A Miracle for the Reserved Flyboy (Love in Sweet Bloom #11)

Chapter 12

KRISTA

Krista forced a weak smile as she tucked her hands into her jacket pockets, taking a deep breath of the cool February air. “Happy Single’s Awareness Day to us,” she sighed, trying to keep her tone light. “At least the chocolate goes on sale tomorrow.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, you drama queen!” Beary teased, barely peeking out from under the hood of the car where she was adjusting something. She gave a quick, laughing shake of her head, her hair falling over her face as she chuckled at her friend. “Always so dramatic.”

“Um, hello? Of course, I am!” Krista said, grinning as she fluffed her hair with exaggerated flair. “Wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone, now would I?”

Beary rolled her eyes, snickering, but before she could reply, Dr. Shelby Josephs appeared around the side of the car with a notepad in hand, brimming with hastily scrawled reminders and notes. She gave the two women a wry smile, then turned her attention to her young son, Beau, who was sitting on the curb beside her, glancing down at his worn-out sneakers with mock exasperation.

“Are you two finished yet?” Shelby teased, raising her eyebrow as she looked down at her son. “Beau and I are running out of things to do here.” She flipped her notepad around to show a page full of tic-tac-toe games they’d played to pass the time. “We’re all out of ‘toes’ to count, aren’t we, Beau?”

“Fresh out!” Beau agreed cheerfully, pulling off one of his shoes and wiggling his toes through a hole in his sock. “Look, even my toes have run away!”

Shelby gasped with feigned shock as Krista and Beary both erupted into laughter. “Oh no, not the toes! What are we going to do?” Krista chimed in, leaning down to high-five Beau. “How will we ever finish this oil change now?”

“Oil change? I thought you said air filter,” Shelby commented, her brow furrowing in confusion as she looked at Beary.

“Did I?” Krista asked, blinking. “Maybe I did say air filter…”

“Well, you did say oil filter, so I was doing the oil change,” Beary replied with a wink. She set the tools aside and gave the two women a mock glare. “Let’s just say, whatever it was, you’ll be good to go in a minute.”

“It’s fine,” Krista assured, brushing it off, though Shelby only raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“‘Fine’ wouldn’t cut it if this was surgery, would it?” Shelby quipped, crossing her arms as she fixed Beary with a faux-stern look. “Imagine if you mixed up a kidney and an appendix, for example.”

“If it saves the patient, I call it a win,” Beary retorted, grinning before tossing a playful look at Krista. “By the way, Cade and I have dinner plans tonight, and I don’t want to hear a word of protest—you’re coming with us. I won’t let you sit at home, pouting over chocolate on Valentine’s Day.”

“Oh my gosh, Beary!” Krista’s cheeks flushed, and she looked down, hiding the pang that lingered at the mention of Cade. “I don’t need to be anyone’s third wheel tonight…”

“Third wheel or not, you’re coming,” Shelby added, a warm smile lighting her face. “Deacon’s boss is coming for dinner, so it won’t be anything romantic, but there’ll be plenty of food and good company. Plus, we’ll even avoid the topic of toes—right, Beau?”

“Aww, no fair!” Beau groaned, crossing his arms, though he couldn’t keep from grinning. “I still think we should have chicken toes for dinner.”

“Oh, so you’re not scared of chicken feet?” Shelby said, making her hand into a claw and pretending to grab his face, which sent him squealing and laughing with mock terror.

Krista laughed along with them, her heart warming at the sight but still feeling a little hollow. She couldn’t help but remember the brief, uncertain calls from Gary and the letter that had come with no real explanation, just vague promises of “talking when he got home.” The silence that followed had left her with an ache, wondering if things were okay between them.

Beary reached out, touching her arm with gentle understanding. “Krista, come with us. Let us spoil you tonight—you deserve it. And besides,” she added with a wink, “you can’t spend Valentine’s Day alone. Not when you’ve got friends to make you laugh.”

“Thank you, but… I just need to clear my head,” Krista said with a faint smile. “Really, I’ll be okay.”

Ten minutes later, Krista found herself following Shelby and Beau out toward the airstrip at the edge of town. Shelby had mentioned something about picking up Deacon’s boss, and she’d insisted Krista come along. As they reached the small, dusty runway, she noticed a small plane descending, its engines roaring as it came down quickly on the short landing strip. She held her breath, nerves prickling at the edges. Watching those tiny planes always made her anxious.

The plane touched down smoothly, rolling forward until it stopped just a few yards in front of them. As the engine hummed to a stop, Krista noticed the colorful streamers fluttering from the back, spelling out the words “Just Married.”

She blinked in surprise, glancing at Shelby. “I thought Harley was already married?”

Shelby smiled but said nothing, only glancing back toward the plane with a mysterious twinkle in her eyes. As the door opened and a familiar figure stepped out, Krista’s heart thudded. Gary climbed down, looking slightly rumpled and road-worn, but unmistakably there, with that familiar grin. Yet, Krista’s eyes darted to the woman beside him. Her chest tightened as a wave of shock and confusion washed over her.

“Gary,” she whispered, her voice catching in her throat as she tried to piece together what she was seeing. Had he really gotten married? Her heart plummeted as she clutched the promise ring on her hand, the one he’d given her so many months ago.

But before she could speak, Gary strode toward her, his eyes warm and brimming with something she couldn’t place. He took her hand, glancing at the ring she wore. “Hey, darling,” he said softly, squeezing her fingers. “Miss me?”

“Don’t you ‘darling’ me, Gary!” she snapped, blinking back tears. “ You got married? What is this?” She lifted her hand, her heart pounding as she searched his face for answers.

Gary’s expression softened as he sank down on one knee, holding up a ring she hadn’t seen before, its diamond catching the light. “This…” he murmured, “this is the real deal, Krista. That ring you’re wearing was just a placeholder. A promise. But this one— this is forever. Will you marry me ?”

The world seemed to melt away as Krista stood there, her mouth opening in disbelief. Tears prickled her eyes, but this time, they weren’t of sorrow or frustration—they were the joyful, heart-soaring tears of a dream finally coming true.

“Yes,” she whispered, her voice a soft gasp as she reached for him, her hands trembling as she laughed, overcome by the sheer shock and wonder of it all. “Yes, Gary, I’ll marry you.”

The cheers around them went unheard as she threw her arms around him, a smile blooming on her face as she clung to him, savoring the moment she’d waited for. And in that moment, the world was right—single’s awareness day or not, this was exactly where she belonged.

With him.

Here.

Together in Sweet Bloom.