When we’re done, I grab us both a snack to tide us over until the party. We’re sitting in the living room when footsteps come down the stairs. I whip around, blocking Finn from the intruder.
I gasp when they come into view. “What the hell are you doing here?”
CHAPTER 42
Knox
I’ve got the windows down and the music blaring as I drive to the grocery store first. I barely recognize the man I am today versus the one I was six months ago. Farrah’s turned me into a much better version of myself that I didn’t know I was capable of being.
I doubt the grumpiness will ever truly go away, but I’m no longer the bitter man I used to be. Case in point, the parking lot of the grocery store is packed since it’s a Saturday. This is the worst time to get groceries. Instead of being pissed, I’m only mildly annoyed.
I have to park at the back of the lot, and it takes me a dumb amount of time to pick up several kinds of juice boxes for the kids. I get stopped by no less than three people asking me how Finn’s doing or where he and Farrah are today. The small talk is annoying, and I swear I will growl at the next person who stops me, although I have to admit that I do get a small thrill of pleasure when I get to say Farrah’s at home with Finn.
We’ve only been together a couple of months, so I knowit’s too early to truly be thinking about her moving in, but the idea has taken root.
It should scare the shit out of me. I spent years vehemently disparaging the institution of love. I’d never experience what true, unconditional love could look like between partners. Every one of my friends has a sad story about falling for the people who hurt them the most. On purpose or by cosmic design, it doesn’t really matter—the end result was the same.
Holt’s parents are the only people in my life who’ve had a successful relationship, and that felt more like anomaly than fact.
Until Farrah.
She is love incarnate.
The thought makes me cringe a little, but there’s no other way to describe her. She’s been through hell and back, yet still has the capacity to show more love to the people in her life than the happiest person in the world.
I didn’t stand a chance. I might’ve tried, but I’d never have succeeded, even without my friends’ intervention. She’s exactly the person I’ve always wanted but never believed I could find.
So maybe, after everything we’ve both been through, our timeline should be our own—not what society deems acceptable.
When I finally make it back to my truck, I send a quick text to Farrah.
Knox
Juice boxes have been acquired. And no one got punched for making small talk. It was a close call though.
Farrah
Poor baby, having to socialize.
I should get a reward for being nice.
Oh, you think so?
Definitely.
Then I should get one too, for the exceptional party we’re about to host.
That was always a given, Princess. You did a wonderful job.
She doesn’t respond immediately, so I get back to my tasks. My next stop is to grab the balloons from Gwen’s house. She created a massive arch that I am terrified of putting in the back of my truck. I put the cover over the bed to keep them in there, but I really don’t want any of them to pop.
She assuages my fears, letting me know she’ll bring over extra supplies if we need to replace any of them.
Then I’m off to Gage’s bakery to pick up the cake. The dude is fucking talented, just like his dad. None of us were surprised when he went to culinary school, but we imagined he’d work in some fancy restaurant or something. He always dreamed of going out into the world and exploring what it had to offer. Instead, he graduated from school and opened his bakery in town the second a space became available.
All of Holt’s brothers came back to Pine Creek Falls to live and work here. Holt was fucking ecstatic about it. I, on the other hand, was baffled. They had plenty of money to send their kids off into the world to live happy lives, and yet all six of them settled back home. I guess I can’t fault them for wanting to be surrounded by the people they love. And Pine Creek Falls isn’t too bad a place to live if you can get past everyone sticking their noses in your business.
I manage to snag a parking space in front of Gage’s bakery and head straight inside. The sign over the door looks like it’s been dusted with powdered sugar. Nix most likely created that logo for Gage. Get Baked is a local staple at this point. I can’t imagine it ever not being on Main Street.
