Anchored: A Lake Series Novella (12 page)
“Absolutely!”
I smile. “Rachel, this is Caroline. Caroline, this is Rachel.”
“It’s
very nice to meet you,” Rachel says.
“You,
too. Um … I don’t want to intrude on whoever is taking
the balloon up, but would it be okay if I got a closer look? I’ve
never seen a hot air balloon from this close before. Only seen them
floating in the sky.” Caroline is craning her neck to look
through the doorway out through the windows in the sunroom for a
better look at the balloon in the field of the backyard.
“Of
course! This particular balloon is even more impressive up close.”
Rachel looks at me from the corner of her eyes and smiles at me
knowingly.
Caroline
walks through the sunroom with us close behind. As she steps onto the
deck, she takes in the balloon in its enormity. She’s entranced
and it takes her a minute to see that there are two lines of pink and
red rose petals forming a path to the balloon basket.
“Oh
my gosh! This is beautiful!” She turns to Rachel who is already
capturing every moment with her camera. “This is so romantic!”
“I
was hoping you would think so,” Tyler says as he rounds the
corner of the house from where he had been hiding.
“Tyler?”
Caroline is stunned and it takes her a moment to put everything
together. She turns to me with a shocked face. “You!” She
shakes her head in disbelief and then mouths the words “thank
you” to me. I think the appreciation is for both talking her
out of a tragic paintball proposal and for giving her a coat to cover
her Barbie shirt. It was a cute shirt, but not what she would want
captured for all eternity.
I
smile as Will and I put our arms around each other proudly. After
that, it takes Caroline approximately five seconds to start crying.
Tyler meets her on the deck and takes her hand, leading her down the
rose petal path to the basket. We can’t hear exactly what Tyler
is saying to Caroline, but from the practice rounds he had with Will
I imagine he’s saying something like “where you go, I
go.” He’s telling her that he isn’t going to let an
ocean separate them. He’s also telling her how much he loves
her and that his life wouldn’t be complete without her in it.
And probably something about, “who would have known the day we
met in Mrs. Kramer’s English class freshman year that we would
be here in this moment?”
When
Tyler has poured his heart out to Caroline, he drops to one knee and
pulls out the ring box that has been burning a hole in his pocket for
weeks. He opens it and looks at Caroline and although we can’t
hear the words leave his mouth, I know he’s saying what he has
planned from Day One.
“Caroline,
I love you. Be mine forever and marry me.”
As
expected, Caroline is speechless for the first time in her life. She
covers her mouth and nods uncontrollably while tears of pure,
unadulterated joy slide down her face. Tyler puts the ring on her
finger, picking her up and kissing her as he stands.
I
can’t help the tear of my own joy for them both that escapes
down my face. Will squeezes me closer to his side and kisses the top
of my head as we watch Tyler help Caroline into the basket. Clive
untethers the ropes and climbs in the basket behind them. Before we
know it, we’re waving to the happy couple as they rise into
Carolina Blue sky.
The
last few months have been filled with every emotion known to man. We
went through so much with Michael. It seems redemptive that while
Michael’s life ended in this place, the new life Tyler and
Caroline are embarking on would start here.
“We
actually helped him pull this off,” Will says to me. “Can
you believe it?”
“Of
course I can believe it. Everyone deserves a Happily Ever After, and
this is the beginning of theirs.”
THE END
Thank
you so much to my amazing readers. You all fell in love with Will and
Layla’s story right from the beginning, and you have no idea
what that means to me. Never I my wildest dreams did I ever imagine
that this story would bring so much to you, make you feel so much. I
feel forever bonded to you and you will always hold a special place
in my heart.
Thank
you to my Cone of Safety girls. You are my rocks in this crazy world
we live in. Thank you for being there for me, being a sounding board,
and for keeping it all in the Cone of Safety. I love you girls!
Thank
you so much to the amazing team that astonishes me everyday as we
work together in making my dreams come true. Rick Miles, you
wonderfully snarky Englishman, I’m so grateful for your insight
and vision. I am completely aware that I wouldn’t be where I am
without listening to your guidance and direction. And to my
incredible agent, Italia Gandolofo, there are not enough words to
tell you how appreciative I am of our partnership. I am on the most
unbelievable adventure and I’m so happy to be arm in arm with
you! You’re the best mama bear ever!
Thank
you to Marisa with Cover Me, Darling for creating a gorgeous cover. I
love you for your vision and eternal patience with me! Thank you for
being so awesome!
And
to my wonderful husband and kids: I am so grateful to have you with
me on this amazing journey. You are constantly encouraging me and
excited for every new project that comes along. I’m so happy to
share my life and all of this amazing joy with you!
Want to stay up to date on all things AnnaLisa Grant Books?
AnnaLisa earned her Master’s degree in Counseling at Gordon-Conwell Theological
Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. She and her husband Donavan live with their two children and one recently-adopted
kitten in Matthews, North Carolina.
To learn more about AnnaLisa, visit:
Facebook.com/AuthorAnnalisaGrant
Author Photo by Cover Me, Darling
Cover Design by Cover to Cover Designs and Cover Me, Darling