Page 108 of Home Is Where You Are

“I’d never do that to you. I’d only do that to Holden.” I laughed because every time I had a movie night with Holden, I always chose some romance movie. The last one being The Notebook, where I happily told everyone he cried at the ending. My brothers and Gentry didn’t let him live it down for weeks.

I placed the photo on the mantle above the fireplace and stood back to admire the beauty of it. Just as I thought it would be, it was the perfect addition. Now every time we entered the home, we had a memento to remember our beautiful baby girl.

Gentry admired my placement of the painting and told me just how perfect it looked.

We settled on the couch, and I picked an action movie. Gentry covered us with a blanket, and the world never felt righter as I laid in the arms of the man I never thought I’d have in my life again, but I knew one thing for certain. I’d never let him go again, no matter what life threw our way.

thirty-three

AINSLEIGH

Today had gone by surprisingly fast.

I’d accomplished a lot with Loretta, and felt more confident about taking over her position.

We’d spent the day with her shadowing me, and while I’d made a few errors that were easily corrected, she praised me for how quickly I’d picked everything back up.

I’d even used the drone and made a few videos that I’d discussed with my dad and updated our social media and websites. The videos were getting positive comments and were gaining traction, which made me feel even more accomplished.

Just as I was shutting down the computer for the day, I heard the office door open.

“Hey there, butterfly. You just about done?” Gentry asked as he stood in the doorway.

I scanned the room one last time making sure I hadn’t missed anything and grabbed my bag.

“I’m ready,” I said as I turned to face him, giving him a big smile. I walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss before I set the alarm.

We walked hand in hand out the door over to Gentry’s truck that he’d left running.

“Happy looks good on you, butterfly,” Gentry said with a laugh as he put the truck in drive.

“Words can’t describe how good it feels to be truly happy and not faking it ’til I make it,” I confessed as I looked over at him. He came to a stop at the end of the drive and looked over in my direction. So much love stared back at me, but I didn’t question it. Instead, I embraced it.

“You want pasta for dinner?” I asked, suddenly starving from the busy day.

“That sounds great. We can finish anything you didn’t get to yesterday as dinner cooks,” he suggested. He knew me so well.

A couple of minutes later, we pulled into the driveway of my new home.

He shut off the truck, and got out. I made sure I waited until he rounded the front and opened my door for me.

He smiled at me as he held out his hand to help me down. I took his hand and grinned at him as I got out. He shut the door behind me and we walked over to the porch. My steps faltered as I looked over to the porch swing. I couldn’t wait to have a lazy night out here with Gentry just taking in the sounds and the night sky.

“What’s on your mind, butterfly?” he asked as he looked over at me.

“Just thinking of our future here,” I confessed, excited at the mention of having a future with this amazing man.

“Good thoughts I hope,” he replied with a wink.

“The best thoughts,” I countered as we continued our walk up the steps and into the house.

I hung my bag on the hook by the door and walked into the kitchen.

Grabbing a pot from the cabinet, I filled it with water and placed it on the stove. I turned the burner on high and sprinkled some salt in.

Gentry walked up behind me and caged me in, his hands on either side of me gripping the stove handle.

“I love seeing you back here,” he said as he kissed the side spot where my shoulder and neck met.