“What?” Ivy asked.
“The last time they went there, they picked up two new boyfriends.” Zane glared at Tessa.
“Each.” Luke glared at Faith.
Gil glared at Ivy. She glared back. “Don’t look at me that way. I haven’t even been there.”
“Don’t get any ideas.” Gil wasn’t joking. “I had to threaten one of them with jail time before they backed off.”
Faith and Tessa grinned. Zane and Luke groaned.
Gil squeezed Ivy closer and whispered, “Welcome to the family.”
42
THREE MONTHS LATER
Gil’s alarm went off at 6:10 a.m. It was time. He pulled on clothes, checked his pockets, and left his childhood bedroom. Two steps down the hall, he opened Emily’s door. Two twin beds held the two women he loved beyond all reason. His sister’s dark head lifted from the pillow, and there was a definite hint of merriment in her eyes.
“Good luck,” she mouthed, then rolled toward the wall, very obviously giving him privacy.
He crept to the other bed and knelt beside it. He brushed a blonde strand from Ivy’s cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “Buttercup? Wake up for me, baby.”
“What’s going on?” Her voice was thick with sleep, and her words were garbled.
“Come with me.”
“What time is it?” Her brow furrowed in confusion, but she sat and moved toward him. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s great, but I need to show you something.”
“Can I get dressed first?”
He kissed her forehead. “Yes, but don’t take too long. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
He left her sitting on the side of the bed and went to the kitchen. The coffeepot was full and waiting, and he poured a glug of hazelnut creamer into an insulated mug, topped it with coffee, then fixed his own cup.
She didn’t make him wait long. As soon as she entered the kitchen, he handed her the coffee, then took her fully healed right hand in his left and pulled her to the door, bundled her into her heavy jacket, and walked out through the backyard.
She sipped her coffee and joined him without any argument but also without any conversation. Good. The only way this plan had any hope of working was if he could get her to their spot before she became fully awake. Once the coffee kicked in, her curiosity would overtake everything.
They walked through a pasture along a narrow path until they hit the creek that was the back edge of his parents’ land. He turned left, and they walked another fifty yards until they reached a large, flat boulder that jutted over the creek.
“Gil.” Her hand clenched in his. She was catching on.
“Here.” He handed her his coffee and climbed to the top of the boulder. Then he reached down, and she handed him both coffees before she scrambled up beside him. He sat down and crossed his legs, and without him saying anything, she did the same, sitting so they were facing each other, their knees touching.
The last time they’d sat this way had been at 6:30 a.m., exactly twenty-four years ago. He’d been nine. She’d been eight. She’d said goodbye and ran back to the house in tears. He’d followed, slower, because he didn’t want anyone to see his own tears.
But before the tears...
“You remember?” They’d never talked about it. Not even thesummer when they were together as teens. But Ivy’s memory was impressive. He was counting on it now.
Her lips turned upward. “A girl never forgets her first kiss.”
“I promised you I’d never tell, and I didn’t. Not even Emily.”
“Me neither.”
