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I smile, feeling lighter than I have in days. “Now, we go inside, and we start figuring this out. Together.”
He nods, his thumb brushing gently across my cheek. “Together,” he echoes, and the word feels like a promise.
Hand in hand, we stand up and walk inside, the warmth of the house enveloping us as we step through the door. The tension that had been hanging over us all week seems to dissipate, replaced by a sense of peace and understanding.
We don’t talk much as we move through the house, turning on lights and settling into the living room. There’s no need for words right now. Everything that needed to be said has already been spoken, and now it’s just about being together, about finally letting ourselves relax into this thing that’s been growing between us for so long.
Wade pulls me onto the couch beside him, his arm wrapping around my shoulders as I lean against him. We sit there in comfortable silence, the only sound the faint hum of the heater kicking on as the evening chill sets in.
It feels good, being like this—no more walls, no more doubts, just us. And as I sit there, wrapped up in Wade’s arms, I realize that this is what I’ve been waiting for. Not just the words, but the feeling of being loved, of being wanted, of being part of something bigger than myself.
Eventually, Wade turns on the TV, flipping through channels until we settle on some old movie that neither of us really cares about. It’s just background noise, something to fill the quiet while we cuddle together, content just to be in each other’s presence.
As the night wears on, I feel my eyes growing heavy, the warmth of Wade’s embrace lulling me into a state of complete relaxation. I’m safe here, with him, and for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel the need to question it or analyze it. I just let myself be.
“I love you,” Wade murmurs, his voice a soft rumble against my ear.
“I love you too,” I reply, my heart swelling with happiness as I close my eyes and let sleep take me, knowing that when I wake up, he’ll still be here, and we’ll still be us.
Together.
EIGHTEEN
Wade
Five Years Later…
“We haveto hurry or we’re going to be late!” Auden calls up the stairs to me and I smile.
“I’m ready to go when you are,” I tell her as I pick up our daughter, Adley, in my arms.
She’s half asleep and I smile down at her as I carry her over to her car seat and buckle her in.
“Okay, I packed the diaper bag and I think that I have everything,” Auden says as she rushes into the front room.
I take the diaper bag from her and rub her round belly. Adley is almost nine months old and Auden is already pregnant again. She’s three months along now with our second. We find out in a few weeks if it’s a boy or a girl. I know that Auden is hoping for a boy, but I’d love to have another girl, one that looks just like her mama.
“Ready?” She asks me and I nod, dropping a kiss on her lips before I pick up the car seat and carry Adley and the diaper bag out to the car.
We’re headed to Jake’s high school graduation and I know that Auden wants to get there early to get good seats. Auden has blended into my makeshift family perfectly. She gets along with Ray, Jake, and Ellie better better than I do. I think that they all love her more than me too. Not that I blame them. Auden is hard not to love.
“Lena and Arlowe just text to tell Jake congratulations. Lena said that she baked a cake for him if we want to stop by the bakery afterwards to celebrate.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll text Ray now and invite them,” Auden says and I smile.
It’s still kind of crazy to me that the kid in high school who had no family, ended up having a huge blended one. I owe it all to Auden. She brought me closer with this town, with Ray, Ellie, and Jake, and with her friends too.
We park in the high school parking lot and Auden gasps and starts waving when she spots Ellie climbing out of Ray’s car a few parking spots down.
“I’ll get Adley. You go on ahead.”
Auden grins at me as she throws open her door and hurries over to greet Ray and Ellie. I smile, watching Auden’s excitement as she hugs Ellie and then Ray, who gives her a warm, fatherly pat on the back. I pull Adley’s car seat out and sling the diaper bag over my shoulder, heading over to join them.
Jake spots us as he’s getting out of the car, and his face lights up with that shy grin of his. It’s hard to believe how much he’s grown up. I remember when Ray first took him in, this lanky kid who barely spoke a word. Now, he’s a young man, full of potential and ready to take on the world.
“Hey, Jake! Ready for the big day?” I call out, setting Adley down on the pavement so I can give him a quick, one-armed hug.
