AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Anise, Grier,” Mabel starts, “this is Jonah.”
“Hey, it’s nice to finally meet you,” I tell them and they both smile.
“You too. Mabel hasn’t been able to stop talking about you,” Grier says and I start to relax.
“Guys, this is Mabel. Mabel, this is my cousin Ledger and his wife Tilly, Alder and Myra, Magnolia and Graham, Wells, Snow, and their twins Micah and Rome, and that’s Rhodes and Rory.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Rory says as I pull out a chair across from her for Mabel.
“You too. I love your dress!”
And just like that, dinner is off to a great start. Mabel charms all of my friends and I can’t help but fall a little more in love with her as I watch her help Snow and Wells with their kids. Seeing her with a baby in her arms solidifies all of my fantasies of her having my babies, and I know in that moment that I can’t live my life without her.
I don’t know what I did to deserve her, but I’m grateful to have her here now by my side.
“What about you, Jonah?” Grier asks and I blink, trying to tear my eyes away from Mabel.
“Sorry, what was the question?”
She just smiles at me, obviously knowing why I was distracted.
“Did you come from a big family?” she asks and I shift in my chair.
“Kind of. I mean, it was just me, my big brother, and my parents, but I had quite a few aunts, uncles, and cousins.”
“I was the best one of the cousins,” Ledger interrupts and I laugh.
“He’s right about that,” I admit.
“Do you see them often?” Anise asks and I shake my head.
“Not really. We were never super close, and I guess we only drifted apart once I joined the military and got stationed so far away from them.”
“Oh, that’s right! I forgot that you were in the military. Marines, right?” Anise asks and I nod.
“Yeah.”
I leave it at that and I don’t know if she picks up on my less than enthusiastic tone or if maybe Mabel has said something to her, but she quickly changes the subject.
“How are you liking Fallen Peak?”
“I love it here actually.”
“So you’re going to stay in town then?” she asks and I nod.
“Yeah, I’m staying,” I say, looking back to Mabel.
She’s watching me and she grins when our eyes meet.
“I’m not giving him back,” she whispers to me, nuzzling Romer closer to her chest and I grin.
“Wells and Snow might have something to say about that,” I remind her and she sighs.
She looks back to the baby and I see it then. There’s pure longing as she looks down at his little face. She wants a baby and a family and I aim to give her both of those things.
“Do you have a big family?” I ask her, and she shakes her head.
“No, I was an only child.”
