To recap:

"Do you want to know the real reason I went up there? Why I told you all of that? Why I admitted that I loved you?" he asked, his eyes angry.

Chapter Twelve: The Whole Story

Liz nodded timidly, feeling a little scared by this new, dangerously determined Calvin.

"Because I meant it. I went looking for you; I swam with Anne to the dock, threw rocks at your window, and even took a run down to the club to see if you were there. I didn't tell you about Rachel because I figured it wouldn't matter by the time I finished talking to you. She interfered before I was done." His eyes softened and his face suddenly lined with pain. "Liz, I love you. I want to be with you, and not just for the rest of the summer. Forever. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That's the real reason I went to talk to you yesterday. I want you to marry me, Liz Baker." He loosened his hold on her shoulders and stepped closer. "Forget Rachel, forget my father; I don't care what they do or think. It's my life and I'll do with it what I choose. I'll elope if I have to, but I'm going to elope with you, if anybody, not Rachel Zimmerman." His eyes searched hers anxiously and he dropped to one knee, taking her hand in his. "Will you marry me, Liz?"

Feeling her lungs constrict, Liz found she couldn't say a thing. It felt as though her body had forgotten how to breathe properly. Wordlessly, she touched his face, searching his hazel eyes and feeling tears come to her own. Gently, she pulled him to his feet where, thanks to a slight unevenness in the ground, she stood eye to eye with him. "Do you really mean that?" she asked, aware that her knees were trembling harder than they'd ever trembled before.

"Liz, if I have to prove it to you by throwing you over my shoulder, tossing you in my car, and driving off to kidnap a pastor, I will."

A powerful emotion swept over her at that moment, a feeling of control and, surprisingly, of completion. Calvin was hers, no one else's. He had willing laid open his heart in front of her for her to break it or take it. Against all probability and in spite of her abominable treatment of him, he had chased her down, dragged her out here into the forest, and asked her to marry him, thus throwing his father's wishes – and most likely blessing – and Rachel's money out the door. She found her new feelings accompanied by an undercurrent of anger. Let Rachel just try and get her slimy hands on Calvin. My Calvin, Liz thought suddenly.

He had been watching her closely as all of this ran through her mind and he lifted his eyebrows in a questioning look. "Liz?"

Drawn back to the fact that he was standing right there, so close, Liz could no longer restrain herself. Reaching out, she touched him and allowed him to pull her into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Calvin," she whispered against his shoulder, where she'd buried her face.

He pulled back slightly, cradling her face in his hands. "Is that a yes?" he asked, his eyes flashing an almost shy emotion. When she nodded, he smiled slightly before closing the gap between them and kissing her long and hard. When he released her, she sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling him smile against her cheek. "I'm sorry I don't have a ring or anything with me right now. It's actually back at the house. But here," he broke away from her and plucked a late-blooming meadow blossom, deftly tied it in a circle, and slipped it on her ring finger. "This will do for now."

She smiled as she admired it, then looked up at him, feeling inexplicably shy. "We should, um, get back now. Before they miss us."

Whew! Finally! I was starting to worry that it wouldn't come together. Liz just got too worked up when I wrote her lines over the last two chapters, but Calvin came through magnificently and conquered her in the end. And don't worry! This isn't the end! More coming soon! Please review! And don't forget my challenge from chapter ten! Little prizes for the others who review with feedback!

Love, Elena