“Prison,” I explain, the word still bitter on my tongue. “It was never completely dark there. Always some light. When I got out, I couldn’t sleep in the dark anymore. Too quiet. Too… empty.”
She nods, her fingers gently tracing the line of my jaw. “That makes sense.”
“But,” I continue, “when we fell asleep to the fire, even after the fire died out I didn’t turn the lights back on. I didn’t even think of it.” I take a deep breath. “And I slept fine.”
“What do you think that means?” she asks, her voice soft with wonder.
I pull her closer, burying my face in her hair. “I think it means I’m moving on. With you.”
A loud cry outside breaks the moment—the rooster is at his job again. I fall back onto the pillow. “When will you make me rooster soup?”
“When we catch the bastard.”
“So probably never.”
“Probably not,” she chuckles, draping her body over mine.
I wrap my arms around her and flip her onto her back; the damn rooster can wait, we’ve got other business to attend to.
EPILOGUE
Six months later
Jericho
“I’m not wearing this.”
I stare down at the offensive outfit Nora laid out on the bed: a shimmery green shirt with some kind of sparkly collar and black pants that will surely cling to my ass more than I’d like.
“Yes, you are.” Nora doesn’t even look up from where she’s applying mascara at the vanity made from solid wood that we bought together at the flea market last month. The thing couldn’t be disassembled, so I had to drag it through the whole street to my truck. But she was swaying her delicious butt in front of me so happily that I followed her like a moth to the light with furniture in my arms. “It’s a costume party, Jericho. You can’t showup in flannel.”
“Watch me. I can be dressed as a lumberjack.” I pick up my favorite worn shirt from the chair.
She turns, waving her mascara wand at me like a weapon. “Even though you can pull it off, put it down. I want to dress up once in a blue moon. It will make me so happy,” she adds with a sweet smile, batting her lashes at me.
I groan, remembering I live to make her happy; when she figured that out, she started using it against me. Especially when she tries to convince me to watch another Hallmark movie. Before I met Nora, I’d never seen a Hallmark movie in my life, and now I know too much about shirtless farmers and women moving to small towns for Christmas. But Nora loves them. Every time the TV screen illuminates with the same background and a new title, her face brightens as she buries herself deeper in the blankets on the couch with a sweet, contented sigh. I can’t take that away from her, so I plant my ass on the couch and pretend to watch the movie while I’m actually watching her.
“This isn’t me,” I protest, holding the shirt away from my body like it might bite, and it actually might—the fabric is itchy.
Nora stands, crossing to me in nothing but her underwear and a silk robe that’s doing dangerous things to my concentration. “That’s the point of a costume party. Being someone else for a night.” She rises on her toes to kiss me. “Besides, you’ll look hot.”
“I’ll look ridiculous.”
“That too.” She grins, unapologetic. “But please.” Another round of fluttering her hypnotizing eyelashes does it for me. “At least try it on for me.”
I sigh, defeated. There’s no arguing with her when she gets that look in her eyes—half mischief, half determination.
“Fine,” I mutter, reaching for the ridiculous shirt. “But I’m driving, and we’re leaving the second anyone asks me to dance.”
“What if it’s me who asks you to dance?” She beams, victorious.
I groan loudly. “Get dressed, Witch, before I come to my senses and change my mind.”
With her usual melodic laughter, she applies something to her lips and then disappears into the walk-in closet I built for her from one of the bedrooms. The woman has so many dresses, we might need another house for them soon.
Once I’ve wrestled the dreaded costume onto my body, I stare at myself in the mirror, barely recognizing the man who looks back. The shirt is tight across my chest, the collar scratchy against my neck. I look like I’m auditioning for some 1970s disco revival.
But then Nora emerges, and all thoughts of my discomfort vanish.
