Framed Shadows: Shadows Landing #6, Kathleen Brooks [great novels of all time TXT] 📗

“Okay, give me another second.” Gavin disappeared from view. “Olivia, it’s Gavin. Yes, we were part of that. The FBI agent who was in charge of it is severely injured and wants to propose to Tinsley before he goes into surgery. Any way you can get an engagement ring to the hospital in ten minutes?”

Gavin held the phone out and put it on speaker. “She wants to talk to you.”

“Hello?” Paxton said as he clenched his teeth in pain.

“Tell me your vision and I’ll make it happen,” the woman named Olivia said over the phone. Paxton could hear high heels running as he thought of Tinsley and the perfect ring for her.

“Colorful and unique, just like her.”

“Got it. See you in the ER.”

The line went dead and Paxton looked to Gavin. “Who was that?”

“Olivia Townsend. She’s Ryker’s lawyer and she’s the scariest woman I’ve ever met. If there’s anyone who can browbeat a jeweler into giving her a ring this quick, it’s her.”

Paxton chuckled and then groaned in pain. He just needed to stay conscious long enough to propose, and then he’d let the blissful darkness take him.

“Get out of my way and let me through or that man will die and I’ll have you arrested for his murder.” Paxton heard the stern voice from the phone as he was being pulled from the ambulance.

Gavin chuckled and Paxton smiled. She was just what Gavin said. “Let her through!” Gavin yelled out to the police escort.

Paxton waited until a beautiful woman with a fancy updo and a royal blue suit popped into his visual field. “Hello. Do you like it?” She opened a velvet box and Paxton knew everything was going to be okay.

“You’re perfect. It’s perfect. Tinsley’s perfect,” Paxton said happily. The woman looked amused as she handed him the box.

“I gave him some pain meds,” Gavin told them. “Here’s Tinsley.”

“Here’s all of Shadows Landing,” Olivia said as the EMTs wheeled Paxton toward the large glass doors.

“Tinsley!” Paxton yelled as the world spun in a very good way. He felt fantastic.

“I’m here, Paxton.” Tinsley’s worried face came into view and he could see her confused look as she glanced at Olivia. “Is he in legal trouble?”

“No, I’m just here for moral support,” Olivia said, stepping back to join Ryker.

“Tinsley, I have to go into surgery,” Paxton said as doctors and nurses swarmed the bed. Tinsley held on to his hand as they pushed him down the hall. Doctors were talking to Gavin and Paxton was being hooked up to who knows what.

“I know. I’m right here. I’ll be here the whole time. I’ll be the first thing you see when you open your eyes.”

Paxton smiled up at her. She was the best. “I could kill Curtis for hurting you. Oh, wait, you already killed him.”

“Curtis was a very bad man,” Tinsley told the doctors and nurses who had all stopped and were staring at her.

“Okay, we’re here. You’re going to have to leave him now,” ordered the doctor who had been questioning Gavin.

“No!” Paxton was running out of time. “I love you, Tinsley.”

“I love you, too, Paxton.” Tinsley kissed him and they began to move him into surgery, but Paxton reached out and grabbed Tinsley’s hand. “Honey, you’re going to do great. You have the best doctors—”

“I don’t give a crap about them. I only care about you. I can’t go in there until you know how much you mean to me. You’re my everything. Tinsley, you’re my whole world. You’re my heart and soul.” Paxton shoved the box at her. That probably could be smoother, but he knew he was out of time. “Will you marry me? Sorry I can’t go down on one knee right now. You deserve so much more, but I almost lost you today and I can’t let one more second go by without you knowing how badly I want the honor of being your husband and how proud I would be if you would be my wife.”

Tinsley kissed him then. “Yes,” she said as her lips were still on his. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Now get fixed up so you can carry me over the threshold. I love you, Paxton.”

Paxton sighed in relief. He was going to marry the woman he loved more than life. With a smile on his face, he let the darkness take him. But instead of darkness, it was the bright future he dreamt about.

Clapping was the first thing Tinsley noticed when the doors to the operating room closed. She turned around to see almost everyone she knew and all the hospital staff, EMTs, and police applauding.

Tinsley hadn’t even opened the box to look at the ring. She opened the lid and smiled. It was perfect: a square diamond in a rose gold setting with a halo of colorful gemstones around it. It was a work of art. Now she just needed her fiancé to survive his surgery.

Hours went by, but Tinsley didn’t notice. She was lost in her own world of thought. Peter and the rest of her friends, family, and, heck, even the knitting club all showed up at the hospital. At some point, food was shoved into her hands. She ate but she couldn’t tell you what it was.

Miss Ruby hugged her. Miss Winnie talked to her. Miss Mitzi just sat nearby and knitted while Tinsley sat quietly and waited to see how her future would play out. Would she live happily ever after or become a widow before she could even become a bride? Gavin, Ellery, Trent, Skye, Harper, Dare, Wade, Darcy, Savannah, Granger, and Kord all took turns sitting by her side.

Tinsley was sure they talked, but she couldn’t hear them over the beating of her heart. When Peter walked in and stopped in front of her, Tinsley finally realized it was Ridge and Ryker sitting next to her. Ridge had his arm around her shoulder and Ryker held her hand in his.

“Tinsley, it’s time to