“Oh hell, this should be good.”
I followed June inside, the smell of cinnamon masked the layer of fresh paint I’d thrown up in the guest bathroom last night.
“You’ve done a lot,” June said as we walked into the living room.
I’d built this house from the foundation up. I had help from a few of the guys I had working for me. My old boss drafted the design exactly how I wanted it. I was glad Jim hadn’t given a shit about my sexuality, as for Hudson and Chuck, I didn’t mind that I’d never have to see them again in my life. It had taken me six months to get the house to a place where we could move in. Three bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, all on the bottom floor. The main bedroom was upstairs, with a shower almost exactly like the one at that hotel we’d stayed at in Nashville during Wild’s first book tour. I’d sanded the wood floors myself, laid the stone for the fireplace. With just starting my own contracting business, I had to pinch pennies when I could.
June stopped in her tracks, her laugh filling the room. “Oh my God, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so miserable.”
Momma covered her grin with her hand as Wild wiped flour off his face with his fingers. “Not in the mood for your bullshit… June”
“Mind your language, son, there are women present.” Mom clicked her tongue and Wild gave me a pointed look. “How are you feeling, honey,” she asked June.
“Fat,” June said and sank down onto a bar stool. Rosie nudged at her hand until she gave in and pet her.
“You’re glowing. How many more weeks?” Momma asked, shooing Gandalf off the counter.
“Two… But I’m thinking with this heat I might go early. Last time I worked, the charge nurse said I was dilated to a three.”
“Wait?” Wild wrinkled his nose. “Your charge nurse put her hand up your va—”
“I almost got the sprinklers in,” I said, smiling when my mom blushed.
Jason came out of the guest bathroom, his eyes wide when he saw June. “I didn’t know you were here. Where’s Gwen?”
“Picked up an extra shift at the hospital,” she said as he gave her a hug.
“I’m thinking of going to the park tonight to shoot some hoops,” I said. “If you and Momma don’t have anything planned, you wanna come with me, Jay?”
“I’m not very good.” He stared at the mess on Wild’s face.
“Remember what Ms. Wilson said, you have to keep trying, even if it’s hard.” Wild bumped his shoulder into Jason’s. “I think you’re better than you think.”
“What happened to your face?” Jason wiped a patch of flour from Wild’s nose.
“Your mom is torturing me again,” he said. “I don’t know what’s worse… Cooking or fishing.”
“Cooking,” Jason and I said in unison.
“See… I told you, Barb, cooking is the absolute worst.”
“When you’re done whining,” she said, “Would you hand me that.”
My husband, looking completely disheveled and cute as hell, handed her the cobbler he’d been working on.
Jason snickered as she shoved it in the oven. “Hopefully all your hard work will be worth it when it’s finished.”
“Or poison us all,” he grumbled under his breath.
I placed my hand at the nape of his neck. Not caring that I had dirt under my nails, or that I probably stunk to high heaven, I pulled him in for a kiss.
“It’ll be delicious,” I said, and kissed him one more time for good measure.
“I like when you smell like you’ve been rolling in dirt all day,” Wild said, smiling against my lips.
“We don’t need to know about any of that,” June said, and my mom laughed.
“I better head home or I won’t have time to stop at the supermarket,” Mom said. “Remember what I told you, if the crust isn’t golden, leave it in a little while longer.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Wild pulled her into a side hug. “I’m sorry I’m such a disappointing student.”
She patted his chest, the interaction making my cheeks hurt as I smiled. She’d come such a long way since that first Thanksgiving, and like I’d told Wild, once she’d seen how happy he’d made me, she’d fallen in love with him too. Mom and Jason had moved up to Atlanta about three months ago. The resources here for Jason were much better, and honestly, I hated having him and my mom so far away. When Ethan moved to Colorado with his boyfriend Chance, they’d lost their last tie to Bell River. Mom had said she didn’t fit in much there anymore anyway. She’d left her old church for one of those new, all-accepting-non-denominational-type churches. She’d sold the house and got a condo about twenty minutes from us. It felt right, having them here, leaving behind that old river that had tried so hard to keep us under water. And, I figured Jason would have to stay with us permanently one day, when Momma couldn’t tend to him on her own anymore. It’s why I’d built this house as big as I did. I wanted him to have his own space, and I wanted a space just for me and my husband. When Wild married me in January, I made it my goal to make us a home worth all the love he’d given me. There was work to be done, little things here and there, but every day it looked and felt more like how I’d imagined.
Momma kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll bring him ’round later if he wants to come over. He might be tired.”
“Just give me a call,” I said.
Jason and my mom got another round of hugs from Wild and June before I walked them out.
The sun made the gray in my mom’s hair shine as I opened the front door, and for some reason, it’d knocked the wind out of me, tying a knot in my chest.
“What’s the matter, honey?”
I pulled her into my chest, ignoring her when she fussed about the dirt on my hands. After a second, she leaned into me, her arms hugging me tight.
“Thank you for coming over today,” I said, reluctant to let her go. “He may fight you on it, but this means a lot to him… you teaching him my favorite recipes.”
“That man looks at you like you’ve bottled the sun just for him… I’ll teach him anything he wants to know as long as he keeps loving you like that.”
“You can’t bottle the sun,” Jason said. “It’s too hot.”
Laughing, I hugged him too, and he groaned when I messed up his hair. I couldn’t make myself shut the door until they pulled away.
June and Wild were talking when I walked through the living room. Wild rolled his eyes, dramatic as ever, as June barked at him about something. His eyes met mine as I entered the kitchen, the smile he had for me, reeled me in. I draped my arms around his waist, and he snuggled his back against me.
He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles, unraveling that knot in my chest.
I never thought I’d have this.
A life with love and family and pride.
Wild was too animated, jumping on whatever June had tried to say. I didn’t think he’d hear it, but in this moment, when everything was good and whole, it had to be said.
I kissed the soft curve of his neck, and he shivered as I whispered, “Love you, Wild… Always.”