The party wound down slowly. Brianna packed up her fiddle. Guests drifted away in pairs and small groups, calling out thanks and goodbyes. Shane helped clean up, stacking chairs and carrying dishes inside while April and Hannah worked in the kitchen.
Finally, it was just the family left—Sonny and Miriam, Hannah, April, Shane, and Kevin, who'd spent the evening running wild with the other kids and was now passed out in a chair, Pete curled at his feet.
"I'll get him," Shane said.
He scooped Kevin up carefully. The kid didn't even stir, just made a sleepy sound and tucked his face against Shane's shoulder. Pete scrambled up, tail wagging, ready to follow.
They said their goodnights and headed to Shane's truck. Kevin went in the back seat, Pete on the floor. Shane drove toward April's house—it was closer—and April sat beside him, her hand resting on his thigh.
"Today was perfect," she said softly.
Shane thought about his mother, about the forgiveness that had felt impossible for so long. About his brothers and their terrible jokes and unwavering support. About Kevin calling him Dad and April falling asleep in his arms every night.
"Yeah," he agreed. "It was."
He pulled into April's driveway and cut the engine. Kevin was still dead to the world, and Shane carried him inside, Pete trotting alongside. April unlocked the door and held it open, watching as Shane navigated the familiar path to Kevin's room.
He laid Kevin on the bed and pulled off his shoes, then covered him with a blanket. Pete jumped up and curled at Kevin's feet like always. For a moment, Shane just stood there, looking at this incredible kid who'd somehow become his.
April appeared in the doorway. "You okay?"
Shane turned to her, this woman who'd turned his entire world upside down and put it back together better than it was before.
"I thought life was perfect,” he said. "I was wrong."
April's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"My mom is leaving my dad. She's trying. You forgave her." Shane crossed the room and took April's hands. "You and me and Kevin and Pete and this messy, chaotic, beautiful life we're building.Nowlife is perfect."
April's smile was soft and a little sad. "Nothing's perfect, Shane."
"This is." He kissed her forehead, then her nose, then her mouth. “This is perfect."
She kissed him back, slow and sweet. "Yeah," she whispered. "I guess it is."
They stood there in Kevin's doorway, holding each other while their son slept and the dog snored and the night wrapped around them like a promise.
“But I can make it even more perfect,” April added.
“Yeah? How?” Shane grinned, already knowing her answer before she started pulling him down the hallway toward their bedroom.
Perfect.
April’s thighstrembled against his shoulders, her fingers buried in his hair as she gasped his name like it was the only word she remembered. Shane didn’t let up. He knew what she liked now—how to circle his tongue just right, how to suck her clit gently and then harder until her breath hitched and her hips rolled up to meet his mouth.
“Shane,” she moaned, the sound breaking apart as her orgasm crested. She fell apart on his tongue, shaking, her thighs tightening around his head like she never wanted to let him go. He grinned against her, greedy for every last tremor.
When she finally sagged back against the pillows, she let out a breathless laugh and covered her face with her forearm. “Oh myGod, what was that?”
He crawled up over her, kissed the inside of her knee on the way, then the slope of her hip, the curve of her waist. “That was me,” he murmured into her skin. “Showing off.”
April let her arm drop and looked up at him, flushed and glowing, hair spread wild across the pillow. “You’re terrible, you know that?”
“Only for you.” He kissed her again, slow and deep, his fingers trailing over her ribs. “And you love it.”
She reached between them and wrapped her hand around his cock, stroking just once—slow, deliberate, wicked. His breath caught.
“I want you,” she whispered. “Now.”
