Chapter 18: Di

"Nope. Marry her," Jason said as a smile broke across his face.

He already held one of her hands, but Di's other hand flew over her mouth at his words. She searched his face for some hint that he was joking or losing his mind.

"I'm serious, Di."

She found her voice at last. "Are you only doing it to keep me safe?"

"Hell no," he said. "We've lived together now for over a month and fit together like puzzle pieces. You know I'm crazy about you. Being your husband would be no hardship."

From over her shoulder Di heard Michelle sniffle. "Damn, Jason, you're making my makeup run. Hurry up and tell him yes so I can call Lauren!"

Di laughed and Jason got down on one knee next to her chair. "Marry me?"

"What if we can't get my dad to agree?" she asked him.

Dorothy said, "I'll be working the emancipation angle. It's a harder sell, but if we can prove our speculation about Lola and Tammy we'll have a real shot."

"You really want to do this?" she asked one last time, but the tears in her eyes betrayed her answer and Jason kissed her.

"Lauren? You will not believe what just happened," Michelle said as she got up and hurried out of the conference room.

Di released her hold on Jason's neck to put her hands on his cheeks. She smiled and whispered just for him, "Yes."

"Congratulations, you two," Dorothy said. "Now go home so I can get some work done."

The smile didn't leave her lips the whole way home. Jason had an echoing grin on his face as well. Di was overwhelmed to silence by what had happened since waking up in Jason's arms. Those sleepy dreams couldn't touch the reality of Jason asking her to be his wife.

As long as she could remember, she'd been alone. There were times when people in her life had cared about her for a time, like the nurse who stayed with her as she recovered from the burns on her feet and legs. After her mother left, that nurse was the only constant in her life for months until she went into foster care.

That pattern repeated over and over. After she recovered from her burns, Di never lived anywhere longer than a year. She moved from families to group homes, even changing case workers until her paternal grandfather agreed to take her in North Carolina after school ended for the summer. But then he'd left her, too, by dying.

Jason raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. She stared at him with a glimmer of hope growing in her heart. He wanted her, even the messy, scarred up parts. He trusted her with the house budget and valued her input in other areas. For the first time in her life she felt like someone had her back, coming to her rescue when he could have just let her go like all the rest.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked as he slowed to pull into their driveway.

"How lucky I am," she said and glanced up. "Oh no, the garage is still open!"

"Shit!"

Jason pulled to a stop with his headlights shining through the bay doors. The two of them jumped out and ran inside, then Jason hit the light switches. Everything looked fine at first glance, but Jason ran down the workbench checking for missing tools.

Di looked around the RV parked over the work pit. The door was still locked and none of the windows were open. "Is anything missing?"

"Nothing big or obvious," Jason said with a relieved sigh. "We got lucky. I was so concerned about you I didn't even think about it."

Di shook her head and raised her eyebrows at him. "This garage is all you cared about since you got out of the service!"

Jason crossed to her and took her in his arms. "Not anymore."

She melted into his chest and held him close. After a few moments she felt a pressure growing against her stomach and giggled. When she pressed her hips closer and pulled on his jeans to feel it better, Jason groaned.

"Damn it," he whispered. "I need to lock up."

"And I need a shower," she said as she turned to walk back towards the bay door. "I'll see you inside."

Di unlocked the front door of the house with her key and turned off the alarm. Jason had given her a key and the alarm code that first week she lived with him. It had surprised her when he'd done it, but Jason's implicit trust of her made her want to prove herself even more.

She went to her room to get clean panties and a nightshirt. Spending the day with Deputy Charles and Lola Crabtree had left her feeling dirtier than living at Tammy's nasty ruby mine. While she took a long shower, Di turned under the hot water and thought about her fiancé.

"I'm getting married," she giggled in the spray.

He wasn't rich, but he was handsome and hardworking. He was patient when she was troubled and made her feel safe. Safe enough to kiss him and open herself to his touch. Now she intended to touch him back.

After drying off and putting on clean clothes, Di went to the laundry room to move the wet sheets and towels to the dryer. The fresh linens were in a tall cabinet in the laundry room, but she only bothered with the queen-sized sheets for Jason's bed.

He was in the shower while she put the clean sheets on his mattress and laid the blankets over the foot of the bed for later. By the time he got out, she was sitting on the bed putting coconut oil on her feet and legs. She looked at him standing bare chested with a towel around his waist and hummed at the sight.