KACE. I was an emotional mess. I wasn’t ready for all of this talk. Shane had me on cloud nine, and now this talk was so sad. I felt so sorry for him, for his father, and for his grandfather. I felt sorry for their wives.

Basically, they were me.

We were the same.

Shane is a good man. I know he couldn’t control his father, especially not as a child. After his explanation, his desire to fight made a lot more sense. He was fighting against everything that he hated. He was fighting to make everything make sense.

He was fighting for me and those like me.

“So, the chain. It’s gotta be broken and rebuilt,” he said as he lifted his lips from my stomach.

“People in an abusive relationship have children. The girls grow up and get beaten. The boys grow up and beat women. From time to time, a girl or boy is born who is different. I’m that boy. But for me Kace, for me - I need to fix this. I need to do something to fix it,” he paused and looked into my eyes.

“To fix me,” he breathed.

He rubbed his face with his hand and took a breath.

“This is where you come in,” he smiled.

“Kace. Someday I want to. Not right now, but someday. I want to have children with you. I want that. I want to raise children the right way. I want to raise them in a house with a yard and a swing set and everything else kids need. I want to be there every day and provide them with the answer to every question they can muster,” he paused and took a breath.

His eyes were filled with tears, but none leaked out.

I couldn’t take it any longer. I sat up and wrapped my arms around him. I loved this man with every morsel of my existence. No one, at any time or place, has ever loved or respected a man as much as I loved and respected Shane Dekkar.

I held him a close as I could and smashed my body against his.

My flowers.

My car.

One day he wants kids

My chin resting on his shoulder, I held my arms around his waist. He stared at the wall, resting his chin on his clenched fists. I had felt so much emotion in the last few hours, it seemed as if I was going to have a nervous breakdown. I needed to be strong for Shane. It wasn’t very often he needed me to hold him up, but when he did, I needed to be strong.

“Which brings us to the question,” he said.

I raised my chin from his shoulder.

He took a deep breath.

I can’t take any more.

Please no more.

“Kace,” he barely got my name out of his mouth without losing composure.

“Kace, I need to…” he turned his head to the side and licked his dry lips.

“Know something,” he said as he moved his head from his hands.

He opened his clenched fist and reached into his palm with his other hand.

“Would you consider marrying me?” he asked as he removed a diamond ring from his palm.

As he held the ring up, I burst into tears and grabbed his shoulders again. I sobbed and shook as I held him in my arms.

My entire life, since about thirteen, all I ever wanted was to get married and have children. To be able to do it with Shane would make me the happiest woman on earth. Incapable of comprehending the emotions I was feeling, I sobbed and held him in my arms.

“Kace?” he asked, holding the ring over his shoulder in front of my face.

I looked up at the diamond ring.

Holy. Mother. Of. God.

I wanted that ring more than anything. I wanted to be his wife.

“Kace? Will you marry me?” he asked, his voice shaking.

The ring shook in his hand.

I held him in my arms, sobbing, and opened my mouth.

No words.

“Kace?” he asked softly.

“Kace, will you?”

Tears dripped off of my chin onto his back. I needed to answer him. Inside my head, I said yes, but my mouth wouldn’t work. I lowered my hands and massaged my tears into his back.

I opened my mouth.

Nothing.

“Kace? Babe?” he asked nervously.

And I did the only thing I knew to do.

I raised my hand and tapped him on his back.

Once.

For yes.