Page 93 of You Met Me There

I watch him with intensity, so much so that when I hear my name called, I have to shake my head and blink to come back to the moment.

“What? Who called me?” I say, looking around for the voice.

“I did,” says Ty. “You were doing something weird with your face. Also, can you get your camera? Where is it?”

“It’s in the car. What do you want me to take photos of?”

“You’ll see.” A playful smirk graces his lips, and his eyes dart to Luke’s.

I look between them. “Do you know what this is about?” I ask Luke.

He shrugs. “Maybe.”

I lift a scrutinizing eyebrow at his secrecy. “Are you keeping secrets from me?”

He grins, his eyes warm. “Just get the camera,” he whispers. “I promise you’ll want to shoot this one.”

After a few seconds of searching his face, I say, “I’ll be right back.” I retrieve my camera from the car, thankful I bring it just about everywhere with me. I took photos of the six of us after our float down the river, with plans to frame one when I get back to my house in Fort Lauderdale.

Camera in hand, I step back out onto the back porch.

Sandra exits the house behind me, looking around for a seat at the table, but Tyler stands, waving us all down the steps toward the yard.

“Let’s go down by the water.” He grabs Sandra’s hand. She looks adorable in a frilly light blue dress that reaches just above her knees and white sandals that sport a big leather bow on each foot.

“Should we bring chairs down?” she asks him, following him down the stairs.

“Nah” is the short reply he gives.

We all stand, Mom and Dad included, and Cam calls for the boys through the screen door. Their footsteps travel through the house until they’re in front of me.

“What are we doing?” Levi looks around expectantly, spotting his uncle on the lawn below. “Are we playing football?”

“I don’t know yet,” I say truthfully. I have a hunch, but I haven’t been told any details, so I follow the crowd downstairs.

Archie looks up at me with big round eyes. “Can you carry me?”

I chuckle. “Sure, bud. Just hold on tight, okay?”

I heft him into the air and rest him on my hip. It isn’t easy since he’s four and pretty solidly built as far as kids go, but I manage to grip him tightly with one arm and rest the other hand on the wooden railing, making my way slowly down the ten steps. When we reach the ground, he squirms from my arms to walk beside me. He slides his little hand into mine, and my heart skips a beat.

I want this, I think. But I also know in my heart that Luke and I are in a good place now, with or without kids. I don’t want to mess anything up anymore.

Tyler and Sandra step onto the dock as the rest of us reach the water. I stand back, waiting for a cue or something from Tyler, but he’s not looking at any of us. His tousled blond hair drifts over his brow, and the sun illuminates Sandra’s auburn curls. Tyler isn’t dressed up in any special way, but he looks nice—put together enough for photos in his tan shorts and deep purple polo.

And then I know exactly what’s about to happen.

I drop Archie’s hand and lift the camera to my eye, a smile cracking across my face. Sandra and Ty stand in the center of my lens, the blue water and sky framing their bodies. They’re too far out on the dock for us to hear what they’re saying, but there’s no questioning his motives when Ty bends down on one knee and produces a little box from his pocket. I click away on my camera, trigger-happy at seeing my brother proposing to the love of his life.

Mom gasps, and Juliet’s sniffles are heard nearby.

Sandra’s hands cover her mouth as she smiles. She nods frantically, and when Ty removes the ring from the box, she extends her hand, letting him slip it over her finger. Mom, Dad, Cam, Jules, Luke, and I all cheer and clap, shouting our congratulations. Sandra screams with joy, fanning her face and kissing Ty.

Luke appears beside me, sliding a hand across my lower back. I’m almost in tears, overjoyed for my brother and his future bride, but also thankful that I can be here for this moment with Luke by my side.

Sandra looks back at us, seeming to notice the whole family standing along the edge of the lake for the first time. I continue to take photos of the couple as they walk down the dock toward us, their hands intertwined and smiles glowing on their faces.

Mom embraces Sandra, Dad shakes Ty’s hand, and soon we’re all hugging and laughing and crying. Even Archie and Levi run circles around us, although I don’t think they grasp the significance of the event.