“Wow, you really don’t have a favorite, do you?” she questions, lifting her cheek from my shoulder so she can look up at me. “We’ll have to experiment with some colors and see if you can find a preference.”
“Okay,” I agree, uncaring, but willing to do anything if it will make her happy.
“What about food? What’s your favorite food?”
“I don’t have a favorite.”
“Okay, what would you pick to eat if you were out at a restaurant?”
“I usually choose steak,” I tell her.
“I should have guessed,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“What is your favorite?”
“Mac and cheese,” she says, and I feel her lips pull up into a smile against my shoulder. “The gooey, super cheesy kind, not the weird bright yellow out of a box stuff.”
“Tori made me mac and cheese. I enjoyed it,” I tell her.
“Who is Tori?” she asks, stiffening in my arms.
“She’s my friend and Nero’s woman.”
“Oh,” she says, sagging into my chest. “I think I met her. Are you and she close?”
“Yes, she feels like my sister.”
“That’s…that’s nice. Did she know you were coming to get me today?”
“No.”
“Why not?” she asks.
“I didn’t inform anyone about my intention to collect you and bring you home today, although some of my brothers are aware that I’d found my wife.”
“You told them about me?” she blurts.
“Not your name, just that I had identified who you were to me, and what my plans were for the future.”
“Your…” Lifting her head, she looks up at me again. “Plans?”
“My intention to resign from my position as a smoke jumper. Although my boss, Buck, refused to accept my resignation, and instead insisted I take a leave of absence.”
“You quit your job?” she gasps.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To be with you,” I tell her simply.
“You can’t just quit your job for me,” she says, her expression outraged.
“I enjoyed my job, but I believe that this position was merely intended to bring me to this town. Since moving here, I’ve found a family—brothers and a sister—and now you,” I tell her. “Most of my brothers have all decided to build their own homes on this compound so we can continue to all live together here in Rockhead Point.”
“What? Here?” she asks.
“I’ve assigned them each a portion of the property, yes.”
