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“I don’t know,” he whispered in her ear. “I never thought of it before. Never had anyone to have a family with. I guess we should start with one.”
“That sounds good,” she said, laughing. “One at a time. Now keep measuring.”
“I need some lovin’ first,” he whispered, laying his measuring device down. “Let’s do it in the skiff.”
Wrapping his arms around her body, she melted against him, his attention charming her, making all her inhibitions float away, and all her common sense. Hopefully, Gus wouldn’t appear in the middle of anything.
He kissed her, their lips staying in contact as he unzipped and she pulled one leg out of her jeans, feeling like a naughty teenager. It was quick and sweet and satisfying, and they didn’t get caught. The domestic feeling took over, watching her pulling her jeans on, and he smiled. They were going to share their life, and the time to start making memories was now.
When he was finished measuring, he made an announcement. “We should get a tree for the cottage.”
“Ugh, no way. I thought we’d have the one here at the dock. Isn’t that enough?”
“No. I want to start making our own traditions, and a tree at the cottage is a place to start.”
Thinking, she didn’t want to completely shoot him down; a live tree in a house with a fireplace didn’t seem that smart.
“Can we have a tree on the porch?”
He looked up at the cottage, rubbing his chin. “That porch?”
“That porch.”What other porch is there?she thought, trying not to laugh.
“That’s an idea.”
It wasn’t what he fully wanted, but it was a compromise. For whatever reason, she didn’t want a tree in the house. Childhood memories of waking up on Christmas morning, the abundance of gifts under the tree just waiting to be opened; he wanted to recapture that feeling of excitement.
“Okay, on the porch it is. I’m finished here, so can we go to the tree farm? There’s one about thirty minutes from town. It’ll be nice and fresh.”
“I thought we’d go back in the woods here. There are places where a body can barely get by the trees are packed in so thick. We can thin out the trees and save a dime.”
“Okay, we’ll cut one down from here. That’s a great idea.”
Slowly, he was learning she didn’t like to venture too far from the cottage. He didn’t want to keep score, but it felt like she was getting her way more often than not. And not that it was a big deal, none of the things he’d suggested were a high priority.
Then he remembered that less than an hour before, he’d said he needed some loving, and in the skiff in broad daylight, she took her pants off without batting an eye. He’d give in to having a tree on the porch that they’d cut down in the woods if it made her happy. And he still got his tree.
“Can you share with me why you don’t want to have a tree? I know you’re doing one for me.”
She bit her lip, contemplating. “I’m not really even sure myself. It just might be that I’m afraid to make memories with you because if you ditch, I’ll be left with them.”
“I’m not going to ditch, Maggie. I love you. I’m in this for life.”
“Like a sentence,” she said, giggling.
“Exactly like a sentence. It’s all good, okay? You and me, together forever.”
“Do you want to look for a tree?” she asked, unwilling to venture any further into her psyche. “We can take the dogs.”
“Those white fur balls might have been a mistake. I can see them muddy and covered with burrs.”
“Ugh! Yes, forget it. I forgot all about burrs.”
They walked down the dock, and when she got close enough to the cell phone booster, her phone rang out. She pulled it out of her pocket. “It’s a text from Kelly.”
I might have a family for Mindy and Marco! Can they come by to see the pups? They’ll be in a boat and can come as soon as you say.
“Perfect timing. Kelly has a family to adopt the fluff balls. They’ll come by boat to take a look at them as soon as we agree.”
