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A few days afterward, Dani got an invitation to Rusty’s baby shower, and a few days after that, she and Aaron went to a family wedding.
From then on, wherever they went, she was introduced first as Aaron’s girl and then by name, and she loved it. She’d gone from years of having no family to inheriting a mountain full of people who’d taken her into the fold.
It was Saturday, which should have been Aaron’s day off, but he’d switched with another officer who needed to attend a family funeral, which meant the day of surprises he’d planned for Dani had to wait.
On Monday, she would be going to school to open her classroom and meet her principal, and he’d be back at work. It would mark the beginning of the hectic reality of their lives—not always being off on the same days and limiting their time together even more. But she was excited, and he was happy she was happy, and so he’d shifted all his special plans to tomorrow.
By the time Aaron left the precinct, clouds were gathering, and he was tired all the way to his bones. He’d spent the entire shift dealing with entitled tourists, shoplifters, underage drinkers, and one elderly man who’d become turned around and lost his way. None of it had been serious, but he’d used up all of his patience and then some. Then the sight of the little house liftedhis spirit, and when he pulled into the garage and parked, all the hassle of his day fell away.
He was home.
He walked into the house to the aroma of good things cooking. He was guessing meat loaf in the oven and something chocolate on the counter when Dani came flying into the kitchen, meeting him with a hug and a kiss.
“Welcome home, sweetheart! You look so tired. If you want to shower or rest before supper, the food will wait.”
“I showered at work, but I’d take a glass of iced tea if there’s any made, and put my feet up for a bit. I want to hear about your day.”
“Pick your seat, and I’ll get the drinks and join you,” Dani said.
He chose the sofa, kicked off his boots, and put his feet up on the hassock, then glanced out the window. The clouds were still gathering.
Dani came in with the glasses and sat down beside him. He lifted one from her hands and took a long drink before he set it aside.
“That hits the spot,” he said. “Now tell me about your day. Did your new principal ever get in touch?”
“Yes. Monday is confirmed. I meet her in the office at nine. I’ll get the keys to my room, a packet with school info, and meet some of the other elementary teachers for lunch at the Hotel Devon. It seems the hotel treats the teachers to lunch on their first school workday at the start of each new school year.”
Aaron loved the animation in her face as she talked, and the dimple action in her cheeks when she smiled. She was talking about clothes and heat and how she hoped the school had good air-conditioning, while his frustration and exhaustion kept fading.
He laughed with her in all the right places and had a fairly good idea of what she’d been saying, but his thoughts had been of what she meant to him and how she’d changed the bitter man he’d been.
There was a whole litany of phrases that fit her.
Most beautiful of women.
Healer of broken hearts.
Peacemaker.
Faithful companion.
Lover.
The person who made him whole.
Daniella Maria Owens.
But she needed a new last name, like Pope.
“Aaron? Aaron?”
He blinked. Dani was giving him that look. “What?”
She poked him on the arm then crawled into his lap. “Where did you go? I was asking if you were ready to eat, but I could tell by the look in your eyes you were elsewhere.”
He laughed as he pulled her close. “I was thinking about you and about us,” he said. “And yes, I’m hungry and everything smells so good, including you,” and nipped the side of her neck.
Dani jumped out of his lap, then grabbed their glasses.
