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After taking the dogs out for the last time before we fell asleep, Rett didn’t stick Onyx back in the crate like he should have. She was now curled up with Timber in the dog bed. Both canines were snoring louder than the two-hundred pound human asleep in my bed.
I shook my head. He bought me a damn Newfoundland puppy.
It could be he thought the puppy would be a bridge for us to bond. A joint “project” for us to work on to bring us closer together.
I didn’t know. It could be Rett didn’t even know, either. However, he seemed to be pretty intuitive when it came to our relationship and what was needed.
Since I needed water and to use the toilet, I practically tip-toed toward the door. I paused when something caught my eye. The small, shallow dish I kept on my dresser to throw spare change into. It was sitting right next to our now neatly folded pile of clothes.
I ignored the change and plucked the object that grabbed my attention from the dish.
It took two weeks but Rett had finally found my wedding band using the borrowed underwater metal detector. Every day after he closed The Next Page and before we sat down to dinner together, he’d go out for at least an hour and search while I prepared our meal and kept Timber occupied so he wasn’t standing on the shore yapping non-stop at Rett being out in the lake.
Timber didn’t like to swim, so he wasn’t happy when either of us went into the water. I considered buying a small rowboat so the damn dog could be out there with us and stop his high-pitched screams from blowing out our eardrums.
Turning the ring slowly within my fingers, I studied it. I then glanced at my empty finger before turning my eyes to where Rett slept, now spread out on his back with one arm flung over his head, the other across his chest and soft snores rolling out of his gaping mouth.
Directing my attention back to the gold band, I very carefully placed it back in the dish.
I had expected the second it was back in my hands, I would immediately slide it back on my ring finger. When Rett handed it to me the evening he found it, I surprised both of us when I didn’t. I still had no plans to return it to its former spot.
Especially after tonight.
While I didn’t want to get rid of it—it was still an important symbol of my marriage with Thomas and would always hold meaning—it no longer belonged on my finger. Instead, I decided to buy a gold chain and wear it around my neck so it was always near my heart.
With one last glance back at the man in my bed, the two dogs—everything that consisted of my future—a smile grew across my face and I headed out to the kitchen.
CHAPTER 23
Rett
I could see it in his face.
I could feel it in his attitude.
He was happy. Truly happy. That alone was worth dealing with Chase during the times when he wasn’t. Thankfully, that didn’t come as often anymore.
He got to a point where he now socialized in town and everyone knew he was C.J. Anson. He’d even done a few readings at the bookstore and they were well attended.
Even better, he no longer struggled with writer’s block.
For the most part, Chase was a different man now than when he first came to Eagle’s Landing. Fresh air, small town support and a man who loved him more than he’d ever know could do that to a person.
When I suggested we attend the annual Christmas party at The Roost, surprisingly he agreed. No hemming and hawing, and no prodding was needed. I had actually slapped a hand to his forehead to check for a fever.
In response, he pushed my hand away and told me, “If that’s what you want, Rett…”
Of course that was what I wanted. I wanted to be seen in public with the man I had fallen in love with. With the man I now lived with. With the man I expected to spend the rest of my life with.
The date I “officially” moved in with him was a bit fuzzy. It just happened. Every week more and more of my stuff ended up at his place and so did Timber’s.
I decided to keep my apartment empty and not rent it out. It was a good place for us to stay if a nor’easter whipped up and buried the area in snow, or if the power went out up at the cabin for an extended period of time. The backup generator could only be used for short power outages.
Plus, keeping the apartment available gave me a place to do my baking and plenty of extra storage since the cabin was still tight quarters. Especially for two men and two big dogs. It wouldn’t be much better even after the proposed four-season room was added on next spring.
