I squeezed my eyes closed, releasing two tears before I opened them again.
Anderson stepped into me, brushing away one of the tears with the pad of his thumb. I leaned into his touch and he rubbed my cheek, eyes searching mine.
“I don’t know how this is going to work. I don’t know if this is forever or for a year or maybe even just for another week,” he said. “But I know that whether it’s seasonal or for life, this—our love—I will fight for it, Wren. Until I have no breath left to fight.”
“Atta boy,” Ron muttered under his breath.
Everyone laughed again, and even Anderson surrendered to a smirk. Then he pulled his hand from my face to grab the package he’d been holding. It was wrapped in simple brown paper and twine, and he held it out for me to take.
“I told you before that Dani used to do words of the day,” he said as I gently unwrapped the paper. I let it fall to our feet as I held out a beautiful sketchbook thick with blank pages. The cover of it was wood, freshly stained, with a single word carved in neat script right in the center.
Oenemel.
“It means strong and sweet all at once,” he said, answering the question I hadn’t asked yet. “The day Dani told us that word, I made fun of it. I didn’t think anything in the world could be both strong and sweet. Not until I met you.”
I smiled, but choked on a cry, more tears letting loose as I used my free hand to swipe at them. I looked up at Anderson, the most gentle and kind person I’d ever met, and I realized the feeling that had shook me to my very core at the thought of losing him wasn’t just want or need.
It was love.
“I know you’re having a hard time finding the inspiration to sketch right now,” Anderson said, nodding toward the book. “But I made this for you because I want you to know that whether you stay or go, whether we make it or not, I believe in you. And I always will.”
I looked down at the book again, tracing the engraving with my fingers before placing it in the driver seat behind me and jumping into his arms.
He caught me easily, strong hands finding my waist as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him with every emotion I was feeling. Love, adoration, disbelief, awe, fear. When I pulled back, cheeks still wet, I shook my head as if he didn’t truly exist.
“I love you, too, Anderson,” I breathed, and his hands squeezed where he held me as he let out a long exhale of relief. “I love you grumpy and cursing while you work around the cabin and I love you happy and carefree walking beside me along the river.” We both laughed, and I traced the edge of his jaw with my thumb. “And I am so sorry I ever made you doubt my feelings. I don’t care if they’re right or if the timing doesn’t make sense. I learned the hard way what happens when you listen to what should be instead of listening to your heart, and I’ll never do it again. I love you. And I don’t know what happens next, but I know I want to find out.”
Anderson smiled, moving his hands to cradle my face before pulling me in for a longer, softer kiss.
Everyone clapped around us and we broke the kiss with another laugh, Anderson tucking me under his arm as we turned to face the people who loved us. Momma Von was a sobbing mess and Ron beamed with pride. Everyone else was just smiling, even Tucker, and I leaned into Anderson, resting my head on his shoulder.
“Can you stay with me tonight?” he asked, voice just above a whisper in my ear.
I nodded, and he kissed my forehead before addressing the group.
“Alright, gawkers, you’ve seen the show. Now get out of here so this gorgeous girl and I can make some plans.”
They all cheered, a mixture of laughter and I told you so’s and congratulations and about damn time’s rolling in at us all at once. I just smiled up at Anderson as he looked down at me like he was the luckiest guy in the world.
“You ready?” he asked.
And even though I had no idea how we would make it work, or what would come next, I answered without a single doubt in my mind.
“Ready.”
AB OVO
ab-OH-voh
Adverb
From the beginning
My hand shook a little as I released Wren’s and unlocked the door to my cabin. It was the first time I’d invited her inside it, the first time I’d let her in to see the place I called home.
The funny thing now was that she felt more like home than any cabin or town ever did.
When I pushed the door open and placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her inside, I swallowed back the last bit of nerves still hanging around. She was here, she was staying—at least for the night—and she loved me, too.
Nothing else mattered.
Wren unwrapped her scarf, hanging it over the coat rack and gently placing the sketchbook I’d made her on my dining room table before running her fingers over the polished wood as she looked around. We were both quiet, yet comfortable, and I stood back with my hands in my pockets and watched her take it all in.
“It’s exactly what I’d imagined it’d be,” she said softly, crossing the room to the large windows that lined the back of the living room and overlooked the river. Now that she was inside, it was exactly what I’d imagined it could be, too.
Ever since Ron had verbally smacked some sense into me, my hands had been working on her sketchbook while my mind worked on what I’d say to make her see she belonged with me. I’d barely slept, my stomach in knots over how she’d react. But it was better than I could have imagined, and though I knew there were still a million questions we needed to answer, I wasn’t worried about a single one.
Wren turned, the evening sunlight a soft glow behind her as she made her way back to me. I still hadn’t moved from the front door, and she carefully threaded her hands behind my neck, playing with the edge of my hairline as her green eyes flicked back and forth between mine.
“I’m so sorry, for everything,” she said again but I shook my head, lowering my lips to hers to silence her apology. I’d missed her—God, I’d missed kissing her—and having her in my arms again almost felt like a dream.
I pulled back, brushing the sliver of fallen hair from her face. “These past two weeks have been hell, but I needed them as much as you did, Wren. I think being away from each other made us realize that everything we felt when we were together was real. Before, when we were spending every day together, it was too much. It was too good, and neither of us felt like we deserved it. Or like it was right.”
She nodded. “There’s still so much to figure out... I still have to go back to Seattle. At least, for a little while. Maybe forever.”
“I know,” I assured her. “And we’ll figure it out.”
Wren smiled, hands sliding down from where they were hooked around my neck to rest on my forearms. Then her eyes fell to the corner behind me and she paused. “That’s her, isn’t it?”
I didn’t have to turn to know she was looking at Dani’s picture, the one that’d been by my front door since I’d moved in. And I didn’t have to answer, because she already knew.
Wren slipped from my arms and reached for the frame, running a finger along the edge as she looked into the eyes of the first person to ever show me what family was. Dani would have loved Wren, and for a moment I felt a stab of pain low in my stomach at the realization that they’d never meet.