“I would love that.”
Overhearing them, Aileen laid her hand on Colin’s arm. “You two talking about living here?”
“We are,” Colin told her. “We’re thinking we’d retire here.”
She nodded, her hand still resting on his arm. “This house will be yours, Collie.”
“What?!”
Aileen nodded. “Whoelse? When I cross over, it all comes to you. The cottage, too.”
Colin and Joshua both stared at her open-mouthed.
“So, now you have a retirement plan and a house to live in.”
Colin hugged and kissed her. “Ahn-tee, I honestly don’t know what to say except…” He placed his hand over his heart. “Thank you. And I hope when we retire, you’re still living here.”
“Fine by me,” Aileen said. “Plenty of room for all.”
Joshua kissed her cheek and then got to his feet. “Excuse me for a minute.”
“Are you going to sing?” Nate asked Danny. “Please say you are.”
“Of course we are,” Danny told him. “We never miss a chance to sing with Collie. His voice is the sweetest sound on Earth.”
“Well, when hesings,it is,” Nate teased, gouging Colin with an elbow.
“Hey!” Colin griped while Danny shook with laughter, then Colin turned, feeling Joshua nudge his arm.
He was standing next to Colin’s chair, holding a mandolin which he offered to his husband. “I do believe this is yours.”
Colin took the instrument and looked at it for a moment, then strummed out a chord. He shot a sideways glance at Danny, who smiled and nodded, and then he took Joshua’s arm and drew him back into his chair.
“Sit,” he murmured, then once again strummed the mandolin. He tilted his head, gazing at Joshua in complete silence for a long moment, then he sang:
O my love is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my love is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
His sweet, clear tenor rang out, filling the room, and Joshua bit his lip, blinded by tears, struggling not to break into sobs. Nothing moved his heart more deeply than hearing Colin sing. It was the foundation of their relationship. It was Colin’s gift to him on their very first date, and for Joshua, it marked the moment when he knew his heart to be forever bound to the handsome and unattainable Irishman. And now, only one day after Colin had risked his life to protect Joshua and their friends, it was a soul-crushing reminder of how close he had come to losing this man who was his whole world.
As Colin began the second stanza, his three cousins moved their chairs closer and added their glorious voices to his. The sweetness of their harmonies was sublime and caught the breath of everyone at the table. Joshua bowed his head, feeling his chest constrict with almost unbearable pain.I could have lost him.He wept internally and lifted both hands to cover his face.
Colin’s hand left the mandolin, then lifted Joshua’s head until their eyes met. And as he sang the next stanza, he stared straight into Joshua’s eyes, letting his every emotion shine through in his gaze.
So fair art thou, my bonnie lad,
So deep in love am I;
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till all the seas run dry.
Joshua felt Nate’s hands press down on his shoulders, and he swiped at the tears streaming down his cheeks. Colin’s voice perfectly merged with those of his cousins as they sang the final stanzas, their glorious harmonies merging in a unified celebration of Colin and Joshua’s love.
