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Interdependence required these terrifying acts of faith. She kept reminding herself to practice trust, to believe that Caleb would deserve it. He hadn’t let her down yet, and the longer they were together, the more deeply she believed that he never would. That no matter what missteps either of them made, he’d never fracture her trust irrevocably.
Caleb and Henry walked back up the driveway, Caleb dragging the tarp behind him, and Ellen heard the familiar rumble of the garage door going up. She set her tea down and stood, knowing he’d need help folding the tarp to put it away. “Go grab the big rake for me, okay, buddy?” Caleb asked Henry.
“No.”
“Do it now, and I’ll give you fruit snacks when we get inside.”
Henry smiled and ran off to get the rake. It was clear across the yard, which made its retrieval a big job, but Henry would do just about anything for fruit snacks.
“You shouldn’t bribe him,” Ellen said, picking up one end of the tarp.
“I just wanted a minute with you. I haven’t talked to you all day.”
It was true, more or less. Henry had a tendency to insert himself into every con
versation she tried to have with Caleb. He adored Caleb, but he hated having to compete for Ellen’s attention. She kept hoping he’d get over it, but so far, no luck.
Thank God for Maureen.
“Are we shaking this out?” she asked.
“Yep. Close your eyes.”
She did, holding tight to the corners and letting Caleb do the shaking. Her arms rode along as passengers. When she opened her eyes, she saw leaf litter in Caleb’s hair and smiled. “Am I covered in leaves, too?”
“You have some in your hair.” He brought his hands together to fold the tarp lengthwise, and Ellen did the same.
They flipped the tarp flat, and Caleb walked toward her to match the ends. When he got close, their fingers met, and he handed over his corners of the tarp while his mouth moved over hers in a long, slow, lazy kiss that made her wish Henry’s bedtime were a whole lot sooner.
“Any chance I tired him out enough that you can put him to bed early?” Caleb asked.
“Not unless you want to get up with him at five in the morning.”
Caleb wrapped his hand around the back of her head and kissed her again, pulling her close enough to crush the tarp between them. This kiss wasn’t so slow and lazy. This kiss dissolved her inner thighs. “Tonight,” he said.
“Tonight,” she agreed. “We’ll make it good.”
“We always make it good.”
“But this time you raked my leaves, so I’ll make it extra good.”
He smiled. “I didn’t do that for sex, but I’ll take it.”
“I know you will.” She knew why he’d done it, too. The leaves had been another item in their protracted wedding negotiations.
She glanced over at Henry. He was walking backward, holding on to the rake with both hands and dragging it toward them, grunting in a pantomime of grown-up effort.
“I’ve been thinking about what I owe you,” she said when Caleb released her. She made the final fold of the tarp against her stomach and started walking toward the garage. “About setting a date.”
Caleb was right at her heels. “And?” He caught her shoulder and spun her around.
“I’m thinking end of February.”
“That’s an interesting choice. Can I ask …”
“I’m thinking Jamaica,” she added.
That put a smile on his face. “Ah. Jamaica gives a whole different spin to February.”
