AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Closing my eyes, I leaned into the crook of his neck and breathed him in. “I don’t know. I say we take it one step at a time, day by day. All I know is that I want to be with you.”
“Does this mean you’re keeping your grandmother’s house?” he asked, his voice sounding more hopeful than unsure.
I leaned back and turned my head so I could see his expression. His eyes were so full of emotion that it made my heart swell with a mix of excitement and calming contentment. Thankfully, I didn’t need to make any immediate decisions about Hide Away by the Sea; I wanted to keep it for now.
A tear escaped down my cheek, and I wiped it away with a trembling hand. “I’m going to keep the house for now.” Jensen’s face lit up and it made me chuckle. “But it would be great if you could check on it every once in a while. I’m sure my parents will do the same. Until we figure out our future, I don’t want to make any decisions on the house.”
Jensen released a relieved sigh, his face lighting up with sheer joy. “I’ll be happy to watch over it, Everleigh.”
For the first time in my life, everything felt so right, like all the pieces of life were finally fitting together perfectly. Jensen and I were on the same path. He stood and helped me to my feet, his body so close to mine that his warmth surrounded me.
“We’re going to make this work,” he promised.
I nodded. “Yes, we will.”
His lips closed over mine. “You’re finally mine, and I’m going to hold on with everything I got.”
“That’s good,” I whispered, “because I don’t want you ever to let go.”
24
JENSEN
SIX WEEKS LATER
“Thank you for having us over for dinner,” Everleigh called out, waving at Seth and Trisha, who were standing by their front door. Amelia was swaddled in a blanket in Trisha’s arms.
“Anytime,” Trisha said, grinning wide. “We’ll do it again when you come back into town. We might even have to let the guys watch the baby so we can have a girl’s night with Nyla.”
Over the past few weeks, Everleigh, Trisha, and Nyla had all gotten close. Seth focused on me and waved. “See ya bright and early, Captain!” he shouted.
It was already the first week of August; the summer had passed by way too fast. My crew and I were leaving first thing in the morning to take over Daniel’s job. It was going to take us about five days to procure all the fish we needed. Sadly, Everleigh was scheduled to leave the day before I was supposed to get back.
Tonight was our last night together and I was determined to make the most of it. Everleigh and I hopped in my Bronco and headed back to my house. She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, her brows furrowed with worry.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, glancing back and forth from her to the road.
She kept her focus on her phone. “I’m just looking up this hurricane coming up through the Dominican.”
I’d already been on top of that. The projected path was expected to veer off to the right, not even coming close to the coast. Reaching over, I took her phone and set it in the center console.
“Stop stressing. My guys and I will be fine, I promise. We might get a little bit of rough seas, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
When we arrived at the house, we went inside and she followed me to the bedroom so I could pack some clothes. Everleigh sat on the bed and watched me, and I could see a bit of sadness in her eyes even though she tried to hide it. We’d spent the last six weeks together, and now we had to go to seeing each other every two weekends.
“How long do you think it’ll take to find a job out this way?” I asked, stuffing a few T-shirts and shorts into my bag.
She’d been looking for weeks now, and the closest position was at UNC-Chapel Hill. But, unfortunately, that was almost three hours away, which wouldn’t work for us; we needed something closer. But then again, three hours was better than thirteen, which was what it took to drive from Boston to here.
Everleigh sighed and laid back on the bed. “I don’t know. I’m being patient, though. The job at Chapel Hill would be amazing, but I don’t want to accept it and then something else opens up closer to home.”
“But what if you miss the chance at Chapel Hill?” I replied.
With a heavy sigh, she lifted on her elbows to look at me. “That’s the problem. I’m going to hold out just a little bit longer.”
Once I was done packing, I laid down beside her and pulled her into my arms. “It’s going to be rough until we get used to everything,” I murmured, kissing the top of her head. “We’ll just do what we’ve been planning on. You’ll come visit me in two weeks, and then I’ll head up to Boston two weeks after that.”
Everleigh turned around in my arms, her eyes searching mine. “I’ve gotten so used to being with you every day. I’m not ready for tomorrow morning.”
