Instead, I hear the soft shush of the door sliding open and then closed.
Worry has me sitting up, pushing out of bed, moving to that door.
She looks over her shoulder at me as I step onto the patio, mouth curved. “Sorry if I woke you.”
I take her in my arms. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I just…it feels strange that this will all finally be over.”
For us, that is.
Angela hadn’t lied about the envelope containing information that will protect us all.
Now we just have to decide how to use it to move forward.
“I know.”
“How do I just live a normal life after all that happened?”
“You don’t,” I tell her. “You liveyourlife.”
“No.Ourlife.”
I tug lightly at a strand of her hair. “Yeah, Raindrop. Our life.”
Her mouth hitches up. “How do you feel about animal rescue?”
“Considering Tulip and Buttercup are sleeping at the foot of our bed, I think it’s clear that I’m all in.”
“Cats then?”
I shrug. “Or dogs. You know Rory will demand equal representation.”
“Or,” she says, “I could do something a little different.”
“Ferret rescue?”
She giggles and lifts on tiptoe, brushing her mouth over mine. “I was thinking more like…horses.” She waves a hand toward the land, quiet and shadowed and hushed. “There’splenty of space—” Her eyes come to mine. “Though, if you don’t want the hassle…”
“I think moving the stables to the south side of the property would be perfect, don’t you think? There’s already open space and it’s flat. Plus, it’s not too far from the main house.”
“Brooks,” she whispers.
“This is our future, Raindrop. And you’re going to have anything you want.”
“What about whatyouwant?”
I draw her closer. “I already have it.”
There’s a sharp crack of noise and the skies seem to open up, rain pouring down, soaking us in an instant.
But we don’t rush inside, don’t run from the sudden summer rainstorm.
Instead, we both tilt our faces up to the sky…
And we laugh.
And it’s the best start to forever I can imagine.
