Still building this loud, messy, incredible life together. And making the kind of memories our families gave us.
Joy swells so fast inside me it almost hurts.
“Tell me something,” I say quietly.
“Hmm?”
I hesitate, nerves fluttering low in my stomach. I don’t know why I’m asking this now, except that suddenly I need to know.
“When you say you hate kids every summer…” I glance down briefly before forcing myself to continue. “Is it an… all-encompassing hate? Like you never want to be a father?” I wet my lips. “Or is there maybe room in that big heart of yours for a few of our own someday?”
Holden goes completely still.
I look up nervously and find him staring at me like the world just tilted sideways.
“For real?” he asks.
I shrug, suddenly shy. “Not anytime soon. It’s just… something I’ve wondered and—”
I don’t get to finish.
Holden makes a strangled sound and yanks me against him so fast I laugh as my feet leave the ground for a second.
“Hell yes,” he blurts.
I blink at him. “Wait. Really? Just like that?”
“You kidding?” Holden laughs, still holding me tight. “Of course.” His expression softens immediately. “We had the best childhood, Kor. I’d love to give that to someone else too.”
Emotion catches painfully in my throat.
Holden kisses me quick and warm before resting his forehead against mine again.
“And you’d be a great parent,” he says softly. “Way more patient than me.”
I snort. “Chaotic is what I think you mean.”
He cups my face gently. “I’m serious. I think you’d be great.” His smile turns softer somehow. More certain. “And I want that. Someday.”
My heart feels too full for my chest. “No rush though. Seriously. I wanna enjoy this for a long, long time before we’re physically responsible for another human’s life.”
Holden bursts out laughing. “Agreed. No rush.”
“Good.”
“Very good.”
He pulls me back into him as the music crackles softly through the old stereo. Around us, our families laugh and talk and chase kids through the dark. And for the first time in my life, the future doesn’t feel terrifying.
It feels beautiful.
And swaying there in Holden’s arms, dreams settling quietly around us like sparks rising into the night sky, I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.
The next couple of days pass in the kind of warm blur I never want to leave behind.
Slow mornings tangled up with Holden in the tent. Shared meals around folding tables. Card games that devolve into arguments and cheating accusations within minutes. Ezra nearly setting a hot dog bun on fire somehow. Laura threatening everybody equally.
It feels easy now.
