“Why?”
“Because a girl could get pregnant just looking at you. Andyouare mine.”
He takes a bandanna from his back pocket and wipes it over his face, his wedding band prominently on his finger. I can’t see his tattoo, but I know it’s there.
“Get your sexy ass up here,” he says.
My boots press into the hardened earth as I move through the open doors, and I’m instantly hit with a blast of nostalgia. Scents of weathered wood and dust fill my nostrils as I make my way to the ladder. I spent so much of my teenage years out here, filling these walls with music and laughter. All this time later, I’m back.
And hopefully I’ll beon my backin a few minutes.
I give the ladder a shake, knowing that Hartley wouldn’t let me climb it if it weren’t safe, but checking, nonetheless. Sunlight catches the diamond on my left hand as I make my way to the loft. Just like every time I look at it, I feel like I’m glowing from the inside out.
“Give me your hand,” he says when I reach the top. He helps extract me from the ladder and gets me safely to my feet.
“Wow,” I say, turning in a circle. “You’ve done a lot of work up here. It’s looking great.”
“It’s mostly been Bobby. We’ve had so many heifers calving this spring that I haven’t had a lot of time to get over here.”
I walk to the opening that looks across Sugar Creek. The trees are bright green, swaying in the breeze. Now and then, I notice a sparkle from the creek in the distance.
“That’s the spot,” I say. “That’s where your land meets ours.”
He wraps his arms around me from behind. “You mean, that’s where our land meets the rest of our land.”
I hum, resting my head against his chest. “I need to go to Lolly’s today. She wants me to go into the attic and look for pictures of her and Pops. Her texts included a lot of acronyms that I once again didn’t understand, and I’ve learned my lesson not to ask for explanations.”
He chuckles, his chest vibrating against me.
“So I’m not sure why she wants them,” I say. “But I’m sure it’s going to take forever.”
“Then let’s order out for dinner. Or let’s go somewhere. You’re going to be dirty and tired, and so am I.”
My heart swells for this man.
My mother used to have a picture on the wall in our living room with a Bible verse. It described what love is and what it isn’t. It’s a checkbox to Hartley’s soul.
He’s patient and kind, humble and forgiving. Most of all, he never fails.
I’m never going to fail you, Hartley. Not if I can help it.
I smile to myself as I realize that there’s no internal pushback to that thought. My stomach is calm, my brain happy. My heart beats steadily, as if there’s no other option.
“I think I want a new career,” I say, more offhandedly than anything.
He hums against my hair, his hands still locked at my navel.
“I just can’t write breakup texts anymore. I don’t mind the emails so much because they’re usually to asshole bosses who have it coming. But I realized this morning when I sat down to work that everything about what I do is sad. Or bleak. Or rather …” I lift my chin and tilt my head backward. “It’s not this.”
Hartley kisses my forehead. “You don’t have to work, darlin’.”
“I do. I can’t just sit around all day and hang with Cathy.” I laugh. “Let’s be honest—she’d kill me.”
He laughs, too. “Then do whatever you want. If you want me to help brainstorm, I’ll come to dinner prepared with ideas. But if what you’re doing now doesn’t make you happy, stop. Don’t do another one.”
Love is not self-seeking, not easily angered, and keeps no record of rights or wrongs.
His eyes sparkle as he looks at me with nothing but affection.
