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He pulled back, his hands on my cheeks. “Are you crying?”
I rolled my eyes and waved my hand before reaching up to dab my eyes. “Ignore me. I don’t know what my deal is.”
“I believe we’re the exception, Firefly,” he said, pulling me closer to him again. “We’re this goodbecauseit’s true. And it’s easy and wonderful because the feelings between us have already lasted forever and they always will.”
My breath was shaky as I exhaled and when he kissed me, the tears spilled over, and he kissed them away. It was a few minutes before we came up for air and when we did, he studied me for any sign of lingering doubt. Satisfied with what he saw, he kissed me one more time.
“Now, where can I take you so we can test out your bump theory?” he asked.
I laughed. “Uh…my house is out this late in the afternoon and my guess is yours is too. I heard Wyatt say he had friends coming over, so it’s probably chaotic over there.”
“The pond?”
My eyes lit up and I started nodding. “Yes…”
Again, with his smirk, and this time, I met him head-on with one of my own.
“Damn,” he said, trying to discreetly adjust himself before he opened the truck door. “How fast can we get there?”
Still in this dream state, I tuck the pillow under my head, my nerve endings on alert from the way Theo’s hands felt on me in the dream. My mind goes back to a couple mornings ago, when I woke up with him between my legs, his mouth and tongue working their magic.
My body feels feverish, the pulse between my legs as if he’s still right there, sucking me like I’m his favorite thing in life. A noise nearby startles me, and I open my eyes, disoriented when I see Dakota watching me from the bed across from mine.
I rub my face, feeling out of sorts as I try to reel in where we are and what’s going on. The dreams felt so real, I expected to reach out and feel Theo next to me.
Marlow’s eyes open and she stares at the ceiling, stretching her arm out.
“Mornin’, peanut. How are you feeling?” I whisper to Dakota.
Her eyes are not as glazed as they were yesterday, which is such a relief. She smiles and wipes her nose with her fist.
“Why are we here, Auntie Sof?” she asks.
“We’re on our way to Colorado. You’ll get to see where I live. Do you remember going for a drive last night?”
She nods, her lips puckering in thought. “I was so sleepy.”
I glance at Marlow, who is looking at me now, and I make a sad face. “She sayssleepynow instead ofthleepy…”
Marlow spoons Dakota and pretends to cry. “I know,” she wails. “She’s growing so fast. I can’t believe it.”
“I’m nottoobig yet,” Dakota says, her sweet voice nasally from being sick. She opens her mouth and her eyes close as she sneezes several times back-to-back. “I’m still your little girl, Mama,” she says, looking over her shoulder at Marlow.
Marlow’s lips wobble as she tries not to cry for real this time. “You’re just right, Kota,” she says softly. “And you’ll always,alwaysbe my little girl even when you’re all grown up.” She looks at me and rolls her eyes. “Prepare yourself. I might be a sniveling mess for a while.”
“You be whatever you need to be,” I tell her. “I think I’ve cried just about every day since going back to Landmark and you know that’s not my norm. At first it was because it was so hard, but now…I’m just so…happy. I want that for you too, so much.”
Marlow sniffs and wipes the tears from her cheeks, and Dakota turns to look at her again, frowning.
“Why you cryin’, Mama?”
“These are mostly all good tears,” Marlow says. “Our Auntie Sof is happy and that is the best feeling, and we’re on our way to Colorado together for a new adventure…”
“Daddy made you sad though?” Dakota turns and faces her mom and Marlow puts her arms around her, pulling her into a hug.
There goes Marlow’s hope that Dakota was too sick to remember everything that happened yesterday.
Dakota might only be four, but she’s an incredibly perceptive child. I’m probably biased since I was there the day she was born, and until I moved to Landmark, I was with her and Marlow practically every day, but even before she started talking, her dark brown eyes were taking it all in.
