“You’re sure? I can start packing up, and we can drive home tonight.”
“In this snow? No. It’s not safe. It won’t do any of us a bit of good for us to try to get there if we run into trouble because of weather. The forecast shows it’s supposed to stop snowing in a few hours. By morning, we’ll be in a better place to head out.”
I sigh deeply, way more relieved than I expected I would be. I feel so grateful that I married a woman who is understanding, calm, and easily goes with the flow.
I lean back into the couch and turn my head in her direction. “I love you. So much.”
“I love you, too. A whole lot.” She smiles.
I love that she remembers the way she told me she loved me the first time she blessed me with those words, just as much as I remember it.
“I don’t want to leave early, but, if I’m honest, I don’t think I’d have been ready to leave on Sunday morning either. I can’t imagine either of us will be able to relax knowing she was hurt though, do you?”
“No. I agree with you. I wouldn’t be ready to leave our cocoon any time, but now I am eager to get home.”
“Yeah. We’ll be fine, Tess. You know that, right?”
She smiles at me, her sweet and genuine smile, so I know what she’s about to tell me is her complete honesty. “I do. We won’t let it get like before. I know this.”
I can’t help but still ask her. “Do you? In your heart, you know that what happened four months ago will never happen to us again, right?”
“I promise, Barrett. You and I are solid. Nothing could ever separate us.”
I lean over and grip her by the waist and pull her over so she’s straddling me when I bring her in closer for a kiss. It starts gentle, but as my tongue traces her lips and she lets me in without any hesitation, it becomes more. She tilts her head to the right and moves her hands up to my upper arms, gripping them tightly while my hands rest on either side of her neck, keeping her close.
I love the taste of her, the way her soft lips mold to mine, the way she’s both timid and forceful, showing me what she wants, how she wants it. She nips at my bottom lip, and I suck on hers. Our kiss is a slow dance that we’ve perfected, a private showcase of the love we’ve built over time. It’s not new; it’s not sudden. Not a sprint, but a marathon. It’s clay that’s been molded, formed, cherished until in its most perfect form. It’s never rushed, never hurried.
As our kiss builds, memories flood my system like an old movie reel of our life together. Of goodnight kisses that neither of us ever wanted to end, lazy summer day kisses that weren’t heated from the sun, stolen kisses, wedding kisses, desperate kisses between diaper changes and hurried schedules. Our passion and love for each other has built just as our kisses have, with grace and beauty that only love built from the ground up can provide.
I move my mouth from hers but only so I can kiss her cheek, her jaw, and then my spot before I tug on her ear with my teeth. She lets out a sexy noise and moans my name, and I know our supper will be delayed. Packing for driving home will be delayed.
But our love for each other will never be delayed again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tess
It’s early morning, barely bright out, and Barrett and I are both moving around the cabin, packing up our belongings and sipping on coffee. After we spoke with Harper last night, we both felt monumentally better. Hearing her small voice and knowing that she was hurting and we weren’t there was hard. But hearing her laughter and bravery as she re-told the story to us about how Shadow got spooked but “it wasn’t his fault, he just got scared and jumped and I wasn’t holding tight enough.” Her words.
Our little girl. So strong, adventurous and spirited little, so quick to forgive and move on. It’s only a very small part of the reason we love her so dearly. As I fold our clothes to put into the suitcase, I can’t help but think back to when Harper finally called us last night, putting our worried minds at ease.
“Brandon came over and signed my cast, Mom! Grady pushed him to the floor and they wrestled because they were fighting over who got to sign my cast first. While they were wrestling Uncle James came over and signed it.”
I just bet he did. I bet he looked rather smug when he did it, too.
“Even Coach Mac came over! And ALL of Grady’s friends came after practice. Cody, Charlie, Blake, Spencer, Jack, Will…” She went on and on, so happy to have the attention from Grady’s friends. Not that she ever lacked of it. They loved her like their own little sister. When the boys were playing football in middle school, Barrett was assistant coach. These boys have known Harper since she was a baby. She has a league of protection around her that rivals the Avengers so I can only imagine how they reacted when they found out she’d been in a minor accident and broke her arm.
“I’m sure they were excited to sign your cast, baby.”
“Uh-huh! They were. There’s hardly any room left!”
“Well, make sure there’s room for your mom and me,” Barrett spoke up, his voice cracking a little. Ever since he heard her voice, he had a hard time not packing up and leaving straight away. His baby was hurt, and while he heard it from James and knew she was going to be fine, hearing her telling us the story made him go board stiff. Her coming into our room and breaking up our peaceful sleeping probably no longer mattered. I knew we both wanted to be home, cuddling our little girl and knowing for certain that she was going to be just fine. Healthy, and not scared.
I placed my hand on his leg, and he gave me a small shake of his head, letting me know he was fine but a little overwhelmed.
“Daddy, of course. I told the boys they had to save the spot right at the top for you and Mommy.”
I smiled, imagining that she did just that. She may only be six, but she has a mind of her own for sure.
“We’ll be home tomorrow, baby, so make sure you have the Sharpie ready for us.”
“I thought you weren’t coming home until Sunday?”
“Nope. We miss you kids too much,” I said, feeling the words that I had just spoken aloud. As much as I was loving being alone with Barrett, I did miss the kids. It didn’t take away from the love I had for him. Our kids were proof, a gift, a blessing… an addition of the love that we shared.
“YAY! I miss you, too! But tell Uncle James he can’t leave yet. He promised he would stay until Sunday, and you know that promises aren’t allowed to be broken s-o-o-o… just because you guys are home doesn’t mean that he’s allowed to leave, and he told me that he’d have lunch with me at school on Friday and take me out for pizza before the game if I slept in my room all by myself, and I did it ALL WEEK LONG, and then Lily is supposed to come here — I think that’s what he said anyway — and oh! Cole called right before I called you guys, and he promised to be home and to save room for him to sign my cast, and did you know that Grady and Bri are FINALLY going on a date this weekend? I can’t believe it! Maggie told him it was about time he got off the pot, but I don’t know what that meant because he wasn’t going to the bathroom or sitting on a pot from the kitchen, but I’m really super excited that they’re going out. I think they’ll go for pizza too because that’s what people who go on dates do, and I asked him if I could come along because I LOVE pizza and I REALLY like Bri, and I NEVER get to play with her because he’s ALWAYS hogging her, so I think it’s only fair that I can go on the date with them, don’t you guys think? And I know I’m not supposed to tattle, so I’m not doing that, but I’m letting you guys know that he said NO! Can you believe it? I really don’t think that’s fair, but Maggie said that it was normal, and that I had to let them go alone, but I think that’s only because she wants to go on a date with someone but she won’t tell me who, but I bet it’s that guy Jack from the football team because he likes her. I heard Blake telling Grady that, and Grady said it wasn’t happening and then so did Brandon, but I don’t know what isn’t happening, and no one would tell me, but Maggie told him it wasn’t fair, and I said see it doesn’t feel nice when you aren’t included in things, and she just rolled her eyes at me and ugh… This thing is kind of annoying, but it’s really pretty because they let me get purple, and that’s my favorite color, but it’s in my way, and I have an itch. Uncle James! I need you to itch my arm!”