Her lips twitched and she slowly smiled. "Foreplay."

Dan watched as Meg slept. The woman in his bed had wormed her way into his heart. He'd been falling in love with the woman from the moment he saw her walking on the fence rails. Since he'd been in Apple Grove a lot of things had changed-most importantly, he had changed.

He brushed a silky strand of hair out of her eyes. It got stuck on her eyelashes, so he carefully plucked it free and brushed it behind her ears. She shifted and mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep. He grinned. They'd exhausted one another by making love off and on all night. But what he wanted in his heart woke him up.

He'd been accepted in town from the first. The people here were open and willing to embrace change-well, some change. It didn't take as long as he'd thought to win the team over, and he'd discovered they weren't just a great group of players; they were great kids too.

He didn't dwell on the incident at the railroad bridge, because he still wasn't certain that a part of it wasn't his fault, even though both boys' mothers tried to convince him it wasn't. Things like this didn't happen back home, but then again, he hadn't lived up in the wilds of Sussex County or in the western or southern part of the state, so who knows if things like that happened in similar surroundings. One thing was certain in his mind-teenagers were predictable in their unpredictability.

Meg rolled over and he traced her curves from the top of her shoulders slowly down her side to the dip at her waist and up again along the sweet curve of her hip. He'd been in love before, but not like this. He wasn't sure he could put the all of the feelings rioting inside of him into words-but for Meg's sake he would.

He frowned, thinking about the way her past had rode back into town. He wasn't sure if Meg was right and it was Van Orden's mother who'd been the one to tell Jimmy that Meg was over her infatuation with him, but it didn't matter anymore. Meg was all the mattered-her loving him and him showing her how much he loved her.

He placed his hand low on her belly. In her sleep, she covered his hand with hers. He wondered what it would be like to see Meg grow round with their child. Would it be a boy or a girl? Would their child have auburn hair-straight as a pin-or wavy light brown hair? Freckles or dimples? Tall or short? Either way, he'd love their baby with all his heart-the same way he loved its mother.

Would she want to have children with him? Before he asked that particular question, he needed to hear the answer to one that had him lying awake all night, watching her sleep.

"Wake up, Meg."

She didn't even stir in her sleep. He tried again, this time shaking her shoulder and calling her name.

"Mmmm."

Needing to settle what was in his heart and on his mind, he rolled her onto her back and pinned her hips to the mattress. Her lashes fluttered and she slowly opened her eyes. Soft, beautiful blue eyes looked up at him.

"Hey."

He bent down to capture her lips. "Marry me, Meg."

She stiffened beneath him.

He wasn't deterred; after all, he did just wake her up. "Meg, I'm serious and you're not dreaming. Will you marry me?"

She touched the side of his face with the tips of her fingers and slowly smiled. "Because we're good in bed?"

"That's part of it but not all of it."

"Why do you want to marry me?"

"You're passionate about your work, your life, and making love to me-and you love me."

"That's true, but shouldn't we give it time? We've only been together a little while."

"I heard from a reliable source that a very close friend of yours had a biological clock that was ticking. She's only a little older than you-is yours ticking too?"

"Not a point you want to press if you're trying to convince a woman to marry you, Eagan."

He kissed her furrowed brow and the tip of her nose. "I want to raise a family with you. Do you want kids, Meg?"

She closed her eyes and sighed before opening them again. "Yes. I was thinking eight for starters."

He drew in a breath and held it until she started laughing. "If you could have seen the look of pure panic on your face."

"Not funny, Mulcahy." He pulled her close and rolled over so she was on top. When she put her elbow in the middle of his left pec and rested her head on her hand he knew he hadn't totally blown his proposal-yet. His mind raced for the words that would convince this amazing woman that he wanted to marry her for all of the right reasons. Women were tricky. He prayed for wisdom and enlightenment came.

"When I first came to town, I wasn't really living. I was escaping life-leaving it behind me, rather than picking up the pieces of what was left."

Her expression softened and he knew she was really listening.

"Then I met you and everything seemed to click. You know I was attracted to you from the first, but then I got to know you and liked what was on the inside as much as what was on the outside."

Her lips twitched and one side of her mouth lifted before she caught herself about to smile. "I'm sensing there's an and here."

He rolled again so she was beneath him. Leaning all of his weight on his elbows, he cupped her face in his hands and rasped, "There's a hole in my life Meg-only you can fix it."

Tears filled her eyes, magnifying the blue. "Handyman analogies," she sighed. "For a phys ed teacher, you're pretty good with words."

Hope hadn't been something he'd experienced in the last few years and he didn't recognize the emotion at first. His confusion must have shown on his face, because she reached up and placed her good hand over one of his. He had to ask, "Is that a yes?"

"You're not asking just because Jimmy came back to town?"

He couldn't lie to her. "I'll admit I was worried that you might still have a soft spot for the guy, but you have to know that isn't why I asked. I want and need you in my life, Meg. I love you and want the whole town of Apple Grove to know how I feel."

Her smile was blinding. "I happen to know one way to get everyone's attention-it's kind of a tradition around here."

"Then let's do it."

She squeezed his hand before sliding hers around the back of his head. "How do you feel about heights?"

He shrugged. "Not a problem for me."

"How are you with a paintbrush?"

The light went on. "The water tower?"

She grinned. "I'll give you my answer now, provided you ask me again in John Deere green on the Apple Grove water tower."

He leaned across her, reaching for his watch. "It's after midnight. Where can I get a can of that paint?"

She slipped out from under him and got up. "I think we should call the sheriff."

"And wake him up at this hour?"

"He lives the job-that's why he held off for so long staking his claim to Honey B., but that's not the point. He thinks no one knows his secret, but I figured it out years back."

"And this secret has to do with paint?"

"Kind of," she said, pulling her T-shirt back on. "Hey, where are my pants?"

He grinned and got out of bed. "In the kitchen."

She must have figured out what he had in mind because she dodged him and ran out the door. "Come on. We have just enough time to get it up there before Jimmy leaves town."

He caught up with her at the bottom of the steps. "Is it that important to you that he knows?"

Her eyes were serious and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "He needs to know that you aren't just a man of action-that you are man of words, and one who will keep his word. He needs to know that I've put the past behind me and maybe, just maybe I want him to suffer a little bit."

He put his hands beneath her arms and swung her in a circle. Dizzy with love for the woman he held, he kissed her on the lips and set her back on her feet. "First we get dressed, then you call the sheriff. By noon tomorrow, I want everyone in town to know that you're going to be mine."

She pulled on her sexy panties and jeans. She tossed his boxers at him and grinned. "They'll know by sunup."

"How? Do the people in town use that water tower as a form of communication?"

Her laughter was music to his heart. "Absolutely." She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out her phone. She hit one number and locked gazes with him. "Hey, Mitch, it's Meg. No, it's not that kind of emergency," she said then laughed. "Tell Honey B. I said hi... and do you have an open can of paint?"

She nodded and listened. "We'll meet you there."

Fifteen minutes later, Dan had climbed to the top of the ladder and pulled himself onto the catwalk. Dan met the man's gaze and noticed something was off. "You don't look so good. Are you all right?"

The sheriff gritted his teeth and said, "Let's just get this done."

Dan realized the sheriff was a braver man than anyone knew. "How long have you been afraid of heights?"

Their gazes met. The sheriff looked away first. "Didn't say I was."

Dan nodded. "Your secret is safe with me. Here, let me." He reached for the can of paint and the brush.

"How do I reach high enough?"

"Well now," the sheriff drawled. "That's the tricky part. See that rope up there?"

Dan groaned and glanced down at Meg. She waved at him and he thought she might be smiling but couldn't really see; the spotlight only illuminated the tower, not the ground.

"You grab a hold of that to steady yourself as you step up on that pipe up there."

Dan drew in a deep breath and let it go. "You must really love the people of Apple Grove."

The sheriff grinned. "You must really love Meg."

Dan laughed. "I do."

"Keep saying those words," the sheriff told him. "It's good practice."

Chapter 15.

Meg's cell phone woke her from a deep sleep. She rolled over and reached for it, but it wasn't under her pillow. She started to roll over and smacked into a warm, hard body-Dan.

"What's up?"

"My phone's ringing. Do you remember where I left it?"

He smiled and pulled her into his arms. "They'll call back."

"But it's all part of the process and I've waited a long time for this."

"You mean me?"

She kissed him with all of the giddy excitement sprinting through her heart. "I've waited half my life for you. Now where the heck is my phone?"

He sat up and looked around and then leaned across her. He grabbed her phone off the bedside table, but it stopped ringing.

"Damn. I wanted to answer that first call."

At the buzz, her gaze shot up to meet his before she read the message. "It's from Pop."

"Your dad?"

"He said he's got the coffee on and he'll be waiting for us."

"Why?"

She was busy texting and ignored him, saying instead, "I told him we haven't had breakfast yet."

"Great, so he knows we're still in bed."

"Where else would we be after you slapped paint on the water tower last night?"

"Is he mad?"

She laughed as she read her father's reply. "He says you just might be good enough for me."

"He's right. Tell your dad we're on our way."

"But we didn't get cleaned up yet."

"You go first and make it quick. I'll see if he has anything else to say."

She hopped out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom. He heard her singing but couldn't quite make out the words.