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He shook his head and huffed, “You’re too damn right.”
“Ha! Of course I am.” I stepped into him again, began moving and then it hit me… “Holy shit, I forgot to tell you something important!”
I didn’t actually forget but I wanted to get him worked up before I revealed what I wanted to say. Plus, this way, he’d be paying closer attention.
He pressed his cheek to mine once again as we circled in place, our hips rocking back in forth with the rhythm of the music. “What? Did my agent finally get you a contract with one of the big five publishers?”
“No,” I answered. Getting a publishing contract wasn’t a do or die situation for me. I was already content with how my author career was proceeding. “It’s more important than that.”
“I’d consider that pretty damn important.”
Of course he would. He’d never been anything but traditionally published. “Not as important as this.”
As soon as he tensed with impatience, I turned my face just enough to hide my grin until I could get it under control.
“Well?” he finally prodded when I didn’t give him what he wanted right away.
I cupped the back of his neck and put my mouth to his ear so no one would overhear us. “Pay attention to what I’m about to say.”
“Rett…”
“Chase…”
“Jesus Christ,” he growled.
“I…”
He sighed, his fingers gripping my waist tighter. “You…?”
“I love you.”
His feet stopped moving abruptly and that also pulled me to a halt. We once again stood still in the middle of the dance floor.
“You’re telling me this now? Here?” His expression flip-flopped from amazed to confused to… I didn’t even know what. I couldn’t keep up with his sudden flux of emotions.
“Yes, why not?”
“You couldn’t tell me this later, after we got home?”
“Do you want me to take it back for now?”
He jerked his chin back and stared at me, a frown line now creasing his brow. “You can’t take it back now. Too late.”
“Sure I can. They’re my words. I can take them back if I want to.”
“No, Rett. That’s where you’re wrong.” Locking gazes with me, he said, “Now they’re my words and I’m not letting you have them back. Ever.”
Then he kissed me right there. In the middle of the dance floor, in the middle of The Roost, in the middle of Eagle’s Landing.
That kiss was the best ever and one neither of us would ever forget.
The sky was a blend of orange, yellow, and red as the sun began to fall behind the mountain. The higher we climbed, the more worried I got about hiking back down when we were done. Besides the threat of being attacked by carnivorous wildlife, we could twist an ankle on a rock or trip over a fallen tree.
The dogs explored ahead of us, but remained in our sights. Luckily, Onyx was a quick learner and easy to train. It helped Timber was a good teacher, too. If she ever wandered too far, his herding instinct kicked in and he got her back where she belonged.
When we finally reached the summit, I swore I lost a lung somewhere along the trail. How Chase wasn’t huffing and puffing like me, I had no clue.
I guess my workout routine wasn’t as good as his.
However, today we didn’t climb the mountain for exercise.
Around New Year’s, we had a conversation about what to do with Thomas’s ashes. Up to that point, I hadn’t been aware Chase had them in his possession. I had always assumed his husband had been buried in a cemetery back on Long Island.
It made sense that Chase wouldn’t want to leave Thomas behind and would want him with him always.
While discovering Chase still had his husband’s ashes hidden away had been a surprise, finding out he wanted to spread them on the property, surprised me even more.
We had been lying in bed late at night watching a movie about a woman coping with losing her husband to suicide when he brought it up. Being winter at the time, he mentioned about waiting until the weather turned nicer.
I was all for that recommendation since winter weather could be unpredictable. “Do you want to do it by yourself?”
It took him a few moments of considering his answer before he gave it. “I don’t know if I can.”
I appreciated the fact that he never hid how vulnerable the loss of his husband had made him. It made me love him even more. It showed he was far from cold and distant—my first impression when I met him—but instead, how extremely loyal and how deep he could love.
When he was “in,” the man was “all in.”
“Well, you don’t have to. I’ll be there for you either way. I can go to the summit with you if you want. Or I can stop along the way and let you head to the top by yourself, if you need to be alone. No matter what, I’ll be waiting for you. Whether down here at the cabin, partway up or at the top standing by your side.”
