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“Morning.”
She gave him a sleepy smile. “You were restless last night.”
“I’m sorry. Did I keep you awake?”
She shook her head. “No. Not too much. Do you want to tell me what’s wrong? Is it J.T.’s situation?”
“No. I’m not worried about that.” He rolled onto his side and faced her. “You know I was on a trip last summer when I ended up in New Mexico.”
“A yearly trip, I believe.”
“Yeah.”
“Is it time to do that? Do you want to go?”
He smiled at her. “No. I don’t need to go this year. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave you.”
She put a hand on his cheek. “Do you want to tell me about your yearly trips?”
He took a breath. “Today marks eleven years since we lost Rachel.”
“Oh, my gosh, Jake. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“For the last nine years, I’ve taken off for a month to clear my head. I went to a horse auction or two to justify the trip. But mostly I fished, hiked, and stayed away from people.”
“If you need to take that time, Jake—”
“No. I don’t. Not anymore. But I’d like to take you somewhere today.”
“Okay.”
He kissed her on the forehead, then sat up. “After breakfast.”
When they went down to the kitchen, Jacob was the only one there. He set scrambled eggs and ham in the middle of the table, put a hand on Jake’s shoulder, then left the kitchen.
Ember sat at the table and looked at Jake as he took his chair. “The kids?”
“They deal with today in their own way. I’ve been gone every year. So, they came up with their own thing. They go to breakfast at the coffee shop and order stuffed French toast and mimosas. It was Rachel’s favorite breakfast.”
“Jake, honey.”
He smiled at her. “It’s okay. Really. I’m fine.” He put scrambled eggs and ham on both of their plates. “Eat. Dad made this just for us.”
She nodded and picked up her fork. “Anything you need me to do today, I’ll do it.”
“I need you here with me. That’s all.”
They ate without talking much, and when they were finished, they brought their plates to the sink.
Ember looked at Jake. “Should we wash these?”
“We’ll do it later.” He took her hand. “Let’s take a walk.”
J.T. raised his mimosa. “To Mom.”
Sawyer and Sage both lifted their glasses, then they all took a drink.
Sawyer set his glass down. “It’s kind of weird Dad didn’t take off this year.”
