My eyes widen, and my heart thumps hard.
We’re a few weeks from harvesting that field, so if we’re going to see anything, there’s a good chance it would be showing up now in the tubers.
But he just looks back at me with an easy smile.
“It looks good,” he says. “No splits, no damage, and completely whole on the inside.”
A small laugh escapes me as I stare at him and shake my head, and intense relief flows through me.
“You make me whole, Vi,” he says, stepping closer to me. “It’s you and me. Always has been.” He reaches out and takes my hand, lacing his fingers in mine. “I love you.”
My heart thrashes as I look into his beautiful hazel eyes and step in closer, a surge of electricity rolling through me at those words. “You and me.” I slide my hands around his waist and lean in to brush my lips over his. “I love you, too.”
Silas immediately presses into me, his lips meeting mine as his hands pull me closer, and I melt into him. We fall into a heated kiss as the truck continues to rumble next to us, and everything we’ve ever shared passes between us. The joy, pain, loss, the moments that broke us, and the ones that brought us back together… I hold onto all of them. Every part of him, andevery part of us. All the scars, and all the pieces that refused to break.
When we eventually part, Silas smiles, still holding me close.
“Want to go for a drive?” he asks.
My gaze slides to the truck as it sputters, then rumbles back to life.
“Is it reliable?” I ask. “It’s not going to break down?”
Silas just shrugs one shoulder. “It might.”
I look back at him, and his eyes flick between mine as a light dances in them.
“But I’m willing to take the risk if you are,” he says.
I smile and place a soft kiss on his nose.
“Well, let’s go then.”
FORTY-NINE
I can’t stop smilingas I turn the truck onto the dirt road towards the farm. I wasn’t sure how far we were going to make it, although I didn’t tell Levi that. But we drove along the water to the wharf and back, and so far, so good.
Levi chuckles in the passenger seat, and I glance at him as he sticks his arm out the open window, a wide smile on his face as his dark hair blows across his forehead. He turns to look at me with pure joy in his eyes, and I reach over to brush his hair back so I can see them better. I just want to stare into them for the rest of my life.
And I will.
The farm comes into view as we continue down the road, and I slow and grip the steering wheel tighter as we get closer. When we reach the driveway, I pull in.
Levi glances at me. “What are you doing?”
My eyes land on Dad and Papa near the equipment shed as I put the truck in park, and my heart starts racing. Winston perks up from his spot at Dad’s feet as he assesses the new truck in the lot.
I kill the engine and look at Levi. “We’re taking the risk, right?”
Levi’s gaze shifts out the windshield as Dad and Papa turn towards the truck, and then he looks back at me with a soft nod. “Yeah.”
The hinges let out a loud groan as I push the driver’s door open, and my pulse thunders in my ears as I step out of the truck.
“I didn’t know you were working on this,” Dad says with a wide smile as he walks over to us, his gaze moving over the truck in awe.
Winston bounds over to me, circling my legs with a wagging tail before darting to Levi and doing the same.
“Yeah. I figured it was time,” I say, watching as Papa makes his way around the back.
