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Ash (9:33 p.m.): She’s finally asleep. Only took forty-five minutes tonight. Progress! xD

Ash (9:34 p.m.): I’ll be out in a few <3

Rather than text back, which carried a high risk of waking Bri from what was likely a fragile sleep, Cass slipped his phone back into his pocket and quickly finished eating. Just as he’d rinsed his plate and stuck it in the dishwasher, he heard quiet footsteps behind him.

Two strong arms wrapped around his waist, and he turned around, an immediate sense of relief spreading through him. He closed his eyes and let out a slow breath, lowering his head to rest on Ash’s shoulder.

“All set? Everything’s good?” Ash asked softly.

“Mm-hmm.” Cass nodded but didn’t otherwise move. “Better now. Bri finally settled?”

“Yeah. She still thinks there’s a monster in her closet.”

“Mmm.”

He felt Ash smile against him, and a kiss was pressed to his temple.

“You were over there a long time.”

He nodded again and then forced himself to straighten up, grimacing slightly at the sore muscles in his arms. “Yeah, but I think Dan and I got everything set up so when Mom and Dad get here tomorrow, they won’t have much to do to settle in.”

Ash’s eyes held a softness and understanding to them, and Cass just stood there for a few seconds, taking it in. The tension he’d been carrying much of the afternoon and evening slowly faded, and with a sigh, he shook his head and then captured Ash’s mouth in a gentle kiss.

“I’m glad to be home,” he said quietly when they parted.

Ash hummed a soft agreement and rubbed his hands up and down Cass’s back again. Then he laughed lightly. “So, after the move, do you think Dan’s still jealous?”

Cass grinned, which felt good, even though he was exhausted. He stepped back from Ash, took Ash’s hand, and started leading them toward their bedroom. “Yes, but also no,” he said, talking quietly as they passed the door to Bri’s room. “He said he’d love to not have to worry about yard maintenance and all that, but he’d hate to give up the extra space. The condo is pretty tiny.”

“Which is perfect for your parents,” Ash added.

“Exactly.” Cass pushed open the door to their bedroom, and Ash followed him in. “Dad will have less cleaning to do, and Mom says she’s looking forward to the view of the mountains from their patio.”

With a nod, Ash shut the door behind them. “And having her son close by again, I’m sure.”

“It’s only been a month,” Cass whined, but he was smiling, too.

Ash rolled his eyes. “A whole month. During which time, you flew back down to Redding twice—”

“One time was to help them pack!” Cass argued. He slipped his arms around Ash and pulled him close as Ash grinned, laughing.

“Don’t tell me you won’t be relieved to have them so close by,” he teased.

“Oh, I will. For sure.”

They kissed, and it was slow and sweet and tender, as though Ash knew exactly what Cass needed.

Despite the teasing and joking, Ash was one hundred percent right—Cass had been fretting the whole last month. After the school year had finished, Ash and Bri had moved from their one-bedroom apartment, where Ash had lived for several years, to a slightly bigger two-bedroom in Issaquah, only a couple of miles from the school where Ash had been hired to start as a kindergarten teacher, beginning in late August. Cass had come up to help with the move and had kind of just . . . stayed. In a half-planned sort of way.

Cass still had one year left in his degree program, though he’d lucked out big-time, landing a paid, part-time internship at the Issaquah Public Library. Since the job market was both saturated and competitive and he’d realized, thanks to Bri, how much he loved working with young children, he’d decided to pivot slightly and get his School Library Media endorsement as well. That required him to do additional fieldwork at a local area elementary school and obtain his teaching credential, a modification that his master’s program thankfully supported.

He’d started that last week—an extra several hours a week in the classroom on top of his internship, summer classes, moving, helping his parents move, and renovating his parents’ new condo to accommodate his mom’s wheelchair, all while still being with Ash and helping Ash take care of Bri.

He was exhausted.

But he loved it. Every single minute. Because every single minute felt like he was moving forward, in the direction he wanted to go, with the people who mattered most to him.

Ash’s hands slid down his chest, stopping low on his stomach, and Ash smiled into their kiss before pulling back. “Sooooooo . . .”