There was nothing more beautiful than seeing the sunset over the lowcountry marshes. As William stared out over the marsh grass that was slightly blowing in the wind, he thought about how many years of his life he’d spent in this water. Fishing, boating, and occasionally falling in and swimming back to the boat. So many good memories as a kid, and so many new memories that he got to make every day.
As he floated along, he stood up and started waving to the crowds that were forming on shore. Up ahead, he would surely see his mom, Janine and the rest of the crew.
He was thankful to have all of their support even when he had made such rash decisions like opening the boat charter service. Everybody had supported him, and that was just how they were. Supportive. He didn’t surround himself with anyone who made him feel like his dreams were stupid, least of all Janine.
She supported everything he did, every idea he had, even the stupid ones. And he just felt terrible that the two times he had tried to propose to her, something had happened to interrupt them. She must think that he’s crazy by now.
He could see her up ahead, her curly hair blowing in the breeze. As usual, she was smiling and clapping and waving, her perky personality always coming through. And in that moment, he was filled with such gratitude and love that it was almost overwhelming. He could feel tears welling in his eyes as he looked at her off in the distance.
And that’s when he realized what he had to do. There was no more waiting, no more orchestrated romantic moments. Life was about those spontaneous moments, the ones that became memories that stayed with you forever.
So as the boat came closer to the dock where Janine and everyone she knew was standing, he cut the motor to his boat so that he could slow down.
“There’s my man!” Janine yelled, waving and blowing kisses at him. And as he came closer up to the dock, he went down on one knee and called to her.
“Janine, will you marry me?” he yelled as loud as he could. He held up the little black box that had stayed in his pocket since the first night he tried to propose. Janine stood there, stunned, her eyes wide.
“Are you serious?” she called back.
He grabbed the rope on the side of the boat and threw it as hard as he could so that Dawson could pull him closer to the dock. Thank goodness his friend was standing so close and was able to catch it. Dawson pulled and pulled until the boat banged into the side of the dock, shaking everyone who was standing there.
It wasn’t the most seamless proposal, but it sure would be memorable. As the boat came to a stop, he looked up at her. She was covering her face, except for her eyes, tears welling in them.
“Yes, I’m serious. Janine, will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She screamed yes and started jumping up and down, shaking the dock again. All of the people standing on it were probably worried they were going to fall straight into the water at any moment.
William jumped off the boat, swept her up in his arms and twirled her around. When he finally put her down, he slipped the ring on her finger and the crowd went wild. There were very few dry eyes standing on that dock, but there were plenty of applause and cheers to go around.
He took Janine’s hand and helped her into the boat. “I think my future wife should finish the boat parade with me,” he said, smiling.
“Your future wife will go anywhere you want to go,” she said, putting her arm around him as he turned on the motor and started back through the waters of the marsh.
As they pulled away from the crowd of people, William took the boat out into more open water and stopped it again. “Well, were you surprised?”
Janine smiled as she looked down at her ring. “Absolutely!”
“Come on now. You had to know I was trying to propose over and over lately.”
She bit her lip. “Okay, maybe I thought you were going to propose, but I wasn’t sure.”
He pulled her into a tight hug. “Thank you for saying yes.”
She looked up at him. “Seriously? Why wouldn’t I say yes?”
“Because you’re beautiful Janine, and I’m just regular old William. I’m marrying up. You know that, right?”
Janine giggled. “Let’s see if you say that after five years of living with me!”
“I will cherish being married to you until the end of my days, Janine. And I’m so grateful this whole proposal thing is finally over!”
“Me too! No more competing couples and wet dogs!”
“So, when should we get hitched?”
She thought for a moment, putting her finger on her chin. “I’ve always wanted a fall wedding.”
“Then we’ll get married this fall!”
She grinned broader than he’d ever seen her grin. “I can’t wait to marry you.”
“Ditto,” he said before dipping her downward to give her a kiss.
Chapter 11
Emma was very nervous. She was second-guessing herself over and over again, wondering why she had made such a rash decision. But, in an effort to start healing her trauma, she had reached out to the woman whose life she had saved that night.
The woman and her family had tried getting in touch with Emma several times, but each time she ignored them. She just couldn’t face seeing the woman again. She hadn’t wanted to hear words about being a hero, but she was ready now to face her.
Of course, it would be done through video chat since the woman lived in Nashville and Emma was in Seagrove, but it was still nerve-racking just the same.
Janine had offered to come to her house and sit with her, but it
