My angel was no doubt free from her cage.

Leah Mae stood chatting with Cassidy over by the cake table. Her long lavender dress looked like a dream on her, showing all the lines of her willowy body. I’d been staring at her for hours and trying to keep my hands in appropriate places. We were at a wedding, after all. But it wasn’t easy.

The day had finally come for Clay Larkin and Betsy Stirling to get hitched. And they’d done so, on a warm July evening in true Bootleg Springs style. The ceremony had been here, at Gin Rickey Park, right out in the sunshine and fresh air. Afterward, they’d served moonshine and sweet tea in mason jars, along with a table full of food that could have fed an entire town—which was a good thing, because the entire town was here.

Leah Mae drifted through the reception with a beautiful smile on her face. Her honey lemon skin glowed in the sun, her blond hair shining like spun gold. Those red lips were almost more than I could resist.

What could I say. I loved my girl.

She’d been working hard since the fall when we’d started putting plans for her boutique in motion. June had helped her work the numbers and had been thrilled to invest in her little venture. ‘Thrilled’ being a relative term. It was hard to tell with June Bug, but I was pretty sure she’d been excited. Leah Mae had spent her time taking business classes online and working out the details of her boutique—everything from the decor to the items she’d sell.

Scarlett and my brothers had helped us renovate the store. Leah Mae had done the ordering, focusing on other small up-and-coming designers who fit her style. The whole place was fun and kinda funky— what Leah Mae called vogue with a country twist. She’d named it Boots & Lace. It suited her perfectly.

Her mom and stepdad had come out to visit in the spring. I reckoned they hadn’t been too sure about Leah Mae settling down in Bootleg. But after seeing the store, and spending a few days with her, it seemed to have changed their minds.

I’d been happy to meet them and sent them on back to Florida with a small sculpture I’d made. It was a rose made out of thin sheets of metal, meant to remind them of their daughter. Leah Mae’s mom had gotten a bit teary when I’d given it to them.

The grand opening of the store had been a smashing success. Locals loved it, and tourists were already discovering it. Leah Mae’s Instagram following had helped some, and people had come from hundreds of miles just to shop in her store.

I was so damn proud of her, I hardly knew what to do with myself.

I’d been just as busy. Since my installation in Charlotte last fall, demand for my work had gone right crazy. My smaller pieces sold out in days, and I was still booked solid for the next year with larger commissions. Dee was thrilled, I was doing what I loved, and making a damn good living. Couldn’t ask for much more.

Well, I could. And I was fixin’ to.

“Come on, Jame,” Bowie said, sneaking up next to me. He took a quick look around, like he was afraid of being caught. “It’s time.”

I grinned and nodded. We crept away from the reception, heading toward the lake. Devlin, Gibson, and Jonah were already there, standing around Gibson’s Charger.

Devlin glanced around. “Tell me again what we’re doing?”

“Proper send off,” Bowie said. “For Clay and Betsy.”

Gibson popped the trunk and we pulled out some bags and a wooden platform.

“You sure this is everything?” I asked.

“Should be,” Gibson said. “Let’s get this set up.”

“Yeah, before Scarlett notices I’m gone,” Devlin said.

“She knows already,” Bowie said. “It’s not Scarlett we need to worry about.”

Devlin put his hands on his hips. “This is illegal, isn’t it?”

“Only if we get caught,” Gibson said, and started pulling fireworks out of the bags.

“That’s not how the law works,” Devlin said, but laughed when he said it.

I didn’t worry about Devlin’s reluctance. Just reached into my inside pocket and pulled out the diagram. Gibson closed the trunk, and I spread out the paper so we could all see it.

“Here’s how it all goes together,” I said. “The order is important, so don’t mess it up.”

“You sure this is going to work?” Jonah asked.

“Yeah,” I said, although I wasn’t positive. “I reckon it’ll be a sight regardless.”

We all got to work, sorting the fireworks into the right order and fastening the mortar tubes to the platform. Gibson was in charge of the sparklers, and he wound them up in a tight bundle with electrical tape. Jonah double checked the placement of everything, consulting the diagram I’d drawn.

“This looks good,” Jonah said.

Bowie looked over his shoulder. “Yep. I think we got it.”

I tied fuses together and added the starter fuse that would make the whole thing work. When it was finished, we all stepped back and looked at our handiwork.

“Let’s get her lit and launched,” I said.

We put the platform in the water. I checked the line of fuses one last time, then lit the end. Gibson and I pushed it off, letting it float out in to the dark waters of the lake.

“Go,” I said, waving everyone off. I’d made the fuse long so we had time, but we needed to scatter before this thing blew.

I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my dress pants and walked quickly back to the park.

“There you are.” Leah Mae walked over to meet me. “Where’d you run off to?”

I slipped my hands around her waist and kissed her nose. “Nowhere.”

She grabbed my hand and tugged. “Dad and Betsy are leaving. We need to go see them off.”

The wedding guests had all gathered under strings of white twinkle lights. Jimmy Bob Prosser waited in his big Ford pickup. The bed was decked out with quilts, and the back had a big Just Married sign. Strings of beer cans hung from the back bumper.

Clay and Betsy walked through, carrying a wicker basket between them with a red and white checkered napkin. People clapped and congratulated them. Some put baked goods and mason jars filled with moonshine or canned preserves into their basket. A little Bootleg send-off to start their honeymoon.

I glanced over at Gibson and caught his eye. He tipped his chin. Should be any second now. I slipped my arms around Leah Mae and pulled her close.

“What’s—”

Whatever she was going to say was lost in the first loud boom over the lake. A spray of green sparks burst in the air, followed by blue. Then white. A fountain of silver and gold lit up the sky. The wedding guests clapped and cheered. Clay put his arm around Betsy as they watched the little show.

The last firework went off in a burst of color. After a second of quiet, the crowd started clapping and cheering again. I cleared my throat and moved my hands up to cover Leah Mae’s ears.

The sparkler bomb went off with an enormous boom and the wedding guests went wild. Fists rose into the air, cheers went up, and Clay Larkin laughed, hugging his bride.

Leah Mae turned her face toward me and spoke quietly into my ear. “Did you have something to do with all that?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

We watched Clay and Betsy get up into the back of Jimmy Bob Prosser’s truck. They waved at their guests, all smiles. Clay blew a kiss at Leah Mae. She put her hands across her heart, smiling like the sun, with tears glistening in her eyes. The cans clanked and rattled as they drove off into the darkness, ready for the first night of their new life together.

A wave of nervousness swept through me. Lighting a bunch of illegal fireworks didn’t get my heart rate up. But this? I patted my suit pocket. This was enough to tie me up in knots.

With the guests of honor gone, the reception started to break up. Leah Mae made the rounds, thanking people for coming. Shaking hands, having her cheeks kissed. I drifted back toward the cake table. There was still cake to be had, and although I’d already had a piece, it wasn’t right to let such a fine confection go to waste.

I took the little box I’d been carrying out of the inside pocket of my suit and felt the shape of it in my hand. Wasn’t sure I’d be using it tonight. I’d been carrying Leah Mae’s engagement ring around with me for a solid week, wondering how I was going to ask her. I hadn’t wanted to compete with her daddy’s wedding, so I’d waited. Held onto it, hoping I’d know when the time was right. Now that her dad was off with his new bride, the ring felt like it weighed a million pounds. It was begging me to give it to her.

But I was nervous as all hell about it. I didn’t know the first thing about proposing to a woman. I wanted to do it right—Leah Mae deserved a perfect moment—but I was afraid I’d get tongue-tied and mess it up.

I must have been so lost in thought, I wasn’t watching where I was going. I bumped right into my sister, just before I reached the cake table.

The box tumbled out of my hand and landed on the ground.

Scarlett reached for the box. I bent down and snatched it away, shoving it back in my pocket, but it was too late. She’d seen it. She knew.

Her eyes widened. “Is that a—”

“No.”

“Yes it is, that’s a—”

“Okay, yes.” I stepped closer. “Keep your damn voice down.”

She opened her mouth and by the breath she took, I knew whatever she said next was going to be neither quiet, nor subtle. I clapped my hand over her mouth before she could ruin my life.

“Scarlett Rose, don’t you say a word. If you tell a soul I have this, I swear I’ll tell everyone…” I paused, because that wasn’t the threat it had seemed when I’d first started saying it. Scarlett wasn’t exactly the secretive sort. I slowly released her.

“You’ll tell everyone what?” she asked, an amused sparkle in her eye.

“Well… I reckon I don’t know. Damn you for not having any secrets I can use for blackmail.”

She laughed. “Jameson, I’m insulted. You think you can’t trust me to keep this quiet?”

“You were about to yell something about me having a ring in my pocket.”

“I was not.” She put her hands on her hips.

“You were, too.” I glanced around to make sure no one else was near. “Just please promise me you’ll keep this between us.”

“Of course I will,” she said. “When are you askin’ her? Tonight?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Don’t you have a plan?”

“Am I supposed to have a plan?”

Scarlett rolled her eyes and groaned. “Yes, you’re supposed to have a plan. How are you going to ask?”

“You know… get down on one knee and all that.”

“Okay, that’s a start,” she said, tapping her finger against her lips. “Have you talked to Clay already?”

“Of course.”

I’d gone to see Clay Larkin to tell him my intentions before I’d bought the ring. That had been a nerve-wracking conversation. In true Bootleg father fashion, he’d put me through the ringer a bit. Stood with his arms crossed and eyed me with suspicion. But I’d faced him like a man, with my head held high. Wasn’t nothing going to keep me from loving his daughter for the rest of my life.

I’d spoken true—said what I needed to say—and he’d smiled. Shook my hand and said it would be an honor to see his daughter marry me. Choked me up a bit, if I was being honest.

“Good, at least you did that much already,” she said. “Do you want me to make an announcement? You could bring her up front and ask her in front of everyone.”

“No.” I almost put my hand over her mouth again. “No, I don’t want to ask her in front of everyone.”

“I’m just sayin’, it looks like that ring is burning a hole in your pocket. We need to get this locked down.”

“Says the girl who won’t get engaged until she’s thirty.”

“Don’t start with me, Jameson Bodine. Do you want my help or not?”

“No, I don’t want your help.”

She grinned at me. “Of course you do.”

I glared at her. “Don’t make a scene. I’m just nervous is all.”

Scarlett put her hand on my arm and smiled. Not a smile full of sass and mischief. A sweet smile, with a little hint of sympathy. “Don’t be nervous. You love her, and she loves you, and that’s all that matters. You’ll know when the moment is right.”

“Thanks, Scar.”

She punched my arm. “Love you, Jame. Go get your girl.”

I rubbed my arm where she’d hit me—Scarlett hit hard—and watched her walk off toward Devlin.

“I think everyone’s going down to the lake,” Leah Mae said behind me.

I jumped and spun around.

“Sorry,” she said with a soft laugh. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

I ran my hand down her bare arm. “It’s okay. Do you want to join ’em?”

“Yeah. I think your brothers are already building a bonfire.”

“Let’s go, then.”

Leah Mae took off her heels and let them dangle from her hand. I put my arm around her and we walked down to the beach. My brothers had wasted no time in getting a good blaze going. A few people backed in their pickups and put down the tailgates. Took out coolers. Someone turned up the music and the party continued in the moonlight next to the water.

The ring was in my pants pocket, so I took off my suit jacket and draped it over the back of Gibson’s car. Leah Mae loosened my tie and slid it out from the shirt collar, then unbuttoned my top button. I grinned at her.

“I like you undressin’ me.”

She smiled and slid her finger down the rest of the buttons. “You looked great tonight.”

“Thanks. You look beautiful all the time, but tonight? Darlin’, you’re stunning. You shouldn’t look so pretty at a wedding. Ain’t fair to the bride. Although I reckon Betsy didn’t mind.”

“Betsy was beautiful.”

“She and your dad looked mighty happy.” I put my hands around her waist and we started swaying to the music. “You threw them a very nice wedding.”

“It was lovely, wasn’t it?”

The light of the fire reflected in her eyes and her skin glowed. It reminded me of the bonfire at Scarlett’s place last summer. That was a year ago, now. I’d gazed at Leah Mae that night, wishing things had been different. Wishing she could have been my girl.

Now she was. And I was ready to make that a permanent arrangement.

My anxiety melted away as I looked at my beautiful girl. And I knew it was time. I brushed her hair back from her face and my mouth turned up in a smile.

“Why are you giving me your little boy smile?” she asked.

“Little boy smile? I didn’t know I had one.”

“You do.” She slid her fingertips across my lips. “It’s my favorite of your smiles.”

“I reckon there’s a reason.”

“What’s that?”

“Darlin’, I’m about to get down on one knee. And when I do, I’m going to ask you to marry me.”

She gasped, but I touched her lips with my fingertips and drew her closer.

“When I do, everyone’s going to look. It’s going to get all quiet and all those eyes will be on us. And I’d wait until we have a chance to be alone, but honey, this ring is singing to me and it won’t stop. I need to see it on your finger, and I need that now. So here’s what I’m fixin’ to do.”

She bit her lip and nodded.

“I’m going to ask you here first, right now. Real quiet, so no one can hear me—so it’s just for us. And when that’s finished, I’ll do it right, on my knee like a man should.”

Her eyes shone with tears. “Okay.”

I looked deep into her gorgeous green eyes and leaned closer so our noses touched. “Will you marry me?”

She shifted even closer, letting her lips brush against mine. “Yes.”

I kissed her sweet lips while I slipped my hand in my pocket. When we separated, I slowly lowered. I heard gasps and murmurs as I got down to my knee and looked up at her, holding the ring.

The noise around us quieted and I knew all eyes were on me. But I didn’t worry so much about that anymore. She was what mattered.

“Leah Mae Larkin, will you do the honor of being my wife?”

Her face glowed in the firelight, the flames reflecting off her smooth skin. “Yes, Jameson Bodine. I will.”

I took out the ring and slipped it on her finger. Everyone around us exploded with cheers. Whoops and hollers. Her smile was like the sun. I stood and picked her up, lifting her feet from the ground. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders as I twirled her in a circle, then set her down.

Keeping my arms around her, I kissed her again. Tasted her sweet lips. Those lips I was going to keep kissing, until the two of us were old and gray.

I held her close and kept right on kissin’ her. Because damn it, I loved this woman with everything I had. Maybe I wouldn’t always know what I was doing, but I knew one thing: I was going to spend the rest of my life loving her and letting her love me right back.

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