Forever Wild (The Simple Wild #2.5) - K.A. Tucker Page 0,39

is opening the small jewelry box. Inside is a simple white gold ring.

Jonah nudges my side with his elbow. “Is this from you?”

I shake my head, studying the brushed finish and flat edge. “No, but it’s really nice.” And timely, given less than twenty-four hours ago, I was panicking over having forgotten that he needed one. How on earth did Agnes manage this?

“You bought me my wedding band, Aggie? Is this a proposal?” There’s humor in his voice.

“Not exactly.” Agnes and my mom exchange a nervous look. “I found that ring when I was clearing out Wren’s house in the spring. It had somehow wedged itself between the baseboard and the carpet in his bedroom. I figured it might have been his, but I took a picture and sent it to Susan.”

“It’s the one I bought him. I remember picking it out, thinking it was simple but not boring. All the men’s rings I’d looked at were so boring.” My mom’s voice has grown husky as she chuckles, her eyes glossy. “He was always taking it off while he was touching engines and other dirty things at work. I guess that’s why he was so sure he’d lost it while out flying, but it must have fallen out of his pocket at home.”

“It was lost in that house for twenty-five years?”

“Somewhere around there.” Mom absently reaches for Simon’s hand, weaving her fingers through his. “When Agnes asked what I thought about passing it on to Jonah, I honestly wasn’t sure. I thought maybe you’d think it was bad luck or something—”

“No.” Jonah’s head shake is fervent, his brow furrowed as he studies it intently. “I don’t think that at all.”

Mom sighs as if a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. She smiles. “Agnes said you’d say something like that.”

“This is … thank you.” His Adam’s apple bobs with a hard swallow.

I find myself doing the same, my own emotions stirring, though I can’t be certain why—is it that Jonah will be wearing my father’s wedding ring, or that my father, who I grew to love fiercely, meant so much to the man I’m about to marry?

“We’ll have to have it resized after the wedding,” I warn him. Wren Fletcher wasn’t a small man, but Jonah overshadowed him.

“No, you won’t.” Agnes grins. “I already had it done.”

Jonah slides the band onto his left ring finger. It fits perfectly. “How did you know—”

“When you were in the hospital, after the plane crash. You were all drugged up and sleeping. I tied a string to your finger and brought that to the jeweler. It worked!”

In one sudden, smooth motion, he stands and lifts Agnes off the ground and into a bear hug, spinning her tiny body around once before putting her back down. “What would we ever do without you, Aggie?”

She chuckles as she adjusts her Christmas sweater and then turns to me. “See, Calla? We told you it would all work out.”

“Now you don’t have to feel guilty about forgetting Jonah’s ring,” my mom adds.

Jonah’s mouth falls open, in that dramatic way that tells me he’s about to be a royal pain in my ass.

I groan. “Thanks, Mom.”

“You forgot that I needed a ring?”

Here we go. I climb off the couch and start collecting wrapping paper. “It’s not easy planning a wedding in a week. Over Christmas. In Alaska.”

Jonah plucks the trash bag from his mother and trails behind me. He’s still wearing the wedding band. “You didn’t forget your dress.”

“Well, no! It’s my wedding dress.”

“And the matching shoes?”

“There was a shoe store next door.” He obviously saw the box in the back of the Jeep.

“Do you even need me at the wedding, or will I be in the way?”

“You’re being ridiculous.” I laugh and toss a ball of paper at his face.

Knuckles rap on the glass to the side entrance a second before a deep male voice hollers, “Ho! Ho! Ho!” Bells jingle as Teddy strolls down the narrow hallway followed closely by Muriel and Toby, who carry several wrapped boxes.

“Merry Christmas!” Muriel greets, a genuinely happy grin filling her face. “I see you’ve already been out, plowing your driveway.” She nods at Jonah with approval.

“Because he’s a psycho—oh!” Jonah wraps an arm around my waist and effortlessly lifts me off my feet, earning my squeal.

“I know we’re a bit early, but we were just sittin’ around, killin’ time, so we decided to drive over.”

“She decided we should drive over. Hope you don’t mind,” Teddy corrects, shucking his heavy winter