Kenzie stood, the book she’d forgotten about falling to the floor, and reached for him. He was there in the space of a heartbeat, pulling her into his arms. She buried her face in his neck, breathing him in as his shirt absorbed her tears.
She let him hold her for a long time, until the tears and trembling had subsided. Then she tipped her head back so she could see his face. “I love you, too. I want to come home to you every night. And someday, I want to grow old with you on that back porch.”
His eyes sparkled with moisture as he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her until her body was molded to his and everything around them faded away. Then he ran his thumb over her cheek, wiping away the lingering wetness.
“No matter how many more books I write, our story will always be my favorite.”
She laughed and took his hand, pulling him toward the door. It felt like a good time to give him a tour of her bedroom. “Did I mention you’ll get a family discount on popcorn chicken?”
“Damn, woman,” he said, slapping her butt with his free hand. “Just when I thought it wasn’t possible to love you any more than I do.”
Epilogue
Three years later…
“Are you ready for today?”
Kenzie moaned and snuggled closer to her husband. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
“The Annual Kowalski Volleyball Death Match Tournament of Doom.” He kissed the side of her neck and then pressed his lips to her ear. “No cheating this year.”
“I didn’t trip Steph’s husband on purpose. You do know your family is absolute chaos, right? Remember when we had game night with my aunt and uncle and nobody needed an ice pack by the end of the game? There was no doom. Nothing broke.”
“I’m going to shower,” he said, slapping her on the butt. “Are we going to stop at the Kitchen for breakfast on the way or should I make pancakes?”
“We can stop. I haven’t seen them in a couple of days.”
The mattress moved under her as her husband got up and headed for the bathroom. “Don’t fall back to sleep. You’re going to need a lot of coffee to get through today.”
She laughed and then pulled the sheet up over her head. Her in-laws had taken over the campground for their annual camping trip. Since theextremelyrustic log cabin they’d bought—they’d added the indoor plumbing before they moved in, deciding the renovations were worth it for the bubbling brook through the property—was only a few miles from Birch Brook Campground, Danny and Kenzie were making day trips to join them.
She loved spending time with his family. And thanks to Jessica coming into their lives, she’d be enjoying all the activities of doom this year.
A year ago, Frank had introduced his daughter to Jess. He’d gone to school with her, and she’d been a friend of Corinne’s. As couples, they’d even gone out with Jess and her husband a few times before Kenzie was born. But Jess’s husband had passed, their kids were grown, and she’d been offered early retirement from her job. She didn’t need much in the way of money, thanks to the life insurance and her retirement, but she wanted to keep moving and be more social. Filling in for Kenzie sometimes would be perfect for her.
Over the following months, Kenzie had started noticing the looks passing between Frank and Jess. The mutual flirtation. The laughing. Kenzie started taking more time off, then a little more, and her dad’s new romance was working out well for everybody.
She was still in bed when Danny walked back into the bedroom, a towel hanging low on his hips. The cabin was only big enough for one bathroom, so they spent a lot of time walking from the bathroom to the bedroom in towels, and neither of them minded. It wasn’t a big cabin, but his desk and whiteboard fit in a corner of the living room, and it had a deep porch they’d screened in the first week they lived there. Eventually they were going to put an addition on, with another bedroom, an office and another bathroom, but for now they were cozy. And happy.
“I knew you’d still be in bed,” he teased, and she heard the dresser drawer slide open.
“I might not play volleyball this year,” she said. “There are a lot of kids, and I can help wrangle Julia and Matty.”
The older kids mostly played well, but Joey and Ellie’s daughter Julia and Brian and Siobhan’s younger son, Matthew, were toddlers with a lot more energy than common sense.
“Oh, no, you don’t. You know Gram and my mom and Aunt Terry always sit with the kids. You’re just afraid I’ll beat you again.”
She threw his pillow at him, but he caught it easily. “You didn’t beat me. Yourteamoutplayed my team.”
“Even with you cheating.” He made atsksound and then grinned.
Kenzie sighed, flopping back onto the pillow. Then she started very slowly inching the sheet down her naked body. “You know, the volleyball game doesn’t—”
“The what?”
“The Annual Kowalski Volleyball Death Match Tournament of Doom,” she said, rolling her eyes, “doesn’t start until after lunch.”
Heat flared in his eyes and the T-shirt he’d chosen to wear dangled forgotten from his fingers.
“And the restaurant does breakfast all day,” she continued. “There’s no reason we have to rush out of bed.”
Danny dropped the T-shirt, climbing onto the mattress wearing only the boxer briefs he’d already pulled on. That was fine, she thought. She’d have them off again in no time.
“Have I told you I love you yet this morning?” He ran his hand up her side and then tugged the sheet down over her stomach. “Because I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered. And then she grinned and rolled so she was straddling him. “Now I’m going to wear you out so you don’t have the strength to hit the ball over the net today.”
Laughing, he pulled her head down so he could kiss her. “Challenge accepted.”
* * * * *
