Page 60 of Mountain Grump Protector

She rolls her eyes.

“I love that about you, because it’s who you are, Willow. And I love you.”

I kiss her forehead to punctuate my point.

She laughs, and this time the sound settles deep inside me because I can no longer picture this place without that sound. Without her throwing the ball relentlessly for Murph. Without her walking around my shop in my old t-shirts that she’s modified into the sexiest clothes on the planet. I can’t even begin to think about nights without her wrapped around me.

Hell, I can’t picture any of it. And I never want to.

“I spent a lot of years convincing myself I was better off alone,” I admit to her now. “That I couldn’t be of use to anyone. Not anymore.”

“Cal, you⁠—”

“But then you showed up, and that all went out the window,” I stop her, needing to get this out once and for all. “You showed me that I don’t have to be alone. I don’t have to close myself off from the possibility of love again. And that even though it will always be my instinct to keep you safe and protect you from the world, it’s not my burden to carry.”

She shakes her head.

“There was a woman once,” I admit on a breath. “It was a long time ago, when I was serving overseas.” The words come slowly. “A local woman, her name was Mara, and she was caught up in the middle of someone else’s war. I cared about her more than I had any business doing, given where we were and our circumstances.”

Willow stays quiet, her hand still in mine as she listens.

“There was an op. I told her to stay hidden, locked in. I swore to her I’d come back for her as soon as I could.“ My jaw tightens. “I meant it. But things went sideways, the way they do. And by the time I made it back…” I can’t bring myself to say the rest.

A tear slips down Willow’s cheek.

“She trusted me to keep her safe, and…I couldn’t. I’ve spent twenty years telling myself there was nothing I could have done.” I shake my head.

“Today, when Hatch showed up, and you were standing right there in the middle of it…” I suck in a breath. “It took me right back to that day. I thought I was going to lose you, too.”

She puts her hand on my cheek, forcing me to look at her. “You didn’t lose me, Cal,” she murmurs. “You won’t. That was a long time ago.” I nod. “And I’m not her.”

“No,” I agree. “You’re not.” I wipe the tear from her cheek. “But I needed you to know why I am the way I am.”

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Don’t go,” I blurt out. “Not now. Not ever.”

“What?”

“Stay.”

My hands settle on her hips. “Today. Tomorrow. Forever. I don’t want a life that doesn’t have you in it.”

She waves a hand toward the road. “My dad…”

“We’ll figure it out,” I tell her. “Together. But you deserve to live, Willow.”

More tears slide down her cheeks as she nods in agreement.

“Marry me.”

She sucks in a breath. “What?”

“I don’t care if it makes sense. I don’t care that it happened fast. I just know that I’m a better man with you. Marry me.”

“That’s your proposal?” She tilts her head and gives me a sharp, sassy look that makes me laugh.

“I wasn’t really planning it,” I tell her. “And maybe it’s not the most romantic, but..yes. That’s my proposal. Marry me, Willow. Together we are⁠—”