“I was only in the loft for a little while.” She looked at Andrea and smiled. “We decided the best way of getting it into the house is to unscrew the frame and carry it down in pieces.”
Ben sighed. “What will I do with you?”
“That’s easy. Keep loving me for the rest of your life.”
“I can do that,” Ben said softly as he hugged his wife and daughter.
Andrea held David’s hand. She’d spent her entire life searching for pure, unconditional love that would last a lifetime. Today, she’d found it.
If David was willing, she wanted to share all her tomorrows with him and find their own happy-ever-after.
David ordered three ice creams and waited by the front counter of the Ice Cream Shack with Charlie and Andy. With the boys still on summer vacation and Andrea’s café super busy, he’d offered to spend the day with them.
Both boys were excited about showing him their favorite things to do in Sapphire Bay. So far, they’d joined Ben and Charlotte on a friend’s boat and gone fishing on Flathead Lake. They’d had hamburgers for lunch and bought candy from Sweet Treats. After lunch, he’d borrowed a bicycle and followed the boys along the trails they enjoyed exploring.
And, now, they were at the Ice Cream Shack, waiting for their order.
“Mom brought us here after we saw Dad,” Charlie told him.
“That was a thoughtful thing to do.”
“Mom does lots of things like that,” Andy told him. “She wants us to be happy.”
Charlie stood on tippy-toes to watch the person behind the counter make another ice cream. “We don’t need to do things to be happy, though. Spending time with her is just as good.”
David nodded. “That’s how I feel about my mom and dad. I don’t see them as much as I’d like, but it’s great when I go home.”
“What do you do with them when you go home?”
He smiled at Andy. “We sit around their firepit and toast marshmallows and listen to Dad’s country music collection. Mom usually makes bacon and eggs for breakfast and tells me about everything I’ve missed. And, sometimes, my sister and her family meet us at the tenpin bowling alley. That’s always fun.”
“Does your sister live close to your mom and dad?” Charlie asked.
“She does. She’s married and has three children.”
The person behind the counter handed them their ice creams. As soon as he saw them, David knew why this was one of the boys’ favorite places. “The ice creams are huge.”
Andy nodded. “They taste good, too. Can we sit by the playground?”
“Sure. We’ll follow you.”
Andy took them to a wooden seat beside a set of swings. “Do you like our mom?”
David’s eyebrows rose. He hadn’t expected Andy to ask him questions about Andrea. “I like her very much.”
Charlie licked a dribble of ice cream off his hand. “Are you taking her on a date soon?”
“Umm…I’d like to but, apart from taking you and Andy for pizza, we haven’t managed to plan one yet. Your mom’s really busy at the café.”
“Charlotte said her dad and Kylie have date nights. You could do that.”
Andy frowned. “You have to be married to have date nights.”
Charlie’s eyes widened and he looked at David. “Are you and Mom getting married?”
David’s hand froze as he lifted his ice cream to his mouth. Charlie and Andy were both waiting for him to say something. There was nothing he’d like better than to marry Andrea, but she might have other ideas.
“Usually, people know each other for a little longer before they get married.”
