Page 77 of Side Out

I’ve always dreamt of having a love like I’ve seen in my parents. A love that has the ability to change the moon and the stars. And then I found you.

I have never met a man that vexes me more than you. A man that has the ability to burrow his way so deeply beneath my skin. A man that, in the most annoying way possible, can read every single emotion that plays across my face.

And yet, I have also never met a man that pulls me in the way you do. That has consumed me, body and soul, the way you have. That, even when I didn’t want to, made me want to love him as fiercely as I do today.

So, because of that, I stand before you today to promise you this. I promise to love you for who you are, for who you want to be, and who you’ve been. I promise to give you my heart today, and every day that follows. And most importantly, if you ask for it, I promise to change the moon and the stars, for you.

Next thing I know, my hands are threaded with his, and the officiant announces to a room full of people gathered to celebrateourlove, “We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Jackson Baker and Theodore Young…”

In Your Love - Tyler Childers

EPILOGUE

JACKSON

“Theo, would you stop,” I laugh as he continues to nip along the skin on my neck. He’s got me pressed against the kitchen counter, his arms caging me in. I mean sure, I could move him if I wanted, but I like letting him think he has the upper hand every once and a while. “If we’re late to dinner again our parents might actually kill us.”

“Ugh, fine,” he groans. Turning around he whistles into the house. “Zoe Zoe, come girl.”

Not more than a second later, the heavy stomps of our Zoey girl come barreling down the stairs. She’s a Bernese Mountain Dog and might literally be the love of my life, but I keep that little tidbit to myself.

“Want to go to Grandma’s?” I ask her. Her tail starts moving so fast it resembles something of a helicopter, because well, even thoughshemay be the love of my life, my mom just might be hers.

It’s a bit of a sore subject.

We got Zoey shortly after I graduated and we moved back to Billings. I wanted a good farm dog to be able to accompany me on my days at the ranch, and it’s safe to say she has exceeded all of my expectations. She keeps up with me well when I’m riding Lady, she gets along well with the rest of the dogs on the ranch, and she’s gentle with the animals but firm when she needs to be.

And every night when we go home, she’s the best little cuddle bug I could have asked for… even though she literally weighs almost ninety pounds.

As Theo and I walk to the front door, where Zoey is practically jumping out of her skin to get outside, I remember I need to ask Theo about tomorrow. “Hey, what time is the hockey game tomorrow?”

“Starts at seven. You coming?” he asks, slightly surprised.

“I planned on it, yeah. I don’t have any more client work I need to do until next week, and Dad’s just got me checking fence line tomorrow. So once I’m done with that, I’m all yours.”

Theo beams at the prospect of me coming to his game. Admittedly, I haven’t been able to much since my business picked up, but I would really like to make more of an effort. He’s been killing it, and I’m so proud of him.

Stopping in front of the door, he leans in and kisses my lips softly. “I’d really like that.”

“Then consider it a date.”

“I’ll be sure to save you the best bag of popcorn,” he says before winking and opening the door. Zoey takes off like a bolt of lightning across the pasture toward my parents house.

Oh yeah. We live on the ranch.

The second Theo planted the idea of us moving here into Mom’s head, she wasted no time putting the wheels in motion. Well, with our permission of course. She’s not totally psychotic.

Being a rancher does have its perks because as many people as my mom knows, Dad knows double. And over half those people are skilled tradesmen who would do just about anything for a friend. Since we didn’t have to buy the land, building the house was well within our budget. It’s just what we need. It’s big enough where we can have everyone over for dinners, has an office I can run my security software business from, and most importantly, or so he would say if you asked him, a guest room for when Clay and Rocky come to visit.

Zoey makes it to Mom and Dad’s house before we do, but even across the pasture I hear my mom yell “Zoe Zoe” as she barrels through the open front door. Because, yes, Mom leaves the door open so Zoey can come and go whenever she pleases. And by the time we walk in, Zoey is well on her way to making her rounds between Mom, Dad, the twins, and Theo’s parents.

Oh yeah… there’s that too. The Youngs live in Billings now.

It was a no brainer for them honestly. They took a hard look at their life and business in Virginia, and decided that living across the country from their son wasn’t worth some family business. So, they packed up their things, sold the vineyard for a pretty penny, and moved here. However, they decided to live in the city instead of out here. Ronald said he’s spent enough of his life working outside, he wanted to enjoy the city life for a while. And that’s exactly what they’ve been doing. In fact, I think the two of them spend more of their time outside of their townhouse than in it.

Everyone truly just seems so…happy.

And as I stand here staring at my family, I can’t help but feel a tightness in my chest, because every time I look at them like this, so at home, so comfortable with one another, sotogether,it hits me so hard that for a moment, I can’t believe I actually got here.

---