Carli: I don’t think we should meet at my cabin.
Cody: Agreed. Jace wasn’t suspicious this morning, but he’s not totally oblivious. We don’t need to push our luck.
Carli: You mean like no kissing in the hog barn? That kind of thing?
Cody: I claim the fifth—or something like the fifth. I couldn’t help myself.
Carli: Because me with straw and eau de hog is so irresistible.
Cody: Oddly, yes.
Carli: You’re too much.
Cody: I think you like it.
Carli: I already told you. I love you—even your crazy perception of what makes me attractive. Where should I meet you?
Cody: Want to meet at the old Waddell property? Our usual spot?
Carli: That works.
Cody: I’ll be in my truck waiting for you.
Carli: I’ll meet you there.
I spend the day at work, come home, change and drive to the main house for dinner with my family. Ever since Dad’s diagnosis, I’ve been taking every opportunity to be with my parents during meals or when they need me around the farm.
As soon as dinner is over, I rinse my plate and start to head for the door.
“Do you want to stick around and watch a show with me and Dad?” Mom asks.
“I’ll take a rain check,” I tell her. “It’s already been a full week. And McKenna’s wedding is coming this weekend.”
And I’m meeting Cody at an abandoned property in a half hour.
I can’t wait until I can say that kind of sentence out loud. Not that I’d tell my mother that I was meeting him at an abandoned property. But, I want to be able to say I’m seeing him—out loud, to everyone.
I pull down Chigger Ridge and turn onto the road leading to our little turn off. Cody’s there, in the back of his truck.
We lie on the blankets, Cody’s arm around me, laughing and talking. He fills me in on how it feels to be easing into his role as captain, I tell him about Dad. We reminisce about things we remember when we were younger. Time dissolves. Occasionally, Cody leans in and kisses me. Mostly, we’re just soaking up being in each other’s presence after a few days of having to live on scraps.
“We were joking about kids last time,” he says.
“That was a joke?” I ask, playfully.
“Not completely,” he admits. “I want kids. And I want to have them with you one day.”
His boldness should freak me out, even a little, but instead, a rush of warmth fills me and I give him a squeeze.
“I’ll do it all in order,” he clarifies, as if I thought he wouldn’t. “Once we tell everyone we’re seeing one another—and they get over it.”
“I know you will. And I hope they get over it.”
“They’re going to have to.”
“Okay then,” I say with a soft laugh.
“We’ll give them time to have McKenna’s wedding. And we can wait a few weeks after that for the dust to settle,” he says. “Then I’m going to talk to Jace.”
