Page 21 of It'll Be Fun
He leaned over her, his hands braced on either side of her on the bed. “Then let’s take care of both of those, baby.” He kissed her. “Love you.”
She smiled. “Love you, too, Master asshole.”
Ross laughed.
Chapter Seven
Leah headed home after their breakfast, her mind swirling with thoughts and memories. At least the mention of Kaden didn’t drive her heart into her feet and threaten to send her to dark places like it had in those early days.
Now, she could talk about him with others and smile and not have to fake her way through it. Sure, sometimes she needed to ask Seth for a little help dealing with it when they were alone again, but today, no.
Yesterday, she’d sat with him on the front porch, her arm around his shoulders as he broke down crying after he’d loaded the last storage tub. Only now, over the last few months, was he more comfortable letting go with her like this, no longer afraid to show weakness in front of her.
He had a lot of built-up grief of his own he’d kept tightly in check on her behalf early on.
It was her turn to comfort him, her Sir.
Kaden’s best friend.
As she’d told friends before, she was lucky, because she still had Seth, and she’d deeply loved him for years, and he was her husband and Master.
But Seth would likely never have another friend like Kaden, a man he’d known since they were literal babies.
The winter holidays were hard enough already to contend with. Seth would faithfully put up Kaden’s display, adding things to it but always using his last plan as the starting point. It was Seth’s way of coping.
Then there was the matter of they, and friends of theirs, had some experiences that led them to wonder if maybe Kaden wasn’t as “gone” as they’d thought.
That perhaps his spirit was literally still with them. Things they’d seen, heard.
Considering their friends had been afraid to tell them, at first, out of fear of upsetting them, it led Leah to believe they truly thought they’d had supernatural experiences.
Whether or not Kaden’s ghost really was in residence in their home, Leah hoped he knew how much they loved and missed him, and that maybe he could send Seth some energy from beyond to help him through these rough times.
I miss you, Master. I always will.
But she’d finally hit a point in her recovery where she knew she wouldn’t kill herself now. She had Seth to live for, if nothing and no one else. He was her connection to Kaden, could tell her stories about when they were kids. When they read through Kaden’s old journals, Seth could add to the stories things Kaden no longer could.
And sometimes, late at night, when Seth was sound asleep, she’d slip out of bed, walk out to the living room, and kneel in front of Kaden’s urn and silently talk to him.
* * * *
The garage door stood open and the Ridgeline was backed up to it when she pulled into the driveway. And the garage was rapidly filling with Christmas stuff. Because the truck was empty and Seth wasn’t around, she assumed he’d just finished unloading that load and was inside.
“I’m home,” she called out when she walked in. Just inside the front door, she stripped and put on her formal collar.
“Back here,” she faintly heard him, tracking it to their master bathroom. Clothes in hand, she walked in there and stopped outside the door, but she didn’t peek her head inside, no idiot.
“How many more loads, Sir?” she asked.
He laughed. “You mean besides this one?” She heard a fart, followed by a courtesy flush.
“Fool me once, Sir.” But she smiled. He sounded like he was in a better headspace today. “Yes, besidesthatone.”
“At least five more,” he said. “Not sure if I’m going to get more today or not. Still trying to decide. Did you want to go to the club tonight?”
She thought about it. They weren’t on the schedule for tonight, and they were teaching a whip class next Saturday. “Not unless you want to.”
“Then I’ll probably go get another couple of loads. Want to come with?”
