“You won’t,” I said so quickly, she startled and then smiled wider.
“And the thing is, it’s not just me. You’ll need other people to help too.” I gestured to the list. “Levi and Claire, your grandma, at a bare minimum.”
“Is that so?” Her eyes gleamed, and her lip trembled.
“And there are places in town that you’ll need to see,” I said.
“You’ve not even stayed the night at the bed-and-breakfast,” Ruth called loudly over the hushed din of the crowd. I looked over my shoulder at her and smiled quickly, shakily, and felt so grateful that the tightening in my chest released some.
Turning back to Sophie, I asked, “You’ve not? Well, we’ve got to add that to the list too,” I said matter-of-factly.
“Okay,” Sophie said as her face grew pink, eyes glistening.
“And you’ve never even come to poker night at the station,” Cole Sutter called out.
“Or gone to the McCreedy Ranch,” another voice yelled from the crowd.
“You can take a Huber ride!” someone else offered.
“Or take a class at the art retreat!” called another.
All at once, dozens of townspeople, friends, and family I’d helped over the years, shouted out their reasons for Sophie to add their destination to the list. Chills broke over my body, and my heart felt like it might swell right out of my chest.
“Yes. Yes, Sophie. See? All these things that need to be on your to-do list. We should probably keep the list going. A living document. I’m imagining a stack of paper so tall that you can’t ever see the end of it. Reaching up into the clouds.”
“Well. That’s not a SMART goal. I can’t imagine we would ever get through that kind of list,” she said, voice sweet and innocent.
I sighed dramatically. “Dang. You’re right. But we should really try. You and me. We should probably stick together to complete the list. Probably forever.”
She swallowed, arms tight around her middle, and she nodded. “That long at least,” she whispered.
I stepped closer, until her robe brushed my knuckles. Until I could see her face so clearly and feel my body lean into hers like I’d been missing desperately. I lifted a hand to brush some hair from her cheek, and she leaned into the touch, eyes closing briefly. Did she miss my touches as much as I missed giving them?
“I would like to spend forever adding and crossing off items with you, Sophie. If you’ll let me,” I said. “I love you so much, I can’t even handle it.”
“Oh, Pace.” She stood to wrap her arms around my neck. “I love you too. So much.”
The knot of pain in my chest released all at once. The terror I’d been living with for months, years maybe, relaxed out of me. I was so lucky to love her. It was unfathomable that she loved me too.
I held on to her, both of us trembling. Both of us in love.
We leaned into a modest kiss, just a press of our cold, smiling mouths.
The crowd around us roared with applause, and for the first time in my life, I wanted to get away from the adoring fans, as Sophie would say. She leaned back, and there was still a crease of worry between her brows.
“I have so much I need to tell you,” I whispered into her ear.
“I would love that. I have things to say too.” Her gaze flicked to the group around us, still watching.
I nuzzled into her hair, inhaling her intoxicating scent mixed with the smell of winter cold. “But not here. Not for anybody else but you,” I added. “I want to tell you everything about me.”
She shivered. “I would really like that.” She held her gloved hands to my cheeks.
“Want to get out of here?” I asked.
“Yes. Please.”
“Your place?” I asked, pulling back out of her arms as she nodded. “Okay.” I started running in place. “That’s what? Half-mile run tops? Thankfully, you were trained by me.”
