Page 24 of Winter Memories

“I don’t think he cares about it either,” I whisper my agreement.

“What does your heart tell you?”

I hum softly and rub that spot on my chest. My heart is screaming at me the same thing it always has when it comes to Fletcher, even when we weren’t together.

“My heart calls out for him. It always has.”

Mom’s voice is thick with emotion, “Trust your heart, Eden. As long as you trust your heart, you’ll be fine.”

I open my eyes to look at Mom and feel lighter. “Thanks, Mom,” even I can hear how grateful I am to her in my voice.

The smile she gives me is full of pride and love.

We’ve always been close, but the distance I kept between Wintervale and me made it a lot harder to stay connected with her. We tried, mostly her, but it wasn’t easy.

“And when he pisses you off,” she arches her eyebrow, “which he will because he’s a man and relationships aren’t always easy, we’re just right next door.”

“You trying to get rid of me so soon,” I tease her.

“Never, Eden,” her response is fierce and final. “But I can see the writing on the wall. I have a feeling you’ll be moving over to Limitless sooner rather than later.”

“I don’t know,” I mumble.

Still, the thought of moving to Fletcher’s house, which is the embodiment of everything I’ve ever wanted, has a smile lifting my lips. I can see me there. I can see Macklin there. The vision of it is so clear, it’s almost scary.

“I do,” she chirps. “Now, cut those onions and remember we expect to see Macklin regularly even after you move over to Limitless.” I shoot her a look because of course; they’re his grandparents. “And any other little ones you two have.”

I gasp, “What?”

She winks at me and waves her hand dismissively. “Oh please,” her voice is airy, “I have a feeling it won’t take long before you’re telling us you’re pregnant.”

Even as I scoff, I can’t help but admit, if only to myself, I hope she’s right. The thought of being pregnant with Fletcher’s baby makes me irrationally happy. It probably shouldn’t, but I can’t help it, and I know he’ll never allow Mack to feel left out or forgotten.

That’s just not who Fletcher is.

I make a promise to myself to stop worrying quite so much and enjoy this time. I’m going to allow myself to get to know the man Fletcher has become and enjoy watching Macklin form a bond with the man who has always owned my heart.

CHAPTER 10

FLETCHER

I’m nervous as I leave Limitless and head next door. I gave Eden a little space right after she spent the night for the first time. Knowing her, she needed it to come to terms with us getting together again.

She’s never been great with change and would rather things be gradual. But I just don’t have the ability to go slow when it comes to Eden, not now after all the time we’ve lost.

After a couple of days when all we did was text, I’ve made the effort to see her and Macklin every day for the last week. Being around my woman again, seeing her outside of my dreams and memories, has been everything. Adding Macklin to the mix has only made the entire experience sweeter.

I’m not the only one who has fallen in love with Mack either. Noel and Huxley hate it when I head next door without planning on bringing Eden and Macklin back to Limitless. They lovespending time with the kid, and he is all about it as well.

Even though we’ve spent as much time as possible with each other, tonight is going to be different. We’re not staying in, and Eden’s parents are watching Macklin for the night. It’s time to take this off the ranch and make it real.

I’ve set the whole thing up and even though we aren’t going somewhere fancy, making our relationship public is the next step. Eden deserves a night out as well. She puts all of herself into raising Mack and is doing a damn fine job of it. But she’s more than a mom and it’s time for her to see herself that way.

My stomach knots as I park and grab the bouquet I made from the seat next to me. It’s not flowers, that’s not special enough for my Eden and she was never a big flower person. It’s not that she doesn’t like them, but she’d rather go to a field of wildflowers than have them cut and put in a vase. Since it’s winter, I can’t exactly take her to one.

Not wanting to show up empty handed, I made her a bouquet of her favorite chocolate. I know she’ll love it because I made a similar one back in high school for our anniversary one year. She gushed over that thing for months even though it had been dismantled and enjoyed.

I click on the seat warmer and leave my truck running as I jump out and trudge up to the front door. The sound of Macklin’s laughter coming from inside the house eases a little bit of my worry and anxiety as I knock.

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