nobody touched the food.Nobody even reached for a biscuit.

Vinny kept smirking into his sweet tea.Lisa looked seconds away from crying.Erika rocked the baby who had conked out on her shoulder.Mason studied his plate like it held the secrets of the universe.Josh sent Timothy a weird look.Even Sofia sat unusually still beside me, practically vibrating in her seat.

A nervous flutter started low in my stomach.

Then Mark elbowed Timothy hard enough to make him grunt.

“Do it before you puke,” Mark muttered.

Timothy shot to his feet so abruptly his chair nearly tipped over.I realized nobody would look directly at me.

My pulse stumbled.“Timothy?”

He swallowed hard and walked around the table toward me.I’d seen this man furious, laughing, naked, covered in mud, and standing toe-to-toe with danger without blinking once.I had never seen him nervous like this.

“Gia…” His voice cracked slightly before he cleared his throat.“Hell.”

A few quiet chuckles broke around the table.

Then he dropped to one knee.The entire world narrowed to this single moment.I stopped breathing.Actually stopped.

My hands flew to my mouth as every sound around me faded into a dull roar in my ears.

Timothy looked up at me with those steady eyes.“I know we should probably give it time,” he said softly.“But I feel like I’ve already wasted too much of that already.”A crooked smile touched his mouth.“And apparently, according to my dad, I ain’t built with patience.”

The table laughed quietly, but I could barely hear it over the pounding of my heart.

“I love you, Gia.I want a life with you full of mess.I love waking up beside you and hearing you boss me around.”His voice thickened.“I don’t want another day where you don’t know you’re mine and I’m yours.”His eyes glistened.“Will you marry me?”

I looked down just as Sofia scooted closer and leaned against my arm.Her little face tipped up toward mine, hopeful and glowing.“He said I could call you Mommy now.”

That hit me so hard it physically hurt.Every broken thing inside me seemed to seal together at once into a healing tangle of grief and love.A sob escaped before I could stop it.

“Yes,” I whispered.

Timothy’s face broke apart in relief.

“Yes,” I cried louder, laughing through tears.“I’ll marry you.Down by our tree.But…”

The whole room seemed to inhale at once.

I smirked at him.“I’m not doing some six-month engagement.I want it right away.You’re right.We’ve wasted far too much time.”