AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“My happiness is worth fighting for. And no one should have the power to control or manipulate it but me. I love you, Kate. You make me happy.”
“You make me happy too,” I admit.
“Wanna know what else would make me happy?”
“What?”
“If we took our pizza to go and spent the night in my bed.”
My cheeks pinch from smiling so hard. “I think that sounds pretty perfect.”
He leans in for another kiss. “Me too.”
EPILOGUE
MACKLIN
She looks beautiful standing on the stage in her black cap and gown, the dark red tassel hanging by her cheek.
Kate didn’t want to walk today. Didn’t think it was worth the fanfare or the time I asked off work so I could be here. But my girl’s graduating with a Master’s degree in biochemistry. If that isn’t worth celebrating, I don’t know what is.
It’s been a few months since her medication was changed, and her grades skyrocketed soon after. She wants to become a pharmacologist. Wants to help people. People like herself. People with chronic diseases who deserve medicine to help them live their best lives without side effects screwing them over. And she’s going to crush her internship at ModernLabs this summer.
I took the job Buchanan offered me. And as Kate promised, she’s been nothing but supportive. Not sure how we’re going to handle me traveling so much. I already miss her, and she’s thirty feet in front of me. She's adamant we’ll figure it out once the hockey season starts in the fall, and I know we will.
Placing my thumb and forefinger between my lips, I whistle loudly as Kate takes her diploma from the dean. Her parents cheer beside me, clapping their hands while their only child gives them a half-wave from the center of the stage before finding her seat again.
The rest of the graduation ceremony crawls by at a snail’s pace until hats are tossed into the air and a blanket of unbridled enthusiasm falls over the crowd.
Afterward, we go to dinner with Kate’s parents, and I drop them off at their house. Then, we head to my place. Kate’s been staying with me more days than she stays at home. But we haven’t made anything official. Yet. I haven’t wanted to rush her.
She’s still young.
She still has hopes and dreams. Things she wants to do. Places she wants to go. And I want to support her through all of it. But I’m not one who likes to play games, and the idea of not being with her, of not claiming her, is more than I can stomach now that she’s graduated and we’re starting the next chapter of our lives.
Kate’s head bobs slightly to the music as my car climbs up the mountain. It’s warmer now, and her creamy thighs tease me, her baby blue knee-length dress riding up in the passenger seat. I reach over and squeeze her leg, her skin warm beneath my touch.
These fucking thighs. Pretty sure they’ll be the death of me.
She smiles, looking at the trees lining the road. “It’s pretty out here. The full trees. The sunset. The ambiance. I can’t decide if I like the view more in winter or spring.”
I take in the skyline peeking through the trees on the side of the mountain. “Yeah. It’s something else.”
“Have you decided what you want to do with the place?” she asks.
When I accepted Buchanan’s offer, I debated whether to put the house up for sale and find a more central location. But Kate hated the idea of all my hard work being sold to the highest bidder. Part of me thinks she knows how much I love this place. Part of me thinks she loves it as much as I do and would be sad to see it go. Part of me wonders if all those assumptions are nothing more than wishful thinking on my part. Guess I’ll find out soon enough.
“I haven’t decided what I’m gonna do yet,” I tell her. “Still looking at all my options.” I drive around the final bend, and the house comes into view. The wood beams and large windows combined with the gray stone siding make the green trees surrounding the driveway even brighter somehow. Even more beautiful. More serene. More saturated. I can’t believe how much the foliage has grown over the past year. Hell, the giant pines and sequoias have practically swallowed the yard whole, making the home look like it’s always belonged here. Like it was made to be here.
“I’m still saying you should keep it,” she murmurs. “You love this house.”
“I do.” I pull into the driveway but don't open the garage door as I shove the car into park. “The question is…do you love it?”
She turns to me, her brows pinched. “You know I love your house.”
“And if I wanted it to beourhouse?” I probe.
Disbelief paints her features as she stares at me, those stormy gray eyes more turbulent than ever. “What are you saying?”
