Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35740 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35740 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
I huff a laugh, tilting my head up. “You’re a menace.”
“I try.”
There’s a pause. Just enough silence to let the air cool around us, to let it get soft again.
“I love you, you know that?”
He shifts so he’s looking straight at me, his hand still resting over my spine like a grounding wire.
“I love you too, baby girl. More than I ever thought I had the capacity for.”
“Even when I’m old and gray and I forget the lyrics to every song I’ve ever taught a kid?”
“Especially then. You’ll be sexy and sassy and still making up lyrics on the spot.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re biased.”
“I’m obsessed,” he corrects. Then he cups my cheek like he’s memorizing me all over again. “You gave me everything. A family. A home. A reason to believe happy endings weren’t just for other people.”
I press my forehead to his. “You saved me first. Not just physically. I didn’t even realize how lonely I was until you bandaged up my knee and made me call you when I got home.”
“We saved each other,” he rumbles. “Kicking and screaming, probably. But we did it.”
The forest rustles. Somewhere in the distance, a bird makes a sound like a broken squeaky toy. It’s not perfect. It’s real.
“Think Legend’s gonna be a singer?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
“With a voice like that?” Colt’s arms tighten around me. “That boy could be anything he wants. Firefighter, astronaut, world-famous yodeler.”
I snort. “Just as long as he doesn’t want to be a YouTuber who reviews slime.”
“We’ll redirect him,” Colt says, dead serious. “Gently. But firmly.”
“We’ll be there no matter what, though. All of us. The whole insane, waffle-obsessed, boot-wearing, loud-mouthed Boone family.”
“Wouldn’t trade ’em for the world,” he says, brushing his lips across my hairline.
As we drive home into the night, windows down, the wind soft against my face, I think about how far we’ve come. From that first awkward fall on his pathway to a night spent making questionable decisions on a mountain road under the stars.
We didn’t stumble into this life.
We built it.
Brick by brick. Argument by argument. Kiss by kiss.
It’s not perfect. It’s messy and loud and sometimes exhausting as hell.
But it’s ours.
And it’s just getting started.