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“We should take her on one last walk before we head back. It’s getting late,” Lake said as he stood up and went to the other room to grab her leash. When he walked back in, he crouched down and tapped the ground in front of him. “Come here, sweet girl, you want to go on a walk?”
Mia launched herself off of me and ran over, barking at him. She squirmed so much that he had trouble getting the leash on, which made it even funnier. When he finally clipped it into place, he looked at the rest of us expectantly.
“Well, am I walking her alone?”
Not one of us protested as we got to our feet. Micah held his hand out to me as he usually did, and I put my hand in his. He curled his fingers around mine and pulled me toward the door—or really, Mia pulled us toward the door.
The night air was just cool enough to be comfortable. I took in a deep breath as we started down the road, letting Mia get some more energy out. It didn’t take her long to do her thing. Of course, she had to stop and sniff every five seconds, letting out little barks when she smelled something interesting, which seemed to be all the time.
I knew she was going to be a whole lot of work, but I was looking forward to it. Putting my energy into something other than my spiraling thoughts would be refreshing.
That and the journey Everett was sending us on. I was looking forward to playing the game at the end.
It also had me thinking of my degree more often. I only had two classes to go thanks to drowning myself in as many classes as they’d let me take.
I made a mental note to message my counselor from school about taking those classes online. The thought of leaving the guys to go back felt wrong, and I didn’t want any part of it.
None of that was important tonight. Right now I just wanted more time with them.
“Do you have a fire pit?” I asked Micah. He didn’t even question how random that was, he simply nodded.
“I picked one out last summer. We’d have to get some wood, but that could definitely be arranged.”
“If we lived in the woods by the cabin, I could just chop us some,” Riven said. “I kind of miss the rustic lifestyle.”
“Yes, because Lockwood is so modern,” Drew teased. I swear the two of them were like siblings, easily shooting barbs back and forth and not taking any of it to heart.
“What do you want with the fire pit?” Drew asked when we’d all fallen into silence again.
“There’s just something nice about a bonfire on a night like this,” I said. “I was thinking maybe we could have one when we get back. It’s still early enough, isn’t it?”
“It will give Mia a chance to get familiar with the yard,” Lake added.
“It’s not like we need to get up for work,” Riven said. “We could definitely make that happen.”
I loved that they didn’t even hesitate to give me what I wanted. It was so simple, yet it meant a lot to me. It had been a long time since anyone had cared enough to do that. Though that was partially on me for closing myself off to everyone around me.
True to their word, after a quick goodbye to Lake’s parents and a stop for some firewood at a local gas station, we were all in Micah’s backyard, loading up the fire pit as Drew and Micah pulled chairs closer.
Thanks to his fenced-in yard, Mia was running around happily while we made a circle around the fire.
It was one of those slow but impactful evenings that settled something within you. It felt like I was putting roots down in Lockwood and becoming an official part of this pack.
Drew reached out and took my hand as if he knew where my mind was going. I turned his way, and we shared a smile before the fire roared to life.
That was the night I fell in love with life again and couldn’t wait to see where it would lead me.
ChapterNineteen
Shaye
The Town Hall in Lockwood was fairly small. It was a brick building that was well-maintained but still looked older than the town itself.
One old woman was working behind the desk. We didn’t bother to disturb her since the building was open to the public.
The offices were on the left but we headed for the right where they had a small museum dedicated to town and local history.
The word ‘museum’ was definitely a stretch of the word. It was a single open room with pictures and memorabilia from the town nailed to the wall.
