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“Looking forward to it.”
He climbs out of the truck and holds his hand out for me, helping me down before he goes to the back and lowers the tailgate. When he comes back, he has a bag and big cooler in his hands. Bear trots along beside him, his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth, and I chuckle at him.
“Wanna check out the house first?” He’s got a wicked grin on his face, and I shake my head as I try to fight back my own smile. I know if we go into that cabin, there will be no tour. Laughing, he nods and sets the stuff down on the porch before grabbing my hand again and lacing our fingers. As we walk away from the cabin, I peek up at him, unable to believe just how happy I am. It hits me out of the blue sometimes. I’ll just be going about my day then I’ll look at him and it blindsides me, a giant rush of happiness, and it’s hard to believe that this is my life. And yet, it’s hard to remember how it was before he waltzed into my world. Or even who I was.
He’s changed me but it’s for the better. All the parts of me that used to be closed off and guarded are now wide open, and he owns each of them. There isn’t a single piece of my heart and soul that doesn’t belong to Logan, and that doesn’t scare me anymore. It’s thrilling, and I’m excited for what our future together brings.
“So, basically, it’s just trees,” Logan says, chuckling, as we stop a little ways from the cabin, and it takes me a moment to remember what we were doing.
“How far does your property go?” I ask when I realize that he’s showing me the land.
“Uh, let’s see. It goes all the way to the road and about two miles on each side. And then three or so miles past that lake down there.” He points to one end of the clearing where I can just barely make out the glint of sunlight reflecting off the water.
“How long have you had it?”
He tucks me into his side and leads me over to the back of the house where another little porch sits with matching rocking chairs. He sits down in one and pulls me into his lap as we look out at the water which is much more visible from this angle.
“My granddad bought it in fifty-one, and he built this house for my grandma. My dad was raised out here, and then Grandma passed away when I was ten but Granddad couldn’t stand to leave this place so he stayed here until he died eleven years ago.”
I let my gaze wander over the land again, his story adding a richness to it that wasn’t there before. “That’s beautiful.”
“I always thought so. They were crazy about each other even when I was a kid. I spent so much time out here since it was just Mom and me and she worked so much. My old man wasn’t around much, and when he was, he usually dropped me off here, too. They were good to my mom though and babysat me for her even though their son had kind of abandoned us. Actually, I think they kind of felt guilty about the way he turned out.”
“You aren’t close?” I ask, cuddling closer and laying my head on his shoulder.
He lets out a sardonic laugh and shakes his head. “No, not really. He’s in my life but just barely.”
“That’s terrible.” My heart aches for him once again. I can’t imagine my life without my parents.
“It’s probably better that he was never around. He’s kind of obsessed with money, and he’s always looking for the next get-rich-quick scheme. Toxic is what the shrink called him when he took my mom to court for custody.”
I sit up and look in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Babe. That sounds awful.”
“I think I turned out all right,” he says, an easy smile on his face, and I nod.
“Yes, you sure did.”
“So, about that tour of the cabin now?” he asks, his eyes heating, and I wiggle in his lap. My stomach growls, and he sighs as I throw my head back and laugh.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of hungry,” I joke, and he shakes his head.
“Yeah, I heard that,” he grumbles before standing with me in his arms. He sets me on my feet and points to the back door. “Inside that door is a blanket. Will you grab it and meet me over by the lake?”
“Uh, sure,” I say, glancing back at the door. “What are we doing?”
He starts off toward the front of the cabin. “I packed some food for us.”
“What? Like a picnic?” I ask, scrunching my nose up in confusion. I try to imagine Logan setting up a cute little picnic, and the picture is so absurd that I laugh.
“Yeah, something like that. Just grab the blanket, Kitten.” He disappears around the corner, and I shake my head as I open the back door and grab the blanket that’s folded up on top of a dryer.
“Well, you’re just full of surprises,” I mutter to myself as I close the door behind me and start off toward the lake.
* * * *
Crickets chirp and frogs croak as the fire crackles and dances in front of us, warming my skin as night descends. I cuddle into Logan as we lie next to each other, stretched out on a blanket in the grass just off the back porch of the cabin. Stars begin to pop out in the clear sky above us, and I roll to my back, staring up at them. Today was absolutely perfect in every way imaginable. After we ate lunch down by the lake, Logan showed me the old tree house that his granddad built for him on one side of the meadow, a couple of feet into the forest. Then we spent the afternoon fishing down at the dock, and not once during that whole time did I think about the situation back home or the mess we’re going back to tomorrow.
“Are you sure we have to go back?” I ask and turn my head to look at him as he grins.
