“Yeah, absolutely. It’ll be like a mini-vacation.”
“That was what I thought, too. Cook stocked the fridge for you, but we’re expecting you to at least have dinner with us.”
I grinned. “Yes, boss.”
Lake rolled his eyes fondly. “Oh, and no need to worry about Bucky. He now has a dog bed in my bedroom.”
“Aww, how sweet,” I teased him. Of course he’d make sure his boyfriend’s dog could come inside the house if he was making the arrangement semi-permanent.
“Yeah, yeah. Go tell your man you’re moving.”
For a couple of seconds I wondered if I should tell him more about what was going on with Ben and me, but I decided against it. I wanted to give him good news only, and I wasn’t there yet. Not until Ben confronted his dad and we figured that situation out. For now, all Lake needed to know was that Ben and I were together.
“Thanks for the riding lesson,” I said, then whimpered as I went to move again. “Holy shit.”
I listened to Lake chuckle as he went toward the stable, likely to find Theo.
He couldn’t get that hot tub installed fast enough.
Ben and I went into the house, where Rey took one look at us and cackled. I gave him the finger, and then Ben and I wobbled up the stairs and into my room.
“Sit,” I pointed at my armchair as I took off my jeans to change into sweats.
He sat and watched me quizzically. “Okay?”
“So, first question.” I sighed as I sat on the edge of my bed. “Do you know how long you’re staying?”
He thought for a bit. “At least a week, I’d say. After that I don’t have another job lined up, and I could tell them I’m on vacation or something. Why?”
My heart began to beat faster at the mere thought of him staying for a while. “Okay, okay, so here’s the thing.”
I explained to him about us potentially moving into the cabin, and he readily agreed.
“Beats living out of two rooms,” he joked, then went to repack the stuff he’d already unpacked.
Within an hour, we were settled into the little cabin next to Theo’s. There was a large oak between the cabins that shaded them from the worst of the heat and also gave some privacy with how they couldn’t be wall to wall.
Not that it mattered right then, because Theo would stay at the house with Lake anyway.
“This is really nice,” Ben said, looking around the cabin.
“It is. The bathroom isn’t as nice as Theo’s, because he’d done a lot of the renovation while he lived there. This was just an extra accommodation for anyone who needed it, so they haven’t upgraded it much.”
Ben sat on the comfy looking couch. “Everything is very basic, like in a rental cabin. I like it.”
Of course, it would be him who thought that the lack of anything luxurious would be a good thing. To be honest, I didn’t mind the cabin. Maybe I could live here in the future, too, whether Ben was here or not? If I wanted to, I was sure Lake, Theo, and Sierra would let me make all the upgrades I might want and could afford.
We made a quick lunch from the stuff Cook had filled the fridge with, and then laid on the couch together, talking and napping intermittently.
I couldn’t remember happiness like this existing before he came back into my life.
Ben sprawled on the corner of the couch, and I lay down next to him, squished between his side and the back of the couch. My head was on his stomach, and he lazily scratched my scalp as if he were petting me.
The TV was on, and we’d hooked my laptop to it, so we could not-watch a nature documentary on Netflix.
“I’ve been thinking,” Ben murmured, then didn’t continue for a minute. “Since your job is very much here. Hell, yourfamilyis here, I think this is where we should settle.”
I lifted my head, eyes wide. “Just like that?”
