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“Our bed,” he replied, not turning to look at her. His shoulders slumped as he dropped the last bag, dropping his head to his chest.
“We don’t have to do this, you know. I can go back to the hotel,” her voice was quiet as she spoke. She didn’t move, barely breathed, as she waited for his answer.
His head snapped up to face her, fire dancing in his eyes. “No.”
Skylar placed her hands up in front of her in surrender. “Woah, I’m just saying if this is too much for you, I can just turn right around. Although now that I think of it, my car’s still there.”
How the heck did I forget about my car? Oh, right. Hot lumbersnack was threatening to go all caveman on me.
“Lila’s going to bring it over later.” His face softened as he looked at her. “I don’t want you to go, Skylar. This is your home now too.” His voice was low, but Skylar could feel the emotion behind it. From the short time that she’d known him, she knew he didn’t let many people into his life, so she didn’t miss the significance of this.
“Why are you doing this, Dyllan? You just as easily could have sent me off and pretended this never happened.” Her voice was soft as she asked the question. She wanted to know more about him, wanted to know why he was so insistent on bringing her into his life while pushing her away at the same time.
He let out a sigh before he sat on the bed, patting the spot beside him.
She watched him for a moment before walking to him and plunking down beside him. She sat close enough that she could feel his heat along her skin but far enough that it still gave him space for what he was about to tell her.
“My parents divorced when I was young. I don’t remember much about the actual divorce, but everything after that was fucked up. Constant fighting whenever I was dropped off or picked up, comments to me about the other to the point where I didn’t know who to believe or what to think.” He closed his eyes and shook his head as if ridding himself of the memories. Skylar reached over, taking one of his hands in both of hers.
“I’m so sorry, Dyllan. That must have been horrible for you.”
He nodded, opening his eyes and looking down at their joined hands. “We lived in this house when my parents were still together. Until then, I remember being happy. They sold it when they divorced since neither of them could agree who got to stay here.”
“How did you end up owning it?”
He looked at her quickly before dropping his gaze back down. “After I got out of the army, I came back to Logan Creek since that’s where I remembered being happy. Not Kelowna, where my mom dragged me off to, or Vernon, where I sometimes saw my dad when my mom would let him have time with me. It was here, in this house. Not wanting to be in the big cities, I rented one of the apartments in town for a while, got a job for one of the construction companies and threw myself into work. If I worked hard, I didn’t have time to think, and that was the last thing I wanted to do.” He took a breath before continuing. “About a year after moving here, this house went up for sale. I’d managed to save enough for the down payment and, I don’t know, something told me I had to buy this house. Like I was meant to live here.” His voice trailed off as he avoided her gaze.
“Sounds like fate to me.” Skylar smiled at him as she squeezed his hand.
“Fate,” he scoffed. “I don’t believe much in fate, but yes, something told me I needed to be here. It’s not much, but it’s mine now.”
“What do your parents think?”
“No idea. They both died while I was overseas.” His voice was low and even, but she saw the tick in his jaw when he spoke, the pulse in his neck beating rapidly, showing he was still affected by their death, even if he wouldn’t admit it.
“I’m so sorry, Dyllan.” Skylar placed her head on his shoulder, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb.
“Anyway, I promised myself that on the off chance I ever did get married, I wouldn’t divorce, no matter what. I wouldn’t be like them. I would do whatever it took to make my marriage work.”
“Even secret accidental ones?” she asked quietly.
“Even secret accidental ones.” He replied.
“So, what do we do from here?”
“We figure it out,” he rasped out. She sighed as he rested his head on top of hers.
“You make it sound so simple,” she replied, not moving from her spot. She didn’t want to admit how right it felt sitting there like that with him, holding his hand with her head on his shoulder. Like in another lifetime, maybe they would have chosen to be there together while sober—not thrown together during a drunken night in Vegas.
“It can be that simple.” He rubbed his cheek on the top of her head as he spoke.
Her heart rate picked up as the next words sat on her tongue. She didn’t know how he would respond, and she hoped that it wouldn’t be in anger. “What did you mean when you told me that I’m everything you never thought you could have? Why don’t you think you deserve to be loved?”
Dyllan snickered. “Do you love me, babydoll?” There was a hint of joking in his voice.
“No. I have a strong—like for you. Although I may love a certain part of you,” she joked back, pushing her shoulder into his.
“You’re insatiable, wife,” he said, lightly pushing her back.
