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That band was going to skyrocket someday soon, and I knew I’d be their biggest fan.
When the show concluded, everyone dived into the food and dessert.
“Why did you do this?” I asked Ian as he stuffed his face with another piece of pizza.
“Because you deserved a party. You deserved a good birthday. Sorry it’s a week late.”
“It’s right on time.”
“Oh! I almost forgot your presents.” He dropped his pizza onto his plate and hurried to the corner of the room, where he grabbed a wrapped—terribly wrapped—box and held it out to me. “Wrapping isn’t my strength, but it will do. Go ahead. Open it.”
I raised an eyebrow and began unwrapping the package. When I opened the box, my eyes watered, and my chest tightened. There they were staring back at me—my combat boots. Clean as a whistle, as if they’d never stepped foot into the pigpens.
“How did you ...?” I asked.
He smirked and shrugged. “A lot of toothbrush scrubbing at first, until I found a shoe-cleaning shop. They did the hard work once I realized I couldn’t handle it myself. I know it’s kind of stupid and a cheap gift to give you something that was already yours, but—”
I shut him up by wrapping my arms around his body. “Thank you, Ian. You don’t know what this means to me. What this all means to me.”
“You deserve this, Haze. You deserve good things happening to you.”
The party continued, and I received more gifts from Big Paw and Holly. They’d given me a cell phone so I would be able to get in touch with them at any time.
“I think cell phones are the devil’s work, but Holly was determined to get you one,” Big Paw huffed. “And whatever the lady wants, she gets, so happy birthday.”
I thanked them, feeling very undeserving of everything that family had done for me. At the end of the night, after the party came to an end, Ian pulled me out of the barn house for one last surprise.
“You’ve already done enough,” I said, feeling so unworthy.
“I haven’t done nearly enough, but I hope you like this last one the best,” he said. “Now, close your eyes.” I did as he said, and he led me toward the final gift. “Okay, you can open them now.”
When I did as he said, I gasped as I looked at the formerly broken-down shed that had been fully remodeled.
“What is this?”
“Well, it’s your she-shed,” he explained. “I figured you could use a nice place to create. I know writing is a big deal for you, so I thought it would be nice. Plus, if you ever need a safe place to take a break and look up at the stars ...” He swung the door open, and I gasped as I walked inside. The ceiling was glass, and I looked up to see dozens of stars in the sky. There was a nice twin-size bed that I could lie on if I wanted to, and two Shawn Mendes posters sat against the walls, making me laugh.
“This is too much,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.
“You deserve it.”
“I can’t thank you enough.” I turned to face him. “But I have this awkward fear of staying out here alone after all those weeks ago when these guys were outside the shed.”
Ian bit his bottom lip and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Confession time—that was me and James trying to spook you to get you to come stay at the house with me.”
My jaw dropped, and I batted his arm. “Ian Parker, are you kidding me? You scared me to death that night!”
“Which was the plan ... listen, to be fair, you were stubborn as ever, and if I didn’t get you in that house, Big Paw was going to kick me out sooner than later. So, desperate times ...” He shrugged. “Trust me when I say this shed is safe.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I want to be mad at you, but also, this is the best thing I’ve ever seen, so I’ll forgive you for now.”
I moved over to the twin bed and lay down to look up at the stars. I patted the spot next to me, and Ian joined me.
The bed was tiny, and our bodies were pressed together just to keep Ian’s big, broad frame from falling off the mattress.
“Here, let me see your cell phone,” he said, reaching for it. He programmed his cell number into it and then sent himself a message. “Now I can send you annoying text messages that make you roll your eyes.”
“Oh joy,” I joked, but secretly I loved the idea.
