“I didn’t see any houses.”
“Well, across the street means something a little different here,” Colby explains. “It’s about a thirty-minute walk home, but it’s good for him. He likes solitude. If he needs to get somewhere in a rush, then he takes his truck, but that’s usually only to go to work. Otherwise, Beau walks.”
How interesting. Whiskey lets out a bark and nudges at Colby’s hand. With a wide smile, eyes crinkled at the corners, Colby pushes open the front door. “Wanna see inside?”
Duh. The inside of the house is just as beautiful. Dark wood floors gleam from the sunlight shining in through the broad back windows. Everything about the house inspires comfort, putting me at immediate ease. A wide porch spans the back of the house, with more rocking chairs, along with tables for company.
The backyard expands out as far as I can see with trees dotting the land. A few hills away there’s another farmhouse, but otherwise it’s just us out here. Something about that sends a shiver down my spine. Colby lets me wander, so I do. I go from room to room, inspecting the house that Colby designed and built for himself, for his future. The idea that he wants to bring me into his dream home makes me feel special. Makes me feel a part of something bigger than myself.
The long hallway leading to what I assume is Colby’s bedroom is lined with photos of his family. A photo of a young Colby with Beau and who I assume is another cousin captures my attention. God, Colby has always been beautiful. Easilytwenty years old, Colby looks younger, but the smile is exactly the same. His smile has always been infectious and full of life.
The picture next to it has a smiling Colby in a suit, with an older man in a matching suit. He’s got pitch-black hair, dark eyes, and a smile that looks like it doesn’t come out a lot. But it’s no less happy, no less ecstatic.
“Is this Marcus?” I ask quietly.
Colby comes up beside me, a steady presence. “That’s Marcus.”
“You look so happy.”
“He made me very happy.” Colby turns me so I’m facing him, hands firm on my hips. His fingers dip under my shirt, sweetly tracing the warm skin he finds there. “He made me so happy and I’m so grateful for the life that I lived with him. But that doesn’t negate my ability to love you too, to build a life with you here. If you’ll have me.”
Emotions clog my throat. I let my forehead fall to his chest. Colby lets me gather my thoughts, doesn’t push me to speak before I’m ready. His fingers continue their gentle onslaught against my skin, calming me more than he’ll ever know.
“Alright, Colby. The husband experience was fun, but we need to start at the basics. We need to date and get to know one another, and try to make this something that can last. Okay?”
Colby chuckles and runs his palms higher up my back, under my shirt, before cupping my shoulders. His warmth bleeds into me and I lean against him more, letting him take my weight.
“We can be boyfriends for a little while before we do the husband thing for real.”
I roll my head back and forth on his chest while I laugh. “You’re infuriating. Alright, so we’re downgrading one another to boyfriends.”
“A demotion,” Colby says seriously.
I nod seriously. “Demoted.”
Colby tugs me away from his body to kiss me thoroughly. I sway on my feet a little, but he keeps me close, kissing me so possessively that my brain short-circuits just a little bit. I blink up at him in a daze when he pulls away.
“My boyfriend, my Eli,” Colby murmurs against my slack mouth.
“My boyfriend, my Colby.”
We kiss again and it feels like its own sort of vow. A promise that I hope to keep reaffirming for many years to come.
ELI’S EPILOGUE
AUGUST
This is it. The real true test of my relationship with Colby. The combination of our family and friends. Mom is beside herself with joy at the idea of finally having more people in our small family of just two. Although I’m not sure Whiskey is included in her ideal-family combination.
Whiskey obviously doesn’t get the hint. She adores my mom, follows her all over the yard. I watch in amusement as Whiskey follows my mom while she checks out the trees, the garden, even the perimeter of the house.
“It seems safe,” Mom points out as she shoos Whiskey away with her elegant fingers.
“It’s very safe here, Mama. I promise.”
She wiggles her nose at me in distaste, her eyebrows scrunched. “It’s just very far out in the middle of nowhere. Won’t it be a long drive to school?”
“About forty minutes. I think it’s worth it.”
