“How’d he do?” I ask as she settles onto the chair between Buck and me.
“Better.” Her mouth softens. “He asked if bad memories ever get tired of coming back.”
Calder winces. Buck says, “Good question. What did you say?”
“I told him yes, eventually. Especially if you keep letting enough good things in to crowd them out.”
“That’s a good answer,” Buck says.
I think about all the firefights and blood and years of things I still don’t say out loud, and I look forward to the future helping those memories recede into the past. I look forward to letting all kinds of good new things take over the space in my mind.
“He asked if you guys would read bedtime stories to him sometime,” Elena says.
As Buck chuckles fondly, Calder’s quick answer takes me by surprise. “Be glad to.”
I’m smiling as Elena looks around at us. “You’re all so good with him,” she says.
“We love him,” I say easily, knowing I speak for all of us.
“He’s a good kid,” Buck says.
“He is.” Elena’s eyes go glassy for a second as she smiles. “And he loves all of you, too.”
Somewhere down the street, a dog barks, then goes quiet. A cool wind blows, and I’m about to ask Elena if she’d be more comfortable inside, but she tucks her hands into thepockets of Calder’s hoodie she’s wearing, and looks perfectly content.
I watch her for a while, loving how much softer she looks than she did a few weeks ago, and how her body finally seems to rest instead of bracing for whatever might come. Her cheeks are pink, and her lips are slightly curved into a smile, the way they usually are these days.
Without planning to, I say, “I’ve been thinking about something.” As soon as the words come out, my heartbeat kicks harder, making me feel less like a grown man and more like a teenager asking his first girl to dance.
Elena turns toward me. “What’s that?”
“A ceremony.”
She looks curious but confused.
“I know we can’t do it legally, not all of us … not in the way people usually do, but we could do something …”
“Weston—” Elena looks even more confused.
“You’re rambling, Wes,” Buck says.
“A commitment ceremony,” I tell Elena. “I want to stand up and tell the world I’m going to be with you always.”
Her pretty mouth falls open, and I see her say, “Oh,” more than I hear it. The longer she’s quiet, the harder my pulse pounds.
“I like that idea,” Buck says.
“Hell, yeah,” Calder adds.
She looks around at each of us, her face still in disbelief. “You’re serious? All of you?”
I get out of my chair and drop to a knee in front of her. “As serious as a Moon Ridge bake sale. Be ours, Elena.”
She shakes her head, laughs, and playfully pushes at my shoulder. “I already am yours.”
“Be ours officially.” Buck’s tone is fiercely serious, and Elena draws in a sharp breath.
I pull one of her hands from the pocket and take it in mine. “We should have bought a ring before asking, but what do you say? A diamond, a fancy dress, all our friends and family with us?”
