Page 72 of The Sculptor

She smacks me away, which only makes me laugh. “No.”

“Have it your way.” I start swimming toward the dock, knowing she’s scared that snakes are probably coiled around the posts, just waiting to attack her.

“Fine,” she agrees quickly, “but only because I don’t want to die of hypothermia.”

I grin and swim closer, turning around so she can get on my back.

“I’m still mad at you, though,” she says, when her arms are secured around my chest.

“Aww. Don’t start this trip on a bad note,” I tease. “I’ve worked so hard on this surprise.”

We swim to the dock, and I grab on to the ladder, hoisting us out of the water.

When we’re safely on the dock, Ray slides down off my back. “What surprise?” Taking her hand, I pull her, shivering, to the front of my body and wrap my arms around her, directing her attention to the top of the hill where the A-frame cabin we spent our fall and winter sits. “Welcome home, Ray.”

“Oh, Duke. It’s beautiful. Just like I remember it.”

It was supposed to be a temporary memory—a place we could hide until we figured out something more permanent.

But this cabin became home.

The place where we spent nights by the fireplace, reading to our son.

The place where we made plans for the future.

The place where we ended.

Something warm falls onto my hand. “You bought it?” she asks hesitantly.

“I did,” I say, tightening my hold on her as if she’ll disappear any second. “You remember Mr. and Mrs. Clark?”

She nods. “The couple who rented it to us.”

“Yeah.” I lean down and kiss her cheek. “They rented it out to me every fall after I finished med school.”

She gasps and turns in my arms. “You came back after we left?”

I shake my head. “Not for a while. I tried, but I could never stay through the night. But it didn’t feel right knowing someone else was spending their nights in our cabin. So, I rented it every season, even though I could never stay.”

“When did you buy it?”

I rub my hands up and down her shoulders to generate some heat. “Several years ago, Mr. Clark fell ill. He told me they couldn’t keep the cabin anymore and were planning to sell it.”

Ray smiles. “And you couldn’t let that happen.”

“No. I couldn’t.” I press a kiss to her mouth. “Because I knew one day, we’d find our way back home.”

Ramsey

“Seriously?” I ask.

Duke grimaces at the peeling paint and rickety steps that lead up to the front of the cabin. “I’m sure the inside rivals an Aspen ski lodge.”

I belt out an exaggerated laugh. He is delirious. “Even you don’t believe that.”

There’s no way the inside of this cabin is filled to the roof with luxury. Not with the ginormous spiderweb shadowing an entire corner of the porch.

“Aw, come on, Ray.” He throws his arm over my shoulder, pulling me in close. “I thought you were down for an adventure.”

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