“I’m a Southern boy; I’m not built for this,” I whine and frown at her as I enter the living room.
“You’ll be okay,” she coos mockingly.
“I think we need to strip naked and cuddle for warmth.” I wink at her.
“No. We have made absolutely no progress on this project becausesomeonewon’t stop taking my clothes off.” She tries to glare at me, but I see the corner of her lips twitch.
“What can I say? I work best naked.”
“If I walk around this corner and your dick is out, I will never come over to help you again,” Knox yells from the kitchen. Jessie and I burst out laughing as Kacey drags him into the living room.
“Hey guys, thanks for coming,” Jessie greets everyone as Pickle comes hauling ass down the hallway to greet them. This is the first time I’ve seen her fully relaxed and comfortable with someone besides me in her space. She’s overcome so much since I moved in this spring. I’m so happy for her.
“So, what’s the plan?” Kacey asks, looking around the main living space that’s been emptied of furniture. The old trim has been removed, and the walls freshly painted. I even did one accent wall Jessie had pinned on her Pinterest board, and she loves it. All that’s left is putting in the new trim.
“Well, I’m glad you asked,” I start. “I got all the trim stained and sealed earlier this week. Barbra said—”
Knox groans dramatically. “Not Barbra again.”
“Yes, Barbra again. She is the DIY queen, and you will show her your respect.” I continue laying out the plan for the trim in the living and dining space, which includes making Knox watch one of Barbra’s TikToks. Was that completely necessary? Not at all. But it is entertaining.
Several hours later, the dining and living room are finished. Knox and I have moved into the guest bedroom while the girls clean and move furniture back.
“Knock knock!” Cody hollers from the back door. A little red heeler bursts into the room, Rein. Pretty soon I hear her and Pickle wrestling in the living room.
Jessie laughs, encouraging them. Pickle has brought her so much joy. No matter what he chews up or pees on, I’ll never regret adopting him.
Pretty soon, I overhear the voices of Cody, Carson, and Lainey chatting with Jessie and Kacey in the living room.
“She seems good,” Knox observes without looking up from the tape measure he’s running down the wall.
“Yeah, it gets a little better every day. She still misses Gran—she always will—but she’s slowly realizing she still has an entire family here who loves her.”
“Speaking of the L word. You tell her yet?”
I chuckle. Knox has never been one to beat around the bush. “Not exactly.”
“What does that mean? You either have or you haven’t.”
“I haven’t said those exact words, okay? Our relationship hasn’t been official that long . . . What if she doesn’t say it back?”
“Would that change the fact that you love her?” he asks quietly.
“No, of course not.”
“Then there’s your answer. She’ll say it when she’s ready, but don’t let that stopyou.” I think about what he says while we finish installing trim in the guest bedroom. After that, we call it quits for the day and join everyone in the dining room.
“We should all go for one last ride up the mountain before the cold weather hits and the pass closes,” Kacey suggests.
Knox and I start to wash up.
“News flash: The cold weather has hit.” I shiver.
“You’re such a baby. You’ll have to toughen up if you’re going to live here,” Carson grumbles.
“There are rodeos down south all winter. If anyone needs me, you can find me there.”
I come up behind Jessie and wrap my arms around her, planting a kiss on her temple.
