Page 83 of Stained Hearts
“Maybe you should keep the house, then.”
He smiled at me. It was warm and open, like my father. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re buying a condo in Bay View, because your mother can’t stand to be away from her family.”
“But you said—”
“It was your mother’s way of trying to get you to tell Aiden how you felt. We were planning on moving out so you could have the house. Oh, speaking of which, give me a dollar.”
I reached into my wallet and pulled out a single, which I handed to him.
“Congratulations. You’ve bought yourself a house.”
My head was reeling. “But, Dad, the house is worth—”
“Every penny you paid for it. The only thing I ask is that you give us a few months to move.”
“We can do that.” I still couldn’t believe this was happening. “We put the house on the market and already have a few offers. I also sold the cabin, but Aiden and I bought a new one in Minong. It’s a gorgeous place, quite a bit bigger than we need, but we can sit out on the deck overlooking the lake. When he saw it, Aiden fell in love, and I put in an offer. It’s a small town, kind of quaint, and there are hardly any people, so it’s quiet. We’re going to be staying there for a few days, but we’re coming back for Lincoln’s wedding. I’ll get a hotel room for the night.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “If you ever say anything so stupid again, I’ll…. Well, I’m not sure what I’ll do, but I promise you won’t like it. You’ll stay here. It’s your home, after all.”
Our home. Mine and Aiden’s. A place for our love to take root and grow. Where neither of us would be held back by memories of what had been, and could only look forward to the memories that would become.
“Want some more lemonade?”
I held up my glass. “Yes, please.”
He took it from me and ambled off to the kitchen. I let my gaze drift around the room and land on places I remembered. Though Brian and I had been in the house plenty of times, it didn’t have the same memories as the house we shared. There was just a warmth in my stomach and my heart.
“Thank you, Brian. For giving me love, then helping me to find a new one. I don’t know what I could have done without you.”
And somewhere up there, I had to believe he heard me and was smiling down on us.
“TOM? TOM?”Fingers tugged at my ears, while Aiden whispered urgently. “Tom?”
“This had better be important.” I glanced over at the clock. “Did you have a bad dream?”
“What? No.”
“Are you sick?”
“No, but….”
“Dying?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Then what? It’s only a little after two. What’s so important that you need to wake me up now?”
I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him say it.
He blew out an exasperated breath. “It’s Christmas morning!”
The grin I’d been doing my best to suppress finally won out. I rolled over on my side, and even though the lights were down low, I could see the twinkle in his eyes. “Okay, and?”
“Tommmm….” He tugged on my arm. “C’mon, let’s go out into the living room.”
“You know the folks are still sleeping, right?”
He snickered. “Your mom woke me up fifteen minutes ago. The door opened, and I barely had enough time to pull the covers up so she wouldn’t see that fantastic ass of yours shining bright.”
