“To a horse show?”
“Yes, ma’am. I will be dragging you out for a drink afterward, if you must know. Be there soon.”
Grace chuckled as she hung up. As instructed, she donned a pink knee-length dress that hugged her curves and made her look like a knockout, if she did say so herself. Of course, she wasn’t in the market to pick up an admirer, but it didn’t hurt to let the male population of Royal eat their hearts out, did it?
The only arena in Royal large enough for a horse show was on the west end of downtown, and Grace was a bit surprised to see a full parking lot, given the timing.
“How come I haven’t heard anything about this horse show before now?” Grace asked, her suspicions rising a notch as even more trucks poured into the lot behind them. This arena was normally the venue of choice for the county rodeo that took place during late May, and it held a good number of people.
“Because it was last-minute,” Hadley said vaguely with an airy wave. “Liam has some horses in the show, and that’s how I found out about it.”
“Oh.” There wasn’t much else to do at that point but follow Hadley into the arena to a seat near the front row. “These are great seats.”
“Helps to have a husband on the inside,” Hadley acknowledged with a wink.
The grandstand was already half-full. Grace waved at the continual stream of people she knew, and hugged a few, like Violet McCallum, who was looking a lot better since the last time they’d seen each other. Raina Patterson and Nolan Dane strolled by, Raina’s little boy in tow, as always, followed by Cade Baxter and his wife, Mellie. The foursome stopped to chat for a minute, then found seats not far away.
The lights dimmed and the show started. Sheriff Battle played the part of announcer, hamming it up with a deep voice that was so far removed from his normal tenor that Grace had to laugh. And then with a drumroll, horses galloped into the arena, crisscrossing past each other in a dizzying weave. It was a wonder they didn’t hit each other, which was a testament to the stellar handling skills of the riders.
Spotlights danced over the horses as they began to fall into a formation. One by one, the horses galloped to a spot in line, nose to tail, displaying signs affixed to their sides with three-foot high letters painted on them. G-R-A-C—
Grace blinked. The horses were spelling her name. They couldn’t be. And then the E skidded into place. The line kept going. W-I-L-L.
Something fluttered in her heart as she started to get an inkling of what the rest of the message might possibly spell out. No. It couldn’t be. “Hadley, what is all of this?”
“A surprise,” Hadley announced unnecessarily, glee coating her voice. “Good thing you took my advice and wore a pretty dress.”
Y-O-U. The last horse snorted as he pranced into place. And then came the next one. M—
Holy cow. That definitely was the right letter to start the word she fervently hoped the horses were about to spell. All at once, a commotion to her right distracted her from the horses. The spotlight slid into the stands and highlighted a lone man making his way toward her. A man who was supposed to be in a barn at Wade Ranch. But wasn’t, because he was here.
The last horse hit his mark and the sign was complete. Grace, will you marry me? It was the most beautiful thing in the whole world, except for the man she loved.
Her breath caught as Kyle arrived at her seat, wearing a devastating dark suit that he looked almost as delicious in as when he was wearing nothing.
She didn’t dare look away as he knelt beside her and took her hand. “Hey, Grace.”
Tears spilled from her suddenly full eyes, though why Kyle’s standard greeting did it when nothing else thus far had was a mystery to her. “Hey, Kyle. Fancy meeting you here.”
“Heard there was a horse show. It so happens I own a couple of horses. So here I am.” He held up a small square box with a hinged lid. “Okay, I admit I set all this up because I wanted to do this right. I love you, Grace. So much. I want nothing more than to put this ring on your finger right now, in front of all these good people.”
Yes, yes, yes. A thousand times yes. There was never a possibility of anything other than becoming Mrs. Kyle Wade. She’d never expected a romantic proposal. She’d have been happy with a quiet evening at home, but this...this took the cake. It was a story for the ages, one she’d recount to Maddie and Maggie until they were sick of hearing it. Because she was going to get to be their mother.
“I’d be okay with that,” she said through the lump in her throat.