He reached in and swallowed when he saw what it was.
“Max…”
He ran his thumb around the edge of a brand-new display case. Inside, the cecropia moth.
“Derek said it meant a lot to you. He took me to your place after you… well… he took me over and I gathered the pieces I could and brought it home. The aunts helped me repair it to the best of my ability. It’s not perfect, but I?—”
“No.” Graham sniffed and put it back in the bag. “It’s more than perfect.” His eyes locked with mine. “Thank you.” He pulled me in hard, squeezing me until I melted into him. “You have no idea how much this means to me,” he whispered.
“Look who’s ready to party!” Katie ran in, Chester in one hand, her phone in the other.
“Hey, baby!” I scooped him up. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much. Are you being good for Auntie Katie?”
Chester curled into me, rubbing his face along my jawline, motor instantly revving, and biscuits already kneading into my squish.
“Actually, he’s been staying at my place for a while,” Graham said. “Hope that’s okay.”
“Yeah, of course it’s okay.” I smiled as something warm washed over me.
“Looks like he misses ya,” Annie said, picking up the bag of cat treats decorated in a bow beside her. She shook it.
Chester trilled.
“Wait! This is the perfect photo op for you two with your love child.” She giggled, shoving Graham and me together.
That warm rush? It turned into a raging inferno as I looked up to him, his hand resting on my back.
It broke my heart that I couldn’t make him better.
The wounds he had were the kind that said only time will heal. I called bullshit. How was time supposed to mend something that was taken from you? It wasn’t like it’d grow back. It wasn’t like you wouldn’t have a scar as a reminder.
Katie snapped the picture.
“Get one of us, will you, Katie?” Hunter said, grabbing Chester by the scruff and stuffing him into Graham’s arms.
Before I could protest, he spun me, kissed me, and dipped me in front of Graham.
I came back up flushed, Chester still watching from Katie’s arms like a small disapproving judge.
“There’s one more thing.” Graham carefully handed Chester to Katie and pulled me into the hall, handing me a red box big enough to hold a softball. “I just want you to know how I feel,” he whispered, his voice low and smoldering with the repressed desire he held for me. “I know you’ll understand.”
I opened the box carefully. Inside, another carving. I gasped as I pulled the paper back, revealing two perfect little barn owls—this time carved from bone or maybe an antler of some sort. The male was in mid-flight, legs hanging down with the white of his underbelly exposed—they called it the “moth flight.” It had a mouse in its mouth—a gift for its mate that sat on a branch. A thin stiff wire connected the male to the base, making it appear as though it was actually flying.
“Graham, I love it!” I pulled him in close, wrapping an arm around him in a hug. “Thank you!”
He slipped his hand behind my back and held me to him. My breath caught. At first I thought he was going to kiss me by the way his eyes searched mine, but that would have been stupid, especially with everyone here, and Hunter watching over the rim of his drink just waiting for Graham to slip. My mother glared from the corner, and of course, mysiblings were all present to witness the world’s greatest love tragedy unfold right in front of them.
I placed my hand on his chest and gently pushed back, reluctantly. “I know.” I double-tapped his chest, right over his heart. “If things were different…”
“What’s going on, Maggie?” Hunter stepped in close, appearing flushed.
Graham removed his hand from the small of my back. “She was just thanking me for her gifts.”
“That so?” Hunter pulled me to him and sipped from his tumbler.
“Graham made this—isn’t it beautiful?” I said, pushing the male owl so it bobbled around the female.
He finished his drink in one gulp. “You’re enthralled by a couple of birds? Bugger, I could have bought you something like that but better from the shop on Blanchard.”
