“To be a part of it,” she said immediately, her voice filled with longing. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“And what about the name Dixon?”
Her brows slowly drew together. “You want . . . you want to change it?”
“Your last name? Yeah, Mads.”
Understanding and love replaced her confusion in a heartbeat, her hands reaching up to weave through my hair. “Same answer,” she whispered. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
I captured her mouth for long, unhurried seconds before slowly removing her hands. Sitting back, I reached for the corner of the truck where my clothes were piled up until I found what I was looking for, then moved back to her.
Grabbing her left hand, I pulled her to sitting. Her eyes and mouth going wide when I placed the ring in her palm and curled her fingers around it.
“When?” I asked, confirming what she’d said that afternoon.
“When,” she agreed, her head bobbing shakily.
“Told you, at the end of my life, you’re by my side,” I said softly. “I’ve always known that. And with all the bullshit we’ve gone through, I know that now, more than ever. I told myself I wouldn’t waste another second with you if you came back, and I’ve already wasted too many. So, when.”
A laugh bubbled up her throat as her eyes filled with tears, her hand opening in mine to show the ring I’d bought a couple days before.
“I know we need to take this at a certain speed for Avalee, so we will,” I promised. “But this ring is yours and it’s waiting for you when you think your daughter’s ready. Until then . . . Madison, I wanna know if you’ll spend the rest of your life with me.”
A soft cry left her as she reached for me. Pulling me close and pressing her mouth to mine as her answer danced along the kiss. “Yes,” she whispered, a shaky laugh tumbling from her lips. “Yes, to everything.”
I took control of the kiss, swallowing her whimper and laying her down as I settled between her legs.
“I love you,” she breathed as she slid the ring onto her finger, my heart pounding this fierce, chaotic beat at the sight of it there. “I love you.”
“How much?”
“More.”
“What are you doing?” I asked as I leaned around Avalee’s shoulder, scaring her and earning a wild giggle.
The sound pulling a soft laugh from me because it was just so damn contagious.
“Mamaw and Grandma Dixon are making sausage gravy, and I’m watching.” She tapped her chin and looked at me curiously. “Do you think the animals would like sausage gravy?”
I choked back a laugh. “No.”
She looked up at me with those big, round eyes. “But, I like it.”
“Let’s stick to the foods they can eat.” I tilted my head toward the stove. “Also, sausage is pig. We can’t give the pigs pig.”
Her eyes went even wider as she looked back to where mine and Madison’s moms were cooking up enough food to feed an army. “I did not know that was a pig.”
I’d just started worrying I’d said something that would scar her for life when she nodded decisively and leaned closer to the stove to call out, “Thank you for feeding us, Mr. Pig!”
I placed a hand on her head as I fought a smile and then covered both her ears when my mom looked back at me, her shoulders shaking with her silent laugh. “She’s fucking adorable,” I whispered, then uncovered Avalee’s ears and said louder, “Thank you, Mr. Pig.”
“Did someone order mean chocolate milk?”
Avalee gasped and whirled around at Emberly’s voice, squeezing out from between Mrs. Black and me to dart over to where my brother and his girl had just come in.
Sawyer and Rae were right behind them.
Saturday breakfasts had been a family staple growing up and had fallen apart about the same time the rest of our lives had.
Sawyer, Mom, and I had kept it up for Mom’s sake. Rae had joined in when she’d entered the picture. But with all the tension between Cayson and our mom, this was only his and Emberly’s second time coming.
Not that I blamed him. I was just happy they were there.
Having my house nearly full with the people in it after all the shit we’d been through?
I fucking loved it.
My gaze drifted over the people filling the kitchen area, easily finding the one I’d been looking for. Watching me from just outside the kitchen, eyes bright even though she looked tired from the conversation she was having.
I cocked my head to the side in question, and she rolled her eyes in response.
“Help,” she mouthed pathetically.
A smirk pulled at my mouth as I started moving through everyone to get to her, my hand going for my phone when it vibrated.
I glanced at my phone distractedly and came to a dead stop a second later when the name on the screen finally registered. My head snapped up to look at Madison.
Everything about her was different from before. Alert. Worried. Curious.
When I continued toward her, my steps were slow as I opened up the message and read through it.
Isabel: I did it. I found a town almost as small as Amber to shake up, just as I said I would. I also got a job. A great job, actually. It really isn’t my scene, but I get to boss some guys around, and they’ve already found out I throw food when they step out of line. So, hey, maybe it is my scene after all. Just wanted you to know that I’m good, and I’ll be good. I truly hope you are too. I hope the two of you figured everything out. Goodbye, Hunter.
“What is it?” Madison whispered when I stopped in front of her. When I held out my phone for her to take, she quickly rambled, “Raf, I have to go. Here’s Hunter.”
I gave her a dull look as we switched phones. “What’s going on, Raf?” I asked as I held Madison’s phone up to my ear.
“Trying to get Madison and Avalee’s stuff to Amber. She won’t let me pay for a truck to haul it over there.”
“My brothers and I have trucks. We’ll come get it all.”
“Jesus Christ.” He released a slow, exhausted sigh. “Hunter, let me send it over there.”
I searched Madison’s contemplative expression. “Why’d she say no?”
Her stare shifted to mine and widened, silently conveying that I needed to be on her side. As if I wouldn’t be. “Because he’s already shipping all of Madelyn’s stuff back to Washington.”
My eyes widened in surprise even though I shouldn’t have been. It hadn’t taken more than ten minutes in Madelyn’s presence to understand why Madison hadn’t liked her.
“Yeah, man, we’ll pick it up.” When Raf started to argue, I continued. “We’re coming for your game next week. I’ll just have my brothers meet us at your place after.”
A defeated sigh left him. “All right. All right, sure. See you then.”
I grunted some kind of agreement and ended the call. “Done,” I murmured as Madison asked, “You okay?”
She held up my phone in explanation, and I carefully traded her phone for mine as I shrugged. “Yeah. She’s good, that’s all I want for her.”