“I did see them.”
“Maybe, you can show me, little man,” Darren offered.
My nephew squirmed to be let down and hurried over to take Darren’s big hand. “Okay!”
Joan stood next to me as we watched them creep after the meandering birds.
“You should have?—”
She broke off with an oof as I pulled her into a crushing hug.
“I missed you so much,” I confessed into the smooth skin of her neck.
Her arms locked tightly around my waist. “I missed you, too.”
I leaned back and smoothed some of her dark hair behind her ears. Her arms stayed where they were.
“I would have picked you up from the airport,” she complained.
Joan was not a person who liked surprises. She preferred making plans and showing up for people.
“I know.”
I hadn’t needed a ride. But I wasn’t ready to mention that I’d gone to a dealership directly after touching down and bought a car, one that would stay here, in Kirby Falls.
Swallowing, I noted Georgie up ahead. I didn’t want to be interrupted for this next part.
“Can we talk about what happens next?” I asked. “We’ve both been avoiding it, I think. But I wanted to run something by you and see how you felt about it.”
Joan’s gaze searched my face before she nodded slowly.
“I would really like to make Kirby Falls my home base. Ideally, I’d make one movie a year. I want to direct at some point. Eventually, I’d love to write, and I can do that from here. I want Georgie to go to school in Kirby Falls. I want him to make friends with kids his own age. I don’t want him to ever wonder if he’s loved or accepted or understood. It’ll just be a given because he’s surrounded by people who care about him. I want a life with you, Joan. Sunday dinners with your family. A chicken coop in our backyard. I want to make you coffee every morning and go running together.”
I managed a lungful of air despite my racing heart. “I should have told you all of thisbeforeLA. But I didn’t want to scare you off. I didn’t want to be too much. I was worried I’d worn out my welcome.”
Joan’s hands were fisted in my tee shirt, and I wanted to assure her I wasn’t going anywhere.
“I thought,” she began, “I thought you might get back to your real life and remember how much you missed it.”
I smiled. “I got back to myoldlife and couldn’t stop rememberingyou.”
Joan’s chin wobbled uncertainly. I pressed my thumb there to shore it up.
“I know I wasn’t born in Kirby Falls,” I told her. “It’ll never be home for me, the way it is for you. You have so many memories here, so much history. But if I start now, we could have a good life together. If you wanted that.”
“Itishome,” Joan insisted. “For you and George. There’s no minimum, no requirements to make it your own. You fit here. And I’ll always want you.”
“You’re here. That’s all Georgie and I really need.”
“Did you talk to him about all this?” Joan wondered. “Does he want to stay?”
“Joanie. That kid loves you so much. Nothing would make him happier than being right here with you.”
“Then stay,” she whispered, tugging my body flush to hers. “Leave when you need to, but come back home to me.”
Her lips found mine, warm and welcoming. The hands clenched in the fabric at my sides loosened and smoothed around to my back.
After so much time and distance, I was starved for her touch, eager for her affection. So, I reached low and gripped her thighs, boosting her up. Joan’s legs wrapped around my waist on instinct, and I held her close.
