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“Okay. What else?”
I was beginning to think Forrest had something he wanted me to say that I hoped to get for my birthday, but the truth was that I didn’t want for anything.
“I have you, Forrest. I really don’t need anything else. And I know you understand that, because you said the same about being able to spend your birthday with me.”
Nodding, he returned, “Fair point.”
“Why do I get the feeling you have something you’re hoping I’d say I was wishing for?”
“I don’t know. I guess maybe I’m gearing up for your next birthday, trying to figure out how I can make it feel just as special for you.”
The fact he believed we’d still be together next year was already enough of a birthday gift. Instead of saying that, I replied, “Well, maybe, assuming we’re still together then, I’d love to think I will have developed a better relationship with all the girls. It might be nice for us to have a celebration by ourselves, and then be able to do something fun with them.”
Forrest nodded his understanding. “I think one word about that to Avalon could make it happen. She lives for stuff like that.”
I laughed. “Yeah. She does, doesn’t she?”
“Alright, so I do have a gift for you to open,” he finally revealed.
My eyes widened. “Really?”
A moment later, he pulled out a small, wrapped box and slid it across the table toward me.
I was going to cry before I even opened the box. Not wanting to be a complete mess, I blinked my eyes rapidly.
“It’s just something small, Daisy. I thought it was perfect for us. Open it.”
I lifted the box from the table and began removing the wrapping. This felt so surreal. Once the paper was gone, I pulled the lid off the top of the white box. There was a velvet wrapped jewelry box that made me think a necklace would be inside.
I poured that out onto my palm, flipped it over, and opened the jewelry box. What I saw inside made it even more difficult to hold back the tears.
When I lifted my gaze to Forrest’s, he said, “In case you ever get lost and don’t know your way home, I thought that would help.”
Attached to a delicate silver chain was a charm with a compass on it.
Maybe in his eyes this was something small, but it wasn’t to me. It was the best gift anyone had ever given me.
“Of all the traveling I had planned to do in order to figure out where to put down roots, nothing would have come close to Steel Ridge. And that’s because of you. There’s not a chance I’ll ever forget where home is for me, Forrest. Thank you so much for this.”
“You’re welcome, sunshine.”
Forrest stood, took the necklace from me, and put it around my neck. Then he bent down and kissed my cheek before returning to his seat.
Our waitress arrived with our dinner salads, and when she took off again, I said, “You know, this necklace really is the perfect gift.”
“What makes you say that?”
I lifted my fork in my hand, speared through my salad, and focused my attention on Forrest. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last few days while you were at work. I think I’m ready to start figuring out what I want to do with the rest of my life.”
Confusion washed over his face. “What do you mean? I thought you liked going places and trying out new things all the time. Are you telling me you don’t want to do that anymore?”
“I’m not saying I never want to travel or try new things. I think I’ll always want to do that. But when I was doing it before, it was a means to an end. I was searching. I was looking for love. I was looking for you. Now that I’ve found you, now that I know where home is, I need to figure out what I want to do with myself. I don’t want to sit around all day doing nothing while you’re at work.”
The confusion was gone, and warmth flooded his features. “Do you have any ideas as to what you think you’d like to do?”
I let out a laugh. “Not a clue.”
“Well, we’ve got some time now. I’m happy to help you brainstorm.”
