20 Questions

Chapter 77

I wake up this morning as an engaged woman...officially engaged that is. I hold up my hand and admire the sparkling gem that now permanently resides on the fourth finger of my left hand. It is breathtaking and so is the man who put it there. Even though everyone around me did, I had no idea that Hunter was planning to propose last night. It made it that much more special to be surrounded by all my favorite people.

"Do you like the ring?" Hunter asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Baby, I love it! It's perfect. It's exactly what I would have chosen if I were there."

I roll over to kiss the lips of my fiancée. Today, we start our lives as a happily engaged couple. Soon enough, we will be married and I couldn't be more excited.

"You want to go find a courthouse today?" he quips.

I laugh and caress his cheek. "I want a short engagement, but not that short. I know I'm not that traditional, but I do want an actual wedding. I hope that's ok."

"Baby, of course it is. Although I want to marry you right away, I want it to be everything that you have ever dreamed of. If you want a wedding, that's exactly what we will do. "

"Thank you, love," I tell him. "So, what are we going to do on our first day as an engaged couple?"

"Eat breakfast, I hope. My ass is starving."

We get dressed and head out to the lobby. It is full and the rest of the crew are already at the table. Everybody starts clapping when we arrive and Hunter is grinning from ear to ear, squeezing my hand. I raise up our hands, revealing the beautiful new addition to my finger, making everyone clap louder. We take a seat at the table where Helen and my mom marvel at my engagement ring that Hunter so perfectly chose.

"Hunt, how does it feel to be an engaged man now?" Patrick asks with a giant smile.

Hunter's face beams with delight, looking over at me. "It's better than I could have ever imagined." He leans over to kiss my forehead and I close my eyes, melting inside.

"Ok, lovebirds," my mom says. "What is on the agenda for today? We only have a couple more days here so what is there to do?"

"I don't know if this is something that you all would be interested in, but one of the lodge employees was telling me about this snowmobile tour that sounded kind of awesome," Patrick says.

"Yes, yes and yes!" I exclaim. "That sounds amazing. Let's do that."

Hunter laughs at my enthusiasm. As we eat our breakfast, we make our reservations and gather all the information we need for the day. The excursion is relatively pricey, but we are celebrating after all. Helen runs to the restroom and I make a point of telling everyone not to discuss how expensive the tour is. Helen would most certainly refuse if she knew the cost and I really want her there. Celebrating the engagement last night was bittersweet. It was by far the happiest day of my life, but I can't deny that it made me uncomfortable for her. It wasn't that long ago that she lost the love of her life and I certainly didn't want her to feel like we were rubbing this in her face. She would deny it and tell us how happy she is, but I can imagine that it wasn't easy for her to be a part of.

Hunter and I walk back to the room to gather our things for the snowmobile tour. We have thirty minutes before we meet back in the lobby, but there is something I need to talk to him about that's been heavy on my heart and mind.

"Hey, babe?"

"Yeah?" Hunter asks, pulling clothes out of his bag.

"I know I am probably just reading too much into this, but has Helen ever mentioned anything to you about after the accident?"