Page 139 of Return To You

The name Grace.

A key.

And a ring to hold it all together.

Her key.

She gave me her key.

“Grace,” I start, speechless. It’s the most thoughtful gift she could have gotten me.

“It’s kinda girlish, I’m sorry. But it’s not like you’re going to be using it when you’re in Brussels. Matter of fact, you should just tuck it in your travel bag and leave it there, so you have it when you come back. So you don’t lose it.”

“I’m not gonna lose it.” My eyes water. “You gave me your key.”

She sets her coffee on the floor and turns to face me. “I didn’t give you my key. I gave you your key.”

I wrap her in my arms and kiss her softly, then deeper.

She straddles me, then breaks the kiss, her puffy lips and hooded eyelids making me re-consider my plans for the day. “Aren’t we going to the farm in a few minutes?”

“Yeah…” I drawl as she wiggles off me and snatches her coffee from the floor.

I look at the key nestled in the palm of my hand. “No one ever got me a keychain. It’ll be in my pocket all the time.”

“But it’s… goofy.”

“No it’s not. It’s sweet. And caring. And loving. It’s everything you.” I turn the name Grace in my fingers, running my thumb over each block letter in a soft pink. Sweet like her lips, her kiss, her love.

Then the heart. It’s black. Like death and mourning. Surely they had red hearts. Why did she choose black? Reading my thoughts, she says, “I thought that’d be less girly, but you know what…” She huffs. “You can just... You don’t have to… I’m sorry.”

The outline of the state is a predictable green, but it’s also the color of our town, and it means something to me, now.

“What are you sorry about?”

“It seemed like a good idea. It seemed funny. It’s really nothing. I don’t know why you keep looking at it like that. It’s really nothing.”

“It’s everything to me.”

“Ugh!” she pretends to mock moan. “I should have gotten you something nicer.”

“Come here,” I say, pulling her back into me. “It’s the nicest thing you could have gotten me. Seriously. You gave me the key to your house.”

“I didn’t give you the key to my house, Ethan.”

“Oh.” Now I’m embarrassed. “Sorry,” I chuckle awkwardly. “I just—I assumed…” It does look like her front door key, though. “So…?”

“I gave you the key to your home.”

My heart stops beating as I crush her against me. I’m so overwhelmed, words refuse to form in my brain. I’m just a mess of feelings right now. This is all I ever wanted. Just because it didn’t happen the way I planned or wanted or hoped for, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.

We’re happening, and that’s all that counts.

This time, she doesn’t protest about going to the farm with me. We take her car and not the bike, because there’s a chance of rain—that hurricane coming up the coast that bought me a few extra hours with her.

Grace stays tucked against me the whole time we’re at the farm. Logan and Hunter hug her tight when they come in for a quick lunch, their smiles huge. I get a slap on the back but no stupid jokes, and I don’t even need to scowl at them or issue death threats.

In the kitchen, we help ourselves to Mom’s chicken salad. Grace knows her way around here better than me, and she’s who pulls out our glasses for lemonade. We sit on the porch, bowls in hand, no set table, taking in the peaceful scenery. A sudden burst of wind runs through the woods. A shutter clatters somewhere.

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