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He nodded his head and let out a deep breath. “Yes, a thousand times, yes.”
I slipped the ring on his finger. “The band is tungsten, and the inlay is crushed peacock opal. I hope you like it.” I’d picked it up in Vesper on Saturday while hanging out with Julius, and the second I’d seen the colorful pearl inlay, I’d known it was the ring for him.
“It’s beautiful, Daddy. I love you.”
“I love you, too, cutie, and now I’ll have the rest of our lives to show you just how much.”
Epilogue
A few months later
Spencer
I was laying out on the swing on our back porch with Ari when Nash stuck his head out the door. “We’re all finished up. I’m gonna hop in the shower, and then I’ll be ready to go if you are.”
“Crap, what time is it?” I asked, pushing Ari off my chest and sitting up.
“It’s just four-thirty. We have time.”
“Oh, you’re finished earlier than I expected.”
“It’s easier when the horses are healthy, and it’s easy to see this one had been loved. I’m sure she misses her owner, but she just couldn’t live on her own anymore.”
“It’s sad that she didn’t have any family, but it happens.”
“Unfortunately, it does. But yeah, since it went smoothly, I’m home early. And I need a shower, and if you still need a shower, we should probably do it together. You know, to save time and water.”
“Well,” I said, standing up and walking to him. “That would be the responsible thing to do. Just to save water, you know.”
He laughed and took my hand, leading me to our bathroom. “We better make it quick, though, ‘cause you don’t want to be late.”
“Quick, huh? That sounds like a challenge, Daddy.”
An hour later, we were in Nash’s truck and headed to town for the opening of the youth center. What had started out as just a small event to announce the opening of the center’s opening had turned into one of the biggest events of the summer, but Tristan had insisted we had to do it that way. He was determined to make this place a success, and he believed that the way to ensure it went over well was to win over the teens’ parents as much as the teens.
“We want the parents to not only feel comfortable leaving their kids there but to encourage them to come. The best way to do that is to get them on board from the get-go.”
And that was how we found ourselves on the way, not to a low-key party with cupcakes, soda, and lots and lots of pizza, but a full-scale affair with food trucks and a big name reveal. Not that half the down didn’t already know what it was called. Keeping secrets in River Gorge was pretty much impossible.
A local graphic artist had designed the sign for us after they vetoed my idea of letting the kids spatter the whole outside of the building with paint and skipping the sign altogether. I’d thought it would be cool and the kids would love it, but more conservative heads had prevailed.
They agreed to paint splatters as part of the logo though, but professionally done. What we had instead was a large sign that had been hung on both the front and back of the building that were currently covered in tarps. They both said Colors in huge colorful letters with An Upper River Valley Youth Center in smaller letters underneath. We were thinking the kids would use the back doors most of the time and that was where we were having the ceremony.
I still thought my idea would have been much cooler, but I’d talked to Millie, and we were going to let the kids use the inside walls as art canvases, so it was fine.
Over the course of the last few months, we’d had multiple meetings with a number of the kids in town to find out what they would like to see most at the center, and they were in agreement. It wasn’t activities or things that would get them here; it was having a nice, safe space where they could hang out and talk without adults butting in their business unless they were invited in. That was the plan all along, so I thought we were good.
The former store the Trust had donated was wide open and had plenty of room for people to spread out. They’d purchased six love seats and multiple chairs that were spread around the edge of the space in small groupings that would give people places to sit and talk with their friends.
The center of the room was filled with tables that could be used to eat at, for homework, or play games. Both back corners had a collection of bean bags and large-screen televisions that could be used to stream movies.
The only rooms that wouldn’t be visible at all times were four bathrooms, all of which were gender-neutral and designed for one person at a time. Everything else was wide open, which would make it easy for the adults to keep an eye on everything without them feeling like they were being monitored. I really thought this was going to be a great place for the kids to hang out.
I hadn’t really expected too many people to show up, but when we pulled into the parking lot, it was almost full.
“Looks like I underestimated the town’s support for this thing,” I said.
“Maybe,” Nash teased. “Or maybe they just want free food.”
