“Haven and Elsa were staying above the barn, but it’s available now.”
“No way I want to stay there,” Lincoln cut in flatly.His gaze was shuttered.
I thought I understood why.That was where we’d stayed after the fire.When our grief was raw and we were crowded in there.The memories carried echoes of pain.
“Completely understand.Otherwise,” I went on, “there’s a staff area in the resort.Long term, once we add more guest rooms, we’ll hire more staff.Mom wants to be able to have people stay here if they want.”
“Makes sense.”
“I’ve been staying in one of the rooms upstairs.Claim it.Asher and Grady have been bunking in another one.There’s a small suite of rooms in there.Same with Cole.”
“Sounds like camp,” Lincoln said.
A chuckle rustled in my throat.“I guess.Except everybody has a private room.Definitely going to be better amenities than what you’re used to.”
Lincoln flashed a grin.“No shit.”
I paused before I turned away.“It’s really good to have you home.You okay?”
Lincoln tipped his head to the side before nodding slowly.“I think I am.”
I pulled him into a back-slapping hug, calling “Goodnight” over my shoulder just before I slipped out the main entrance.
ChapterThirty-Nine
Jude
I loved the mundane details of being more than just Kendall’s best friend.Although I’d given her rides here and there hundreds of times over the years, it felt different when I knew she was mine.I savored the feel of her knee under my palm as I drove through the darkness back to town, and she told me small things about her day.Today’s details included coordinating a plan with a program to reintroduce the rescue moose back to the wild, the never-ending antics of the goats, and a new rescue—a pig someone had gotten as a pet, thinking it would stay small.Now, she was decidedlynotsmall.
“She’s totally a sweetheart, but she’s three hundred pounds now,” Kendall said.“I need a house big enough that I can have a pig that lives with me in it.”
“A three-hundred-pound pig?”I slid my gaze to her briefly before flicking my eyes back to the road.
“Yes!Pigs make great pets.They’re so sweet and smart.”
“Well, since I love you, I’m going to have to plan a house big enough for that.”
“You’d do that for me?”Her voice lilted up in surprise.
I flicked my gaze to hers again, and the look in her eyes sent my heart spinning.“Of course I would.”
She leaned over with a little squeal and pressed a kiss to my cheek.I wanted to capture it and hold it in my heart.This feeling was justsogood.
“I know you, Kendall, and I know you won’t be happy if you don’t have plenty of animals around you.But you have to promise me we’re not going to have a menagerie in our bedroom.”
“Oh, no.It’s not like the pigs would be there all the time.We’d just make it so they could come in if they wanted.Cows also make great pets.”
“Cows?”I yelped, and she giggled, squeezing my hand where it rested on her knee.
“They’re kind of large, and their hooves aren’t great for flooring, but they are sweet.”
I let out a disbelieving sputter.“Their hooves aren’t great for flooring,” I muttered.“Life’s going to be an adventure with you, Kendall.”
By the time we got back to Kendall’s apartment, I was burning up for her.
That was the crazy thing.All these years, I’d worried that maybe my emotions for her wouldn’t translate to chemistry, even though Ifeltthe chemistry.
But damn if the emotions didn’t make that chemistry burn hotter and hotter.They were like fuel poured on a bonfire.
