The day flew by the way good times do. In the wide cleared space in front of the house, they played Simon Says and ring toss. As dinnertime neared, Josh built a campfire in the circle of small boulders set up for that purpose. He baked potatoes in the coals and used a campfire grill to cook the fish they’d caught. They sat at a picnic table under a tall pine to enjoy their feast.
Once the meal was over, the boys helped clear the table, and then Josh emerged from the house with a fishing-themed sheet cake personalized with Happy Birthday, Shane in big, blue letters. They sang the birthday song, whistling and clapping when Shane blew out his five candles on the first try.
The sky slowly darkened. Wrapped in warm jackets against the cold, the four of them sat on the front steps together. A noisy owl hooted at them from somewhere nearby as they stared up at the thick blanket of bright stars above.
Together, they picked out the best-known constellations. Shane leaned on Josh. Dillon’s curly head slowly drooped toward Riley. In the end, she put her arm around her boy, and he settled against her side.
Around ten, Josh caught her eye. “Way past their bedtime,” he whispered.
“I know.” Her gaze tracked upward toward the shimmering swirl of stars above. “It’s beautiful out here.”
His smile was slow and downright dangerous. “Time for bed, Riley Jane.”
Josh picked up Shane, and Riley took Dillon, who wrapped his arms around her neck and nuzzled her shoulder. Soon, she wouldn’t be able to carry him like this—because of the new baby and because Dillon was growing bigger by the day.
They carried the boys inside. Halfway up the stairs, Dillon woke up and muttered, “Mom, I’m not even sleepy yet…”
Shane lifted his head then and yawned hugely. “Me, either. Let us stay up…”
Dillon piled on. “Yeah. Just for a little while.” And then he yawned even wider than Shane had.
“Time for bed, boys,” Josh said firmly.
Dillon started squirming. “Put me down, Mom. I’m not a baby anymore.”
“All right.” She let him slide to his feet, and he trudged to the landing and on to Shane’s bedroom.
There was grumbling as the boys were helped into their PJ’s and some whining when they had to take turns brushing their teeth. But it wasn’t all that long until they were climbing into the bunk beds in Shane’s room, Shane in the top bunk, Dillon below.
“’Night, Mom…”
“’Night.” Riley kissed Dillon’s cheek. With a low sound, he pulled the covers up close to his chin, and she got out of the way so Josh could tuck Shane in. Two minutes later, she and Josh were standing in the upper hallway.
Quietly, Josh shut Shane’s bedroom door. There was a silence, one weighted with so much—the perfection of the day just passed, the smiles on the boys’ faces as they ate the fish they’d caught themselves. The beauty of the star-thick sky as they sat out on the deck steps picking out the constellations.
And there was more. There was the big news she needed to share with him…
But no—definitely not tonight.
He took her hand. She made zero effort to pull away. Instead, she followed without a word as he led her to his bedroom just across the hall. Once they were over the threshold, he flipped a switch that turned on the floor lamp a few feet from the door.
Right then, she found her voice. “I should be in my room, in case Dillon wakes up.”
“He won’t.” Josh shut the door and engaged the privacy lock. “The boys had a big day. They’re out for the night.”
“But if he does happen to wake up—”
“He’ll end up knocking on my door. I’ll lie and say you went out to the car.”
“For what?”
“He’s not going to care.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Rile. It will be fine. I’ll tell him to go back to bed. I’ll say that I’ll go get you and send you in to see him.”
She stared up at him, thinking how much she wanted to kiss him and how wrong it was to be thinking about kisses. She’d promised herself that the next time they were alone, she would tell him what he needed and deserved to know…
