He pulls me closer. “Okay. I’ll be brave with you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m going to the firefighter academy. Finally becoming what I always wanted to be, instead of the rancher everyone expected.”
I throw my arms around him. “We're really doing this?”
“We're really doing this.”
“We're insane,” I say.
He lifts me up, my legs wrapping around his waist. “But I'd rather be insane with you than practical without you.”
“That's the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me.”
“Yeah? Wait until I get you back in bed.”
“Promises, promises.”
“Oh, I keep my promises.” He's already dragging me toward the bedroom. “Let me show you.”
And as he kicks the door closed behind us, as he lays me down on the bed and covers my body with his, as he whispers "I love you" over and over, I know this is right.
Messy and complicated and absolutely perfect.
This is what it feels like to really live.
And I'm never going back.
10
CALLUM
SIX MONTHS LATER
Art lines every wall, but none of those pieces catch my attention like she does.
Piper stands in the center of the gallery, her smile bright but nervous as she talks to a cluster of art buyers. Every single one of her sketches has a red “sold” sticker beneath it.
Pride swells in my chest, so fierce it almost hurts. She did this. My Piper, turning her quiet passion into something the world can’t ignore.
Once she’s alone again, I weave through the crowd and reach her side, slipping an arm around her waist.
“You’re a fucking rock star.”
She laughs and nudges me with her elbow.
“Stop it,” she says, but her cheeks flush, and I know she loves it.
Mackenzie appears from the crowd. “Piper, you killed it,” she says, pulling her into a quick hug.
Then my sister turns to me and gives me a wink. It’s quick and imperceptible to Piper.Good.
“Ready to get out of here?” I ask Piper, already itching to have her to myself for our next activity.
We slip out of the gallery, the cool mountain air hitting us as we step onto the street. I lead her to my truck, opening the door for her, and she climbs in. I drive us out of town, up the winding road toward the trailhead.
“You’re being mysterious,” Piper says, glancing at me from the passenger seat. “Where are we going?”
