Page 78 of Will to Run

But then, the trees open up. I see a lake, and the ghostly silhouette of the mountains in the still dark horizon. There are a dozen or so people peppering the area, but overall, it’s quiet.

“I wonder what we could be doing here this morning,” I smile at him.

The way he smiles back at me is enough to light up this dark morning air.

“I’ve never taken someone here before. We used to come as a family, but that was forever ago. You know, when you’re a kid, and you just don’t care too much. I appreciate it a lot more now. Both the present company and the natural beauty… and the beauty of the present company.”

“Oh, you’re laying it on thick there, partner,” I smile. He sits on top of an empty picnic bench, and I drift between his legs.

“Yeah, I guess I am. Look, Del, I was going to wait to bring this up until you were blown away by this sunrise, but I can’t. I don’t want you to leave Amberheart. I’m not sure what the path forward looks like, but I don’t think this thing between us ends when your contract does.” Jaxon’s eyes have always been the most expressive part of him, but I’m not sure I’ve seen a vulnerability like this.

When I process what he says, I’m pretty sure you can hear my sigh of relief from space, and I’m the one who’s lighting up the morning. This has been such a constant stressor and question in my head that words escape me. Instead, I grab him by his face and kiss him in a way that I know he hears loud and clear.

“I don’t think it should end in two weeks either,” I whisper to him while holding his head in mine. This is all I needed to hear to stay. Plus, now, I can fully commit to the gallery show in six weeks, too, which is equally exciting in a different way.

“I’ve been playing with logistics, and you have to move out of the cabin because we have someone coming in three weeks, but you could stay until then. There are enough apartments for rent on Millstone. Admittedly, they’re not the best of the best, because those have already been rented, but there are some decent ones. I have a call out to a friend who rents places, so he’s looking too. And if push comes to shove, you can move into the place behind the garage.”

“Jaxon,” I cut him off. “I’m not worried about logistics because I know this is going to work out just fine. I just needed to hear that you were on the same page as me. But to cover my bases, I may or may not have also been playing with the what-ifs and have looked up places, too. I am just… I’m so happy right now. It’s why I haven’t committed to the art show; I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to stay or not.”

“Oh my God, Della. I thought you were putting it off because you didn’t want to stay. I have been thinking of a way to broach this for a long time.”

Beaming at him, I know both of us were foolish in our silence. I want to take this a step further and grab his hand to pull him to a more private location to show my appreciation for him bringing this up, but he stops me.

“As much as I want to partake in what I think you’re trying to do, this sunrise is a masterclass in light, and it’s measured in seconds. This sky will change a hundred times between first light and sunrise. It’s no Amberheart, but I’d bet this is a pretty close second.”

Almost on cue, the sky begins to shift the second he says it. The first whisper brings my favorite purple-gray, and he wasn’t lying. Over the next forty minutes, the sky transitions between all the most beautiful colors of morning light. But that’s not it. Adding to the wonder of it all is that the lake is completely still, essentially becoming a mirror, so it’s a double dose of all the colors, which blows me away. Wyoming was always a place on the map we had to learn about in school, but I had no idea what kind of beauty it held. He takes sporadic photos for me, but really, I don’t need him to. I’ll never forget this.

After the sunrise ends, most of the crowd clears out, and I’m left still in awe of this man and what we just saw. I know we have talked about how the Amberheart sunrise was my new beginning of sorts, but I can’t help but feel like this solidifies it.

And now that the sun is fully up, I tug his hand again to pull him towards the woods to have my way with him. Has Jaxon turned me into a nymphomaniac? I think there’s a very real possibility he has.

The remainder of the weekend, there is a buzz in the air as the news that I’m staying travels around, and I’m met with the kind of enthusiasm that validates my place here. I won’t continue barn chores, but I’ll reopen looking at bartending or something in the interim until I have an even better idea of what I’m going to do. All the hypotheticals I’ve endlessly rolled over in my head are becoming reality when I see a handful of places on Sunday. None of them quite fit my bill. But I have two more places to see tomorrow, and one looks promising. The best part is that no part of me is nervous at all. Because, like I told Jaxon on Friday, I just know this is going to work out.

38

JAXON

Today, I get a late start to my Monday because I want to spend every moment with my face or dick between the legs of one Della Tatroe. I’m so fucking relieved we are no longer operating on a timeline.

But shit has hit the fan here.

Payroll is due this afternoon and can’t be late. But complicating my life, four of my employees were coming home from the Lantern late Saturday night into Sunday morning and got t-boned by a drunk driver. The employee who was driving was a true DD, so he was clear in that regard, which was a relief. But it doesn’t take away the fact that four people are injured, and I’m down four key seasonal workers. Thank God no one has life-threatening situations, but all of them sustained varying injuries that leave them questionable to return to their roles this summer. My first concern is for my people, but now, I’m also down a rabbit hole of fucking chaos trying to find others to fill those spots. I have a group that needs to go out on Tuesday, and one of my brothers or I can take them, but that’s not sustainable. I’ve put out two dozen calls since Sunday morning and haven’t had a single positive response. Sprinkle in a situation with irrigation fucking up in the hay fields, and things feel like they are spiraling.

Although I am on the highest of highs on Friday, the DEFCON five levels of stress have me staying back at my home office Monday. If I’m here, in theory I won’t be interrupted every five minutes like I would be if I were in the lodge office.

But of course, that doesn’t stop my family, who don’t care about privacy or personal space.

My nose is so deep in my shit I barely hear Cayson come in. It’s a bold move, seeing as he knows how much time Della and I spend naked together these days; he could have walked into anything. “Knock, knock,” he says, charging in before I can invite him, and closing the door behind him. “You busy… and here alone?”

“Alone, yes, and you know I’m fucking busy. But what’s up? Everything alright?”

“Yeah… kind of,” he sits down in the chair next to the chess table and fidgets with something on my desk.

“That’s a no, then,” I put my pen down to give him my full attention. So much for uninterrupted work, I say to myself, looking at the clock on the wall.

“I’m worried about Della,” he states.

“What happened? Where is she?” My heart rate spikes and I’m on my feet before he finishes.