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“But you love us, Dad.”
“Barely,” he groaned, then laughed. “Okay, I won’t go insane. Call Theo later and ask him to help.”
“I want Joel to be my best man. He’s…so sweet.”
“Chandler is mine, if he accepts,” Rick said, and we both watched Chandler ducking his head to hide his emotion.
“Dad…”
“Will you?”
“You know I will.”
Their love was solid, and Colby ran over to us, complaining about not being able to catch any moths. I told him, “Let them fly free, Colby. They should be able to fly.”
“Yeah, Col,” Chandler said. “They can be free to fly, but they always go home again.” Chandler looked pointedly at Rick. “Always.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Themorningwaschilly,but we’d soon work up a sweat. I left the house first after checking on Colby while he ate his cereal. Phoebe smiled at me in a funny way, and I had a feeling it was the day Rick intended to play in the woods instead of going on an actual run.
Not that she would know details, but he would assure she was okay to watch Colby for an extended period of time.
I got to the tennis court and waited for Rick there, unable to stop myself from smiling. There was a flock of birds doing loops around my stomach, and the second I saw him, jogging to me with fire in his eyes, I knew I’d guessed right.
“Hey there, fiancé.”
“Back at you,” I said. “So, this run is…just a run?”
“What else would it be?” he asked, voice overly innocent.
“You, getting me in the woods to ravage me, literally.”
“Oh! Well, there’s that, of course.”
He kissed me and waved an arm in gesture for me to take the lead.
“Try to catch me, then.”
“Oh, I need to chase you down? Well, Kama, baby.”
I grinned and whispered, “Okay. And, yeah. You do.”
I took off in a sprint, heading for Moose Trail, and I still hadn’t asked why it was called there, being there were no moose in the area. Still, I knew it the best, having run it dozens of times, and that was the only real advantage I had.
He knew the entire property, and he was a great runner. I had little chance to outrun him, but that wasn’t really the point. I just had to make it look like I did.
I glanced over my shoulder periodically, and one time he was there, then the next, he wasn’t. I thought it must have happened soon after he figured out which trail I was taking.
Everything was a blur as I ran, except for the trail ahead. I’d run it many times, sure, but it never stopped amazing me. I’d come from a place where the world looked much differently than where I’d landed. After all the cities, the faces and it was in a tiny town, far from anywhere I’d known that I found the man I was meant for.
The family I was meant for.
That weekend with both kids, the laughter and love that had been so thick in the house was the perfect time in my life, the one I’d remember always. The sound of my family, their conversations, silliness, and love, all of it would live with me as long as I drew breath.
Something else that would stay with me long after I was able to run and frolic in the woods with Rick, was his lust for life, for me, and for the things we did together. As I rounded a curve in the trail, I saw him ahead of me.
Stopped cold, my breath coming in pants, I smiled. “Short…shortcut?”
