Page 89 of Forever Fickle

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now, it’s getting late, and it’s been a busy day for everyone. Jace, why don’t you show Karen around the house? I see the lights are on outside already… and Karen?” the older man smiled at her, and she saw that both Jace and Jana had their father’s smile.

“My wife is very proud of her gardens, so you’ll have to visit us in the late spring when everything is in bloom. Right now, everything is fading away but it’s still lovely – if you aren’t too opposed to the temperatures. We are under a frost warning tonight.”

“I’m sure it’s lovely,” she replied politely. “Thank you, Jim.”

“Jana…” Jim said, turning to his daughter. “Give your brother a break – and give the two of them some space. You’ll have Karen all to yourself on Friday when you girls go shopping.”

Jana stuck her tongue out at Jace, causing Karen to chuckle.

“Karen,” Lindsey interrupted, reaching over to touch her hand. “We are making breakfast in the morning – probably around nine or so.”

“Wonderful,” Karen replied, smiling as she looked at Jace, who immediately leaned forward to kiss her cheek happily. “Thank you so much for having me here, to join you all.”

“We are so happy you are here too.”

Jace got to his feet and held out his hand to Karen, who immediately took it without question. She smiled politely, nodded, and followed as he led her from the conservatory towards the living room.

Everything was beautiful, had a warm, loving, lived-in glow to it, and the living room was no different. The wood-burning pellet stove in the corner was putting out enough heat to make the entire room cozy. She saw the boxes in the far corner, labeled ‘Christmas’… and knew it was the tree that Jace wanted to put up while they were here.

Yes, it was going to be a lovely visit.

She followed him, taking a moment to look at the pictures on the wall, as he pulled her towards the large sliding glass door. Handing her a heavy jacket and scarf, she slipped them on, as he led her out onto the deck to the wonderland before them.

The lights were on outside, but that only served to illuminate the frost that Jim had mentioned. The entire world before them sparkled and shone magically.

She felt Jace tug at her hand slightly – and saw his mysterious smile. He made his way down the steps, walking slowly at her side along the stone pathway towards the arbor.

She looked around at the night sky, seeing some of the clouds glowing, almost as if they were back-lit by the moon. The inky palette of the surrounding space was heady, because it was so dark, causing the trees in the distance to lose all color. They stood as black monoliths in the silence, only broken by the crunch of an occasional pebble under their shoes.

“This is beautiful…” she whispered.

“Maybe it’s the company I keep…” he breathed, causing her to look up at him in that moment to see that he was watching her. “Are you cold?”

“No,” she replied. “Can we sit out here for a few moments… alone?”

“I was hoping to…” he smiled tenderly. “I wanted you to myself for a few minutes since everyone seems to be trying to monopolize your time. I couldn’t believe they pulled you away from me so quickly.”

She saw his proud smile and knew he didn’t mind in the slightest.

He held out his hand, indicating she should sit on the arbor swing, and joined her a second later. The bench of the swing was just enough for barely two people and Jace immediately put his arm around her shoulders to give them a little more room.

“Are you happy, Tink?”

“Are you?”

“I feel like this is all a beautiful dream that I’ve only wished for…” he admitted, looking at her. “I can honestly say that I’ve thought about bringing you, spending time with you, and asking you to marry me… all of it, quite a bit in the last few days.”

“I just thought of how you look at me…” Karen admitted, smiling up at him from where she was tucked against him at his side, seeing her breath in the cool air.

“And how is that?” he said softly, slowly leaning towards her.

“Like you love me,” she breathed, leaning closer to him as they kissed in the darkness.

She felt his hand reach up, as he buried his fingers in her curls, pulling and holding her close to him, as he kissed her deeply. She loved the way she just felt like the world melted away in those moments, like it was only their souls there, sharing this singular expression of love.

“I do love you,” Jace said breathlessly after a moment, “with everything that I am…”

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