Page 23 of His to Unwrap
With a final nod, I release him and step out into the bright spring morning. I know better than anyone that some injuries can’t be seen. I worry that his run too deep to be healed. But as my wife reminds me, I thought that about myself once. It’s been two weeks since I had a spell of fatigue. The longest I’ve ever gone. Maybe my brain is finally healing.
I know my heart has.
I make the short drive back to the cabin and pull into the drive, eager to see my wife. I barely get my truck door open before a ball of white and gray fluff launches into my lap to lick my face.
“Dammit Cooper. Stop that.” His wiggly body is practically dancing in my lap and one foot goes into my coffee cup, crushing the lid and dousing his foot. The dog’s licking doesn’t stop for a minute. Scooping him up, I climb out of the cab and wipe his coffee paw off with a corner of my flannel, before setting him on the ground.
Coop gives me a goofy doggy grin and does a little dance.
“You’re a menace.” I dump the coffee out and chuck it in the garbage can when I get in the house. Coop barrels past for his favorite spot by the fire.
“And that’s it. Just five ingredients and fifteen minutes are all you need for this simple, but delicious meal!” Madison finishes her spiel and I hear her turn the camera off.
Her smile is wide when I enter the kitchen. There’s a delicious looking stir fry on the counter, and next to it, a pink and purple mug with Madison and Amanda’s names on it. It might be the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen, but they won it by guessing Sasha’s secret mocha recipe. Thankfully there’s only one, so they swap weeks with it like a custody case.
The viral video she made that night we were snowed in turned into a weekly social media post. Her fans have tripled and companies are even sending her cookware to use.
“Beautiful job, angel.” I pull her in for a kiss, and like always, my blood heats.
She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me again. “Did Anson arrive?”
“Yes. He’s all set.”
“How was it seeing him again?”
“He’s changed. He was always quiet, but this time, I sensed some deep emotions in him. I can only hope that he’ll find what he needs while fixing up his cabin, like I did.”
“He has you, Everett and Caleb now. He will.”
My heart swells with love for this woman. Like her parents and my grandparents, we met and fell in love in a matter of days. In keeping with their traditions, I convinced her to marry me within the month. I also returned with her to New York long enough to pack what little she wanted to keep and sell the rest. She’s deepened her friendships with Harmony, Lacey, and Sasha, and of course her best friend Amanda is happy to have her close.
Life changed for both of us when we found White Falls, and we’ve never been happier.
I pull Madison back in for another deep, lingering kiss. Now that her video is recorded, maybe I can help her celebrate in our bed.
“Mmm,” she hums. “Excellent idea. Before I get you naked though, I need your opinion on one of the guest rooms.”
She’s been helping me fix the cabin here and there, especially with decorating. That old, brown tweed couch from the 1980s was finally replaced.
Madison leads me to the smaller room that we’ve used for storage. “I was looking at this room earlier and had a thought,” she says.
It’s really too small to be a regular guest room. I think it must have been a child’s room when the cabin was used as a vacation home. “Are you thinking an office?”
She shakes her head. Taking my hand, she wraps it around her and places it on her stomach, her back flush to my front as we stand in the doorway. “I was thinking a nursery.”
My heart stops in my chest, then slams against my ribs. “A baby?”
She turns in my arms. “What do you think? Want to be a daddy?”
“Yes.” Until Madison, I hadn’t considered it. But my shitty parents aside, we both had good role models. Any kids we have will be loved. “Are you…?”
“I think I’m late on my cycle. Maybe we should go upstairs and keep trying.”
I cup her neck, feathering my thumb over her jaw the way I know she likes. “Anything for you, angel. I’m yours.” I kiss her, telling her with my body how much I love her. Now and forever.