“What are you doing here?”
“I’m ready to paint that porch,” she said and beamed.
Damn, how I’d missed that smile.
On one of those first nights I’d told her I’d wait until she was ready to paint it, not knowing then how much it would mean when it finally happened.
“I’m sorry, Vaughn. I was scared. I didn’t know what to do.” I didn’t have to grab her, because she came to me. Her arms wrapped around my back so fast, so tightly. “I didn’t mean those things I said. I freaked out and I was worried about my dad being alone. And you’re so good, I thought I’d never be enough.”
I pulled away a little so I could look into her eyes. I wanted her to know I meant every word I was about to say.
“Hannah, I want all of you. Every. Single. Part. If you’re not ready to move in, fine. I’ll wait.”
Her mouth came up and met mine, and it felt like we hadn’t kissed for years. I was hungry for her, and I deepened it as she let me in.
I lifted her in my arms and knew I’d do whatever I had to do to keep her there.
“I love you, Vaughn,” she said when our kiss slowed after a few minutes. “I’m sorry I left. I won’t do that again.”
“It doesn’t matter, if you’re really back. None of that other stuff matters. I love you. We’ll figure it out as we go. No more pressure.”
I felt her hand come around to my chest.
“No. I need you to push me. I’ve been living in this town my whole life and I love it here, but it wasn’t until you came that I saw who I was. Who I wanted to be.”
Her hazel eyes were bright, so different from the last time I’d been that close to her, when she’d told me to leave on her dock. There was new clarity and the excitement I’d watched grow over the summer was back.
She said, her voice sure and proud, “I want to be with you—in this home. You’re what makes me better. Every now and again, I might need a little shove, but there is no Hannah without you.”
“This doesn’t feel like home when you’re not here.”
“Then I’ll stay.”
We didn’t get much of the porch done that morning. Our time was better spent in my bed making up for what lost time.
I showed her with my body how much I loved her, and she showed me with hers that she was mine completely.
I’d never spend another night without her, and I’d spend every day proving she was mine—and that was forever.
“You can put them on the porch, I’ll carry them upstairs in a minute. The burgers are just about done,” I said to Dean and my dad.
I slept there every night. We’d stay at the cabin, or he’d stay at my dad’s house, which wasn’t as awkward as you’d think. It took a few months—okay, three—but it was finally official moving day, and our family and friends were there helping us.
“You’ll have Vaughn carry them,” my Dad scolded.
Sunny was on her way back with more beer, and Aaron and Vaughn were in the garage setting up my new workstation for the online tackle shop. That old shed would always feel like mine, but Dad sold more than just the shop to Dean.
As of that week, he’d sold the business and the farm to him. Dad claimed he’d rather have Dean’s smaller house in town. He admitted to me he was ready to be somewhere new. Somewhere where he wasn’t waiting for my mom to always walk back through the door.
Secretly, I was glad he wasn’t going to be out there alone. Instead, he’d be living next door to Diana, who he’d invited over that evening to eat with us.
“Okay, where’s that blond with the beer? It’ll be Christmas before she finds her way back,” he teased, as Sunny walked up behind him carrying ice in one hand and a case in the other.
“Oh, I don’t know. The dumb heifer probably got lost,” she fired back.
He cackled as he took the things from her hands and headed around back.
“I never thought you’d do this, you know?” she said to me as she climbed the porch.
“Neither did I,” I admitted. Things were changing fast, and sometimes that still freaked me out, but overall I was the happiest I’d ever been.
“Those flats are cute, by the way. I might borrow them. I have a hot date next weekend.” Hell had frozen over and Sunny wanted to wear my shoes. Wonders really wouldn’t ever cease.
“I’ll think about it,” I joked, knowing I’d let her use whatever she wanted.
We walked through the house to get to the back, and Vaughn was at the sink washing up.
Sunny went ahead, but I stopped to steal a kiss and placed one on the side of his cheek.
“Everything ready, Momma?”
Yeah, you guess it, he knocked me right up. I was a stereotype, but didn’t give a shit.
After I initially freaked that morning at the cabin when we found out, it didn’t seem like the end of the world. We were in love and the news made Vaughn was so, so happy. It was hard be that happy, too.
For once, I wasn’t afraid of change anymore.
“Stop calling me that. My name is Hannah,” I argued, but secretly loved it.