Six Months (38 page)
Austin filled Trevor in on the formalities of joining the pack. Paperwork had to be signed in front of local Packmasters, but as far as he was concerned, Trevor could move in that night.
I had a fresh start with my life—a new beginning. No strings holding me back or tying me down. No financial burdens, no debt. Anything was possible. Not only that, but for the first time in my life, I felt a sense of belonging. I began to see what a functional family was all about—something I’d never thought I could have with someone who wasn’t a blood relative. Reno paid for my mother to have a headstone, and I buried my remorse along with her.
Reno never questioned my relationship with Maddox, and when I’d tried to broach the topic last night in bed, he slipped his arms around my waist, nuzzled his face against the back of my neck, and told me to go back to sleep. He didn’t want an explanation. Maybe I’d never find out why it didn’t matter to him, but part of me liked having someone in my life who accepted my past. The only thing he had said to me on the matter was that a mistake was something you regretted. I gave it a lot of thought, and I didn’t regret my time with Maddox. What I did regret was not having told someone early on about Sanchez, although I’m not sure it would have made much of a difference. No one leads a perfect life. I accepted the fact it wouldn’t be the last mistake I’d ever make. But that was okay. I wouldn’t have to go through it alone.
After dinner, the porch swing rocked back and forth and I curled up against Reno. I threw my legs over his lap and he wrapped a flannel blanket around us. After he took a long sip of his coffee, he set the mug down on a small table to his right.
“Got something for you,” he said, breaking the silence. He reached beside him and handed me a box.
“Wait, I thought we weren’t going to exchange gifts?”
He smiled and it pushed creases in his cheeks as he looked out into the darkness. “It’s technically not a gift.”
“Funny, it looks like a gift to me.” The box was green with a felt exterior and I smoothed my fingers around the lid. When I opened it, I stared at a glass orb. “Oh, this is so…”
When I lifted it out of the box my breath caught.
“I managed to salvage one of the snow globes after the fire. The firemen put out the flames and while you were being treated, I went back to survey the scene. It was damaged, but I know a guy who’s real good with his hands. He couldn’t save the glass, but he refinished the base and touched up the inside.”
I shook it and watched tiny flecks of snow swirl about the scene with a man walking through the woods with a child on his shoulders. What could I possibly give this man that could match the sentimental value of this gift? I placed the globe gingerly in the box and Reno set it on the table. My heart constricted and I’d never felt more devotion toward someone—more genuine respect—than I did for the Shifter sitting beside me.
“I wanted to save it as a surprise,” he said, as if it were no big deal.
“Reno?”
“What is it, princess?”
I adored that he called me that. Even more, I adored the bookshelf he had built for me that morning and put in the bedroom as a surprise.
“I want to tell you something important.”
He cleared his throat, tucked his arm around my back, and continued pushing the swing with the heel of his boot. “Already told you, I don’t need to know about Maddox.”
“No, you need to know this,” I said in a serious voice.
I could barely make out his eyes as he stopped rocking and glanced down. “I’m all ears.”
That put me on the spot. “Is this forever?”
His rough hand cupped my cheek and a kiss melted against my lips, warm against the chilly air. I could taste the coffee on his breath and I wrinkled my nose. He chuckled and said, “I think I need to get you fitted for a helmet so you can ride with me in the spring when it gets warmer.”
“Is that a yes?”
His knuckles grazed my neck and outlined my breast, traveling down to my lap where my cold hand was tucked between my legs. “I don’t know what forever is, April. I don’t even want to think about the finish line while I’m in the race, because that’s the end, and I don’t want this to end. If that means forever, then yeah.”
“So maybe it’s time that I tell you.”
He didn’t blink and I could almost hear his heart pounding. So I gripped his hand and leaned in close, my forearms against his chest and my fingers touching his smooth jaw.
“I love you. That’s a big deal because I’ve never told that to another man except for Trevor. My heart is the only gift I have to give to you. I love this life we have, and this future…”
Holy smokes, I was crying
. Tears streamed down my face. As much as I’d rehearsed that moment in my head, it never involved tears or having to rub my runny nose.
“I just want you to know that it’s a big deal for me not to just share my
life
with you, but my heart. Every piece of it, even the broken ones. I can’t give you kids—not just because we
can’t
have children together, but because that’s not what I want in life. My past is something I’ll never shake free of, and maybe some people can get over it and move forward, but that’s not the life for me. You have to be okay with that because if you want a family, I don’t want to deny you of it.”
Reno sat up, grabbed my legs, and turned me so that I was straddling him. He wrapped the blanket around my back and slipped his arms around my waist.
“Just so we have a few things straight, princess, I’m turning your old bedroom into a reading room. When our pack gets bigger and we have to give up the room, then the lounge downstairs will be your library and you’ll have your own time where you can close the door and no one will bother you. I’ll put locks on the damn door if I have to. You’re also going to learn to ride a motorcycle, because bikes are my life and I want to share that with you. Even if it’s just taking a spin around the property, I want you to learn to handle something powerful without fear. I’m also going to show you a little self-defense because women should know how to take care of themselves.”
I kissed his cheek as he spoke, making my way to the other side.
“Like I said a while back, we’re done with all the belts and tying up. Obviously we both like to be in control, but we can work out our needs together. I still work as a PI, and if I have to leave town, then Trevor is going to look after you. If it’s something serious, you see Austin.”
Wow, he was getting serious with the talk. I told him I loved him, and he was planning out our days together.
“Next summer, I’m taking you on a trip to Hawaii.”
“What?” I exclaimed and laughed all at once. “That’s not necessary.”
“Oh? Humans take vacations all the time. When’s the last time you had one? Plus, I want to see that gorgeous body in a bikini.”
“Ah, now I’m beginning to see the big picture,” I said with a giggle, kissing his chin and ruffling my hands through his short hair. “I have a few conditions of my own.”
His brow quirked. “Oh?”
“Every so often, I want you to skip a shave or two. I like your stubble.”
“Done.”
“I’m also a little messier than you, and I’ll try to pick up, but don’t get all neat-freak on me and start lining up my shoes. My sister has OCD and if you don’t keep that under control, it can take over. I’m not saying you have it, I’m just pointing out that I’ve never seen a man neatly line up packages of gum on his dresser like you do. I also want you to teach me how to play horseshoes.”
He smiled. “Is that so?”
“Yeah. I’m having fun learning all these new things. I want to be good at something.”
“Oh, you’re good at something,” he said suggestively, waggling his brows. “I like it when you nibble on my ear. Maybe you can do some of that later on.”
I slipped my arms beneath his and held on to my man so tight I could feel his heartbeat. His warmth surrounded me like the Pacific sun melting across tranquil waters. Reno kissed the top of my head and began rocking the swing again. Inside the house, Maizy was singing a Christmas song and Ivy joined in.
Someday I would die before Reno’s time. I didn’t understand Breed magic enough to speculate how his body would age, although from what he said, everyone is different and it was quite possible we could grow old together.
So I gave it some thought and concluded that I couldn’t plan our relationship on sex. If I ended up sixty and he still looked thirty, the intimacy we shared would be nonexistent.
But after it’s all said and done, don’t you want to grow old with your best friend? At the end of the day, that’s who you want to share your life and laughter with. Someone who will be there in hard times to hold you tight. Someone who will fight for your honor and support your decisions. Someone who will encourage your dreams and help you to fulfill them.
Do I think I’ll be having great sex all the way into my eighties? Probably not. But I’ll have someone there to make me bacon and tell me I’m beautiful. Someone to sit on the porch beside me and listen to the crickets in the summertime while we share a glass of lemon tea, talking about old times.
And I’m okay with that.
I’m more than okay with that.
I hate that I won’t be there for him after I’m gone, but Reno will find himself a woman one day—maybe a Shifter. Perhaps I’ll play a part in helping him become a man who is finally ready to make decisions about adoption and having a family of his own. Or maybe he’ll finally realize that giving a woman babies is not what defines him as a man. The courage to love is.
Nothing lasts forever. But maybe I can carry a little piece of that happiness in my pocket for as long as I’m here.
Just like Reno carried that earring.
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THE MAGERI SERIES
is an exciting urban fantasy romance following the journey of a young woman's claim to immortality, and her own identity. Dark, unique, passionate, and full of unpredictable twists, the Mageri series provides an original spin to an old concept.
THE SEVEN SERIES
is a light paranormal romance that portrays Shifters living in secret in the modern world. A blend of humor, heartwarming romance, drama, and real-life issues. This series is for those who believe in family, second chances, and finding that person who completes you.
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