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“I just don’t want you to miss what you were meant for,” I say.
“My family—and you—” he says, “are what I’ll need through every hard thing that ever happens in my life. This is where I want to be right now. Home.”
I hug him tightly. He’s right. Chicago has graduate school.
I pull back, pouting a little, though. “I should be in the dorms too.”
“You will,” he says. “Between classes.”
And he grins, full of plans for us this fall, already. It’s not enough, though. I need my freedom if I’m going to be forced to continue my education.
It was the deal I made with my parents, though. Dad agreed to continue training meandsponsoring me if I committed to going to Clarke University for one year.
Their hope is that I’ll love it and keep going. We’ll see.
If I do, then I’m moving into the dorms my sophomore year. I’m pretty sure they’ll agree to that if I continue college.
I’m not all that excited about quickies in Hunter’s dorm room, though, with guys shouting down the halls.
“I prefer our place in Weston,” I tell him.
Knock Hill’s trees are in bloom, and the air is so thick, you can drink it. I want to sweat in a house where we can be as noisy as we want.
“And I like it here.” Excitement makes his eyes go big. “The Sports Shack, the Hobby Nook, the showers, the Swallow’s Nest, the archery range, the boathouse, the barn…” he lists all the places to sneak away, and my pulse rises.
I bite his bottom lip. “The tents…”
He groans, wrapping his arms around me tighter and twirling us around in the water.
“I wish summer would last forever,” I say.
“There are plenty of places to hide in the winter too.” His lips trail to my neck. “As you remember.”
His mouth runs over my skin, and I drop my head back, losing my breath. God, I love him.
“We’re literally getting paid for this!” someone shouts at us.
I pop my head up, and he turns his, both of us seeing Aro standing on the dock in shorts and a bikini top. She glares.
Hawke passes behind her. “You tell ’em, baby.”
We break into laughter, and I can’t wait to catch them all over each other this summer like they’re any different. They love the barn as much as we do.
Later that night, or maybe it’s already early morning, Shelburne Falls is quiet and asleep, having their fucking sugarplum dreams, as someone stands on the bridge between the Falls and Weston.
She looks down into the river, her long white hair with blue tips wrapped up in a wild ponytail as locks whip across her face in the wind.
She had to wait for Dylan to graduate. And for the winter to end and the spring rains to slow. She didn’t know if it was possible, but her chances were better with the water level lowered.
Today, the river stage measured seven feet.
That’s manageable.
Of course, that doesn’t mean this area of the river will only be seven feet, and she actually hopes it’s not. She’ll need more cushion to break the fall.
But she points her flashlight, seeing the outline of something below and she knows she’s in the right place. She flips the light off and tosses it on the ground, next to her dad’s tow truck.
He’ll bluster and break things if he sees she took it, and he’ll threaten to beat her ass, but he never does.
