Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
My forehead furrows as I fight my own tears. “Macy, please. Just stay. Have some breakfast and get some rest, then we can talk more about all this. You’ve just been through a traumatic natural disaster and barely slept last night. Now isn’t the time to make any big decisions.”
She swipes at her cheeks, her lips turning down at the edges. “I know, but I can’t help it. When I know something’s wrong, I have to stop doing it. Right that very second. Even if the timing is shit. You know that about me.”
My shoulders sag as I admit, “I do. And I love that about you.” I pull in a breath, willing her to see how much I need her to stay. “I love you. More than safety or familiar things or the dream of having kids. Because that’s all they are right now, Mace, just a dream. And they’re a dream I could let go of if having a family isn’t a dream you share.”
Her brow wrinkles. “But you’d resent me for it. Maybe not today or tomorrow or next year, but eventually.”
“So, now you can not only read my mind, but the future, too?” I step in again, hope blooming in my chest when she lets me get closer without flitting away. “I don’t even know what I’m going to want next year. And you know me well enough to know I don’t lie. Not even to make the people I love happy. That’s why I couldn’t promise to come with you fifteen years ago.” I reach out, twining my fingers gently, tentatively through hers. “But now, I can. I can promise it’s what I want, and that I’m never going to regret taking this chance. Not ever.”
“Even if we can’t make it work for the long haul?” she whispers.
I nod. “Even then. I don’t want to be with you because I think it would be cool to be married in five years, Macy. Or to grow old with someone in thirty. I want to be with you because I want to wake up every morning and choose you in every way that matters. I want to love you and laugh with you and hike and talk and fight and make up with you and maybe learn how to rock climb while I’m at it.”
“I know how,” she says, still in that soft voice, the one that makes me hope I’m getting through to her. “I could teach you.”
“I’d love that,” I say. “And I’ll treasure every minute of whatever time we get to call ours. Whether that’s a month, a year, or the rest of our lives. No regrets.”
Her lashes flutter, sending fresh tears down her cheeks. “That’s the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“Meant every word,” I say, tightening my grip on her hand. “Besides, I’ve gotten very attached to Pippa Jane in a short amount of time. And I think she likes me, too. It would be a shame to end our budding friendship now.”
Her lips twitch. “She does like you more than any other guy she’s ever met.”
“She’s got good taste,” I tease.
“She does.” Macy steps closer, tipping her head back to keep her eyes locked on mine. “And she can probably tell her mom is crazy about you. Being with you makes me happy. Even in the middle of the storm.”
Bringing my lips closer to hers, I whisper, “I’d rather weather a storm with you than share a sunny day with anyone else.”
She sighs. “That was the perfect thing to say.”
“It was the true thing.”
“I know. Thank you.”
I draw back to study her face. “For what? For reassuring you when you needed it? Because if so, no thanks needed. I know you’d do the same for me.”
“I would,” she says. “I promise. Because I want that, too. What you want. I just want to make the most of every day that we get to spend together. And whether it’s sunny or not, I’m going to be grateful for every one of them.”
“Ditto.” I nod over my shoulder. “So…should we go eat some eggs, get Christian to drop me at my truck near the boat launch, and head back to my place to rest up and plan? I have a guest room with Pippa Jane’s name on it and a fenced in backyard that could have a mud pit in it by morning.”
She smiles. “She won’t need a mud pit to stay cool until summer, but she’s going to love that guest room. Especially if we can stop by the pet supply store and pick up some stuffed animal toys. She likes to tuck her toys into bed before she goes to sleep and almost all of them were in the van when it was swept away.”
“Done,” I say. “I’m going to spoil her rotten. She deserves it after what’s she been through, and so do you. I hope you’ll let me take you shopping later to replace your clothes and shoes and anything else you need.”