I’ll give it a few minutes, then sweep her off into a quiet corner of the farm where she can breathe.
I walk to the back windows to keep an eye on Phoebe because I get the feeling Carter is as responsible as she is, and it’s cold outside. Thankfully, she’s properly layered while they argue over who gets to build Olaf’s base.
Only that leaves an opening for Reid to corner me, and he’s got zero hesitation about doing it.
“I thought it was weird when Chloe moved here, because I’d never heard of Storywood Ridge before,” he says quietly. “Yet, suddenly she’s married to you, and she didn’t tell us. Want to explain that?”
I try to put myself in his shoes. The last knowledge they had about me was probably our breakup. And depending on how much she told them, that doesn’t exactly paint me in the best light. I can understand him wanting to protect his sister.
I keep my voice level. “Before we continue this conversation, I need to remind you that your sister is an adult. She didn’t ‘fail to mention’ it. We got swept up, and everything happened fast. She was overwhelmed.”
“You’re giving her a lot of credit here.”
The last thing I want to do is make a bad impression on Chloe’s family, but I can’t stand Reid’s attitude.
“You’re right,” I say, angling myself to face him, and raising my voice so anyone else with questions can hear me. “I’m givingmy wifea lot of credit here.”
“Reid,” Chloe says sharply from behind us.
He turns his head, hands up. “I’m just saying—it’s a lot.”
“It is,” I agree. “And we’re not pretending otherwise.”
That gets his attention, so I continue.
“She showed up when this place was still closed and hurting. She helped me reopen this farm. And she made this house feel like a home again.”
The house has gone silent.
I can feel her behind me, so I extend a hand to her. As soon as she takes it, my world settles into place.
And I want the next words out of my mouth to be for her, not everyone else.
“You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever known, and when I saw the opportunity to marry you and be in your corner, I couldn’t let that pass me by.”
“I’d say yes all over again,” she whispers, stepping all the way into my embrace.
I glance back at her family and mine, all slack-jawed and stunned.
“We got married fast. We’re not sorry about that—only that we didn’t explain it sooner. But we were just impatient, and life got busy.”
Carter reappears then, cheeks pink from the cold. “Okay, but serious question, where do people around here ski? Because if you live in a place that looks like this and there isn’t a place to enjoy it, that’s just lame.”
Phoebe cheers. Evelyn groans.
The moment breaks.
But something has shifted.
Later, when everyone is settled—not chaos,actuallysettled—Chloe finds me in the hallway.
“My brothers are unpacking and making plans, my parents are resting, and Phoebe commandeered Carter’s phone for games. All is right in the world.” She sighs.
“How would you like to go hide in our room, then?”
She gives me an exhausted smile. “I would love that. But first, I want to say something.”
“Everything okay?” I frown.
