She feigned exasperation. “Oh, thisagain?”
“Yes,again.”
“You aren’t sick of this yet?”
I laughed. “Not in the slightest.”
Her coy charade evaporated as desire lit in her eyes.
I trailed kisses down for a few moments before she grabbed my head and brought it up to hers. “Kiss me, Jack. Kiss me right now.”
We tangled. In a blend of passion and tenderness. In another sweet relenting. Our union would forever be an outworking of knowing and being known. Of loving and being loved. Of our broken history and promised future. Of forgiving and offering forgiveness.
She had sent my heart into a free fall long ago. Fast and hard. No brakes to slow the descent. No pads to soften the blow. My heart was hers. Always and forever hers.
And I was lost.
We were on our way to Pleasant Gap to pick up Kacey when Miranda looked up from her phone and cussed—loud.
I startled, tapping the brakes. “What?!”
She stared out the window, a dazed look on her face. “Jack?”
“Speak! You’re freaking me out!”
“We aremillionaires.” She squeaked out the last word.
“For real?”
“Yeah,” she turned the phone toward me, like I’d be able to read it while driving. Her jaw hung loose. “Money came.”
“Holy cow.”
We let that sink in for a few beats. I was shocked, honestly. Knowing it was coming was totally different than having zeroes in your account. It’d be one hell of a tax season.
“Why do you think your dad included me in his will?”
It was something I’d considered many times. It might have been a flex of values. Or maybe a final way to stick it to me. Our strained relationship went to pot after Miranda and I split. He always told me he would never support a divorce. At the end of the day, that seemed the most logical explanation—proving how seriously he took marriage.
My dad wasn’t a person to model, but his loyalty to mom beyond her lifespan was honorable, albeit misguided and martyr-like. “You know what? I don’t really know. Don’t care to be honest.” I reached over, squeezing her thigh. “Nicest thing he ever did for me.”
She beamed at me. “I’m thankful.”
“Me too.” Because the nature of our relationship had been undetermined, Miranda and I never discussed the money. “So, what are we going todowith it?”
“Um, vacation! Duh!”
I laughed. “Well, obviously we can go on vacation.” I quickly imagined spending a week with my wife and son somewhere tropical. “Okay,definitelyvacation.”
“Bora Bora?”
“I don’t care. You pick. Somewhere with white sand and blue water.”
She squealed. “Oh mygoshwe’re going to Bora Bora!”
“We also need to see a financial advisor.”
“Pfft!That’s boring.”
