Delilah gazed at him with mock horror. “You must be a pod person. Blair and babies . . . ?”
Kat grinned, but she felt her face flush. Blair and Delilah joked some more, then Blair settled Joshua back in his mother’s arms. As Delilah moved off, Blair said, “Okay, who’s first? I can’t keep this secret much longer.”
“Okay.”
“And we’re going to make that baby a Kincaid.”
Kat looked at him, startled, unsure if she knew what he meant.
“Katrina Starr, will you marry me?” he asked.
“Don’t you dare get down on one knee!” she hissed, when he started to kneel.
“What’s going on here?” Patrick asked from somewhere to Kat’s right.
She jumped about a foot. “Blair’s just horsing around,” she assured him quickly, shooting Blair a dark look.
“Sounded like a proposal to me,” Goldie said, still hanging on Patrick’s arm, her expression avid. She was like a bloodhound on the scent, whenever there was news to be had.
“It was,” Blair told her. “I’m just waiting for an answer.”
Kat shook her head and smiled. “You are a pod person.”
They were interrupted by the descent of most of Blair’s family on them: Hunter and his two sisters, Emma and Alex, came by in a group. Only Mariah, Blair’s older sister, hadn’t made the trip. The rest of the Kincaids started talking all at once. Just the fact that Blair and Katrina were an item was news enough, but Patrick held up an authoritative hand. Immediately, they all fell silent. Patrick Starr might not be lead detective for the Prairie Creek Sheriff’s Department any longer, but he still commanded a lot of respect. “I believe there’s a proposal on the table,” Patrick said.
“What proposal?” Hunter asked.
“I’ve asked Kat to marry me,” Blair said blithely.
“WHAT?”
“You’re kidding?”
“Good God . . .”
They all spoke at once and caught the attention of Shiloh and Ruth, who were talking with each other. They drifted over to the Kincaid group just as Hunter, taking a cue from Patrick, held up his own hand. He looked at his brother, eyes smiling, then he turned expectantly to Kat.
Kat looked at them all, and then beyond to the amber fields beneath a warm September sun, and then to the mountains. Like Ruth and Shiloh, she had reached a new peace. All the bad and sad feelings over the loss of her mother were gone. All the fear and hurt and anger over Ruth’s rape had slowly dissipated. They’d found the missing girls, and Addie Donovan was safe again.
She looked over at Shiloh, whose brows had lifted, as if she knew what was coming, and then to Ruth, whose smile was growing wider. Like them, Kat had found her happiness.
What was she waiting for?
“Yes, I’ll marry you, Blair Kincaid.” She placed his hand over her abdomen once more. “After all, we need to give our baby the Kincaid name . . .”