Throw Him My Way

*****

“I guess you missed me,” said Heidi, making Christian chuckle.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” he said, and kissed her, softly, on the forehead.

They were still tangled together. Neither felt like moving.

But the door was beginning to dig into Heidi’s back.

“This isn’t how I planned to do this,” murmured Christian.

Heidi sighed and settled into his arms.

She could deal with the door.

“I think it’s pretty perfect,” she told him.

She turned to him, her face serious.

“How are you? You’ve put some of that weight back on. That’s good. When will you be back at work?”

He heard the worry in her voice.

“In a week. But I won’t be fighting any fires for a while. I’ve been cleared, but I still have to wait a while.”

She couldn’t help the sigh of relief.

“But I need to do it, Heidi.”

Heidi nodded.

“I know. I would never try to stop you. But I can’t help worrying, either. You know that.”

He nodded, and changed the subject.

“So, you conquered the world, did you?”

Heidi chuckled.

“Not quite. But I’ve got a few lines to tug now. A few offers from agents. Maybe I’ll let one take me on. Apparently I’m pretty hot property now.”

Christian went still.

“Heidi, do you want to go on tour again?”

Heidi shrugged.

“It’s not what I want to do all the time. I like performing. But I love making music a lot more. Touring is necessary, so I’ll have to do it for a couple of months a year. But for the rest of the time, I’d rather be home.”

She felt Christian relax.

“Why?” she asked.

Christian hesitated.

This wasn’t how he’d planned to do it.

Not at all.

But they hadn’t done anything the traditional way, had they?

It worked for them, apparently.

So he leaned over and grabbed his pants.

“Going somewhere?” asked Heidi, startled.

“No. Something I need to get,” said Christian, reaching into a pocket.

Of course, it was in the last pocket he checked.

Heidi sat up, trying to see what he had in his hand. But he kept it in his closed fist.

“Heidi, I have something to ask you.”

Heidi looked alarmed, but she nodded.

Christian smiled. She looked like the goddess he knew she was. Naked, dark, glowing – she was everything he needed.

The tense little knot inside his heart loosened a little bit.

Suddenly, he wasn’t unsure. He knew.

He knew that they belonged together.

He knew that they always would.

“Heidi Richards, I love you. I fell in love with you when all I could do was feel. I gave you my heart when my heart was all I had to give. I gave you myself when I couldn’t say the words. All I could do was hope that I could have the chance to say the words. Now that I do, I don’t ever want to stop saying them.”

“Christian,” said Heidi, her eyes soft and shimmering with tears, and leaned forward to kiss him softly.

“Wait, I’m not done,” said Christian.

Heidi sat back, her lips curved in a small smile.

He opened the fist, and she saw a ring in the palm of his hand. It was gold, with a ruby set in it.

“This is my grandmother’s ring. Her name was Ruby, so my grandfather bought her a ruby. My mother told me that when I met the woman I was going to marry, she’d give this to me. She gave me this ring the day I made up my mind to ask her for it. But she gave it to me before I asked her.”

Heidi felt her heart beat faster, and faster.

“Heidi, will you marry me?”

Heidi had to swallow once, then once again, before she could say a word.

There was only one word she needed to say.

“Yes,” she whispered, and flung herself into Christian’s arms.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes!” she cried, as if now that she had said it, she couldn’t stop saying it.

“Thank God,” whispered Christian, holding on to her as if she were his life.

She was his life. She was everything.

“We’ll figure out the details. We’ll move wherever your career takes you. Firemen are needed everywhere, after all. But you’re mine, Heidi.”

“And you’re mine, Christian,” said Heidi, and kissed him, long and hard.

When they broke apart, they were laughing.

“We’re getting married,” said Heidi.

She looked absolutely delighted with the idea.

“We are,” said Christian, and he looked as happy as she felt, too.

“We need to tell everybody,” said Heidi, laughing, springing up.

“First this,” said Christian, and held out his hand.

“I almost forgot the ring. Can you imagine? I almost forgot to let you put the ring on!”

Christian laughed and slid it on.

“It fits,” said Christian.

Heidi looked at it and smiled.

“Of course it does. We fit. So it fits. Everything’s right, Christian. We’ll make it all fit.”

Heidi hesitated for a moment.

“Gina gave you the ring?”

Christian nodded.

“What do you want to bet that Mrs. Spinelli has listened to the whole thing? And is on the phone to Gina?”

Christian went pale.

“How much do you think Mrs. Spinelli heard?”

Heidi laughed, long, loud and deep.

“Oh, I bet she heard plenty. And I have a feeling she’s going to hear a lot more. If they already know, we don’t need to get dressed and go out to tell them, do we?”

Christian shook his head.

“I guess not. Got anything in mind?”

Heidi’s grin was wicked.

“Lots of things. But this time, I’d like my soft bed. And I think you should move in with me, for now.”

“Already so bossy,” said Christian, following her to the bedroom.

“Very bossy. Now I’m going to tell you exactly what to do, Christian, and you are going to do it all to me.”

*****

Later, Heidi wondered if she’d ever be able to sing the song in her heart. She held Christian as he slept in her arms, and knew that it would be the truest love song of all, if she could sing it.

Maybe one day, she would.

It would be a hit, and she’d thank Christian when she got her Grammy.

Dreaming big had gotten her that far. Heidi had no intention of stopping.

The end.