No matter how Dylan would have explained those to me, I have to admit that I still would have been wary and worried that maybe there was more to it. Ineededto see those police reports to feel at peace. And I really hope that Dylan can understand why I had to leave and forgive me for thewayI left. It wasn’t my finest moment.
As I turn onto the familiar dirt road leading to my cabin, a sense of nervous excitement fills me. I bypass my driveway completely, heading straight for Dylan’s cabin, but something out of the corner of my eye causes me to hit the brakes and reverse up a little.
“What the heck?”
My jaw drops as I pull into my driveway and find my entire property bustling with life. I had expected to return to see my cabin still in its dilapidated state, but the reality is much, much different.
It’s done. Everything is complete and exactly the way I imagined, sans the surrounding sunflowers, because they haven’t even budded yet.
As I pull my car to a stop and get out, I catch the attention of a blonde woman with a big smile, and who obviously thinks she’s knows me. “You must be Millie,” she gasps, her hands clasped at her chest. “I’m Jade, and I’d like this to be your official invitation to join my sisters and I at the next Whisper Valley Soulwink Society meeting.” Her eyes widen and she twists her body, pointing to the big black logo on her pink jacket. “You’ll get one of these! Aren’t they great?”
“Oh! I…” My mouth stays open because I don’t know what to say. I’ve never met this lady before and suddenly she wants me to be inherclub. I mean,of course,I want to be in her club. I’ve never been in a club, and those jackets aresocool. But since I really wasn’t expecting any of this, I really don’t know what’s happening. “I’m sorry. Wh-who are you again?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” She chuckles and holds out her hand. “I’m Jade.”
“Uh. Yeah, I caught that. I just don’t understand who you are to me or why you’re here.”
“I’m Kellen’s wife!”
“Kellen?” The name feels slightly familiar, and as I look around at the men moving around my property, filling up a dumpster with leftover debris, the familiarity inthem—especially in their green eyes—makes me understand exactly what’s going on. “You’re Dylan’s family.”
“And yours soon too, I hope. Has Dylan told you about my soulwink theory?”
“Is that what your club is about?”
“Yep. All the women who came to Whisper Valley and found their soulmate in a Valentine brother are part of it.”
My cheeks heat as a smile curves my lips. “You think I’m Dylan’s soulmate?”
“Well, if this massive effort he’s gone through to impress you is anything to go by—definitely.”
“He’s…he’s not mad at me for leaving?”
She smiles serenely as she rests a hand on my shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Oh, honey. There’s no way he could be mad at you for that. Those were some scary headlines, and at the end of the day, it’s not like they were untrue. Only exaggerated.”
“I heard it was a terrible accident.”
She nods. “Kellen said he was an absolute wreck when he moved back home. Being caught up in a mess like that changes a man. But ever since you’ve been in his life, he’s been a heck of a lot—”
“Brighter?” I supply.
And she smiles. “Yeah.”
“Where is he?” I haven’t been able to find him in the group of men cleaning up.
“Inside. Main bedroom.”
“Thank you,” I say, rushing past her and into the cabin. The scent of fresh paint is still in the air, and I barely have the time to acknowledge how perfect it is. But it is. And the fact he managed this all in such a short time, while I was hiding out like a little mouse in a hole, makes it so much more special.
When I round the corner and stop in the doorway of the main bedroom, tears come to my eyes when I’m met with the sight of Dylan crouched on the floor painting a massive mural of a sunflower around a circular wall-mounted bedhead. It wasn’t in any of my design drawings—I was going to use sunflower wallpaper on a feature wall in each room—but it is beyond stunning as well as being truly, deeply thoughtful.
Despite everything, Dylan still had it in his heart to not only finish the cabin, but to create something beautiful and special just for me.
“Dylan?”
He freezes with his hand mid-paint stroke, lowering the brush before he slowly turns to face me, like he can’t believe I’m here. “Millie,” he gasps.
My heart balloons just from looking at him, and my insides melt as happy tears flow in full-force. Out of pure instinct, I run straight to him and jump, trusting him to catch me in his arms as soon as he stands.
