The 'Burg: Hold On Part 108

"Right. I don't want a geek genius in our house, playing video games with Ethan, possibly teaching him geek-genius stuff, which would not be bad, but also teaching him Ryan-stupid s.h.i.t, which would absolutely not be good."

"Hmm..." she murmured.

It was a good call to pull the Ethan card. She wanted Ryan to teach her son to be stupid less than Garrett did.

So he dodged the bullet.

This, and looking forward to store-bought-but-home-baked Christmas cookies and pink ornaments, made him pull her even closer.

"It happens," he replied.

"What happens?" she asked.

He dipped closer and held her tighter.

"It happens," he repeated. "For people like us, baby. It happens, eventually. Just as long as we hold on."

She liked that. She showed it with her pretty brown eyes. She showed it by pressing closer. She showed it by wrapping both arms around his neck.

Finally, she showed it by rolling up further and taking his mouth.

And he liked that.

So he showed her too.

While she was taking his, he took hers.

And with that-as they did and as they'd continue to do-together, Cher Rivers and Garrett Merrick successfully weathered yet another storm.

Epilogue.

Such a Girl Feb May I walked into the living room to see my son tossing treats to my cat, my husband with him, holding back our dog by his collar.

Seeing this and it annoying me, I planted my hands on my hips, asking, "Are you serious?"

My husband's eyes came to me.

They grew dark as they dropped to my dress and his face a.s.sumed an expression I felt in my womb.

My son's eyes also came to me.

Since we had somewhere to go, I decided to focus on Jack.

"What, Momma?" Jack asked.

"Baby boy, the vet said Wilson's too fat," I told him, resuming walking into the living room so I could get to my purse in the kitchen.

"Daddy says the only eggerzize Wilson gets is runnin' 'round for kitty treats," Jack replied.

I glared at Colt as I walked by him, and I did this mostly because he hadn't lied to our kid-Wilson was lazy as h.e.l.l-so I had no retort.

For his part, Colt grinned at me as I walked by him.

Years he'd had to become impervious to my glare.

That was annoying too.

I hit the kitchen, asking Colt, "How many have you given him?"

"Three," Colt lied.

"Eelehben," Jack told the truth.

I again glared at Colt, who had followed me into the kitchen.

"We need to get goin'," he stated. "Not have our three thousandth argument about Wilson's cat treats."

Unfortunately, he wasn't wrong.

"Scout taken care of?" I asked about our dog, who had likely gotten his treats earlier but forgotten that had happened, which was why he was now skulking into the kitchen, straight to his bowls.

I took my clutch from under my arm so I could transfer stuff from my purse, which was lying on the kitchen counter, into it as Colt answered, "Yep," while fitting himself to my back. He then bent in to kiss my bare shoulder before murmuring in my ear, "Like this dress, baby."

I lost some of my annoyance, feeling my husband's heat. I lost more at the touch of his lips. I lost more at his words.

I lost it all when I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye.

I loved silver. Because I did, I wore a lot of it.

And every day, no matter when I got home-if it was eight at night or three in the morning-I took my silver off at our kitchen counter.

I dropped it in a pile wherever it hit.

The next time I saw it, I'd see that my husband had organized it. Bangles in a bundle. Rings lined up. Chains straightened. Earrings stacked, one on top of the other.

Sometimes I saw him do it, so I knew it wasn't about him keeping it neat.

When he did it, his touch was reverent, like the jewelry was still on me.

I didn't know why he did it. I never asked. I just let it feel nice, thinking of his fingers touching my silver, something that I loved, something that touched me.

After losing decades, we'd now been back together for years.

I took off my silver every day in the kitchen.

And my husband straightened it every day for me.

It was now straightened.

And I felt each touch it took Colt to straighten it right on my skin.

I loved it that I had that like I loved it that I had him.

And no woman could be annoyed when she had that.

I finished with my purse and turned.

Colt shifted to allow the movement, but then he shifted back in, wrapping his arms around me.

I lifted my hands and rested them on his shoulders, my eyes scanning my man.

"You don't look so bad either," I noted.

He grinned, dipped in, and touched his mouth to mine.

"Can we go?" Jack asked.

We both looked to our son, who was also now standing in the kitchen.

"I wanna play with Ethan," he explained his impatience.

Jack loved Ethan like Ethan was his big brother.

Ethan gave that back.

Colt gave me a quick squeeze before he let me go and moved to his boy.

He picked him up and set him straddling his hip, Jack wearing his little man suit pants and shirt that was a close match to the suit pants and shirt his daddy was wearing.

"We're gonna go, but remember what we told you," Colt said, walking them out of the kitchen. "It's a big day. Ethan's gonna be busy."

"But he'll be able to play, right?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, I reckon after a while, he'll be able to play."

Jack smiled at his father.

Colt returned his smile as he nabbed his suit jacket from the back of a dining room chair as well as Jack's, which was lying on the table.

As for me...

I smiled inside.

I did that a lot these days.

Then again, I did it a lot on the outside too.

I grabbed my clutch and moved toward the kitchen door, giving my dog a scratch while I did.

I walked out. My husband and son walked out behind me.

Colt put Jack down so he could lock the door and I took my baby boy's hand. My baby boy who was growing up and not so much of a baby anymore.

We walked to Colt's truck.

We climbed in.

And Colt took us to Ethan.

For a wedding by a lake that was going to be catered by my brother at a grill and a table groaning with potluck chips, dips, and salads-the only thing wedding-esque being the flowers and decorations the bridesmaids insisted on putting up (something we all got up early to do that morning) and a beautiful wedding cake the mother-of-the-bride demanded she provide-the wedding party was enormous.

Vi as maid of honor, me at her side, Dusty, Rocky, Mimi, Jessie, Josie, and Frankie.

On the other side, Tanner as best man, Mike, Colt, Sully, Cal, Sean, Drew, and Ryker.

Yes, Ryker.

The bride had insisted.

That said, the groom hadn't protested.

So there stood Ryker, grinning like a lunatic and fidgeting in his suit.

And while folks stood around in the green gra.s.s beside a quiet lake outside an awesome lake house, the bride made her appearance.

She looked amazing.

Simple, form-fitting, strapless white lace dress that hit her at her knees and had a dusty-rose satin ribbon wrapped around the waist; a thick bunch of silvery-pink Indiana peonies in her hand that she'd cut herself that morning from the bushes that edged the entire house.

Mother at her left.

Son at her right.

They hit the edge of the lake where we were all fanned out, the bride having expertly managed to negotiate the entire trek through the gra.s.s in strappy, spike-heeled sandals while one of Morrie's buds played Pachelbel on his guitar.

Cher also managed the entire trek with her eyes glued to Merry.

The procession stopped.