Page 28 of Chase Our Forever

I smile, finding it absolutely adorable how obsessed Clara is with the puppy taking a snooze on me. “She’s my favorite, too,” I whisper, gently scratching the puppy’s ear. “She’s just too sweet. I’m in love.”

Ashton hands her wild puppy over to her son Jack, who begins to run around the back porch as the puppy chases after him. “Maybe you can talk Dean into letting Clara get a puppy.”

“Yes. Ineed.” The way Clara emphasizes need is the cutest thing ever. She even juts her bottom lip out.

“If it were up to me, you’d absolutely get the puppy,” I tell Clara, wishing Dean would agree to it so I could get snuggles like this all the time.

“Want to hold her?” I ask Clara. I could sit here forever with the puppy nestled into my chest, but I know Ashton and Hattie are wanting to continue to give me the tour of the Livingston home.

Clara excitedly nods her head. She sits back in the chair with her arms held out. I slowly place the dog on her chest as it stays fast asleep. The smile on Clara’s face is giant as she holds still as a statue, letting the pup sleep soundly in her lap.

“I’m ready for the rest of the tour when you guys are,” I tell Ashton and Hattie. I don’t know if they were as excited to see the puppies as I was, but they humored me, and we spent what’s got to be at least fifteen minutes on the back porch with them.

“Jack and Miles, you’re in charge of watching the others. Please make sure everyone makes good choices, okay?” Ashton lovingly ruffles the hair of her oldest son, Jack. He nods his head before going right back to running around with the wild puppy.

“While we’re here, let’s show her outside,” Hattie offers, already holding the door open that leads outside from the back porch.

“You’re just trying to get as far away as possible from Jace in case Ruthie starts crying,” Ashton teases while walking through the back door.

Hattie laughs. “He’s fine manning the children. Plus, we all know that if Ruthie starts crying, Shirley is going to jump in to help immediately.”

I’m quiet as I follow the two of them down the stairs. My attention is drawn to the sheer beauty of the backyard. There are trees for miles, and with it being fall, it creates the most beautiful picture of brilliant oranges and reds.

“It’s really stunning, isn’t it?” Hattie asks quietly.

I nod. “I don’t know if it’s just because I hadn’t seen mountains before this, but I’m still just taken aback by how beautiful it is. I didn’t know leaves could be so pretty. Which sounds very poetic of me, and I’m not normally this cheesy, but wow…”

“I get it. I’m from Kansas. You just can’t understand the beauty of this state—really, this town—until you’re here. Give it one more week when there’s barely any green left on the trees, and you’re going to be in for a treat.” Hattie has a whisper of a smile on her lips with her words.

“You’re not from here?” I ask. I don’t know why I assumed everyone in his family, including the wives, were from Sutten.

Hattie shakes her head. “Not really. I moved to Sutten my junior year of high school, so I’ve been here a while. But I still remember the first sunset I saw here. Selena couldn’t stop laughing at me because I cried.”

My ears perk up at the mention of Clara’s mom. Dean still hasn’t mentioned the passing of his wife, not that he owes me any explanation of her life or death. But I do want to know about her. She gave birth to the most beautiful daughter, and I’d love to be able to remind Clara of her mom when I can. Getting stories about her from the people who knew her—even if they’re not from Dean—is a way I can do that.

“God, she didn’t let you forget about that for years,” Ashton adds, her arms crossing over her chest.

I stay quiet, wondering if I should say something or not. I guess I should’ve known that Selena wouldn’t have just meant something to Dean and Clara but to the rest of his family as well. Carmen mentioned how long he and Selena had been together. It only makes sense that her death is felt by everyone in the Livingston family.

Hattie lets out a slow breath before plastering a smile on her face. Unshed tears make her eyes glossy, but she quickly blinksto try and hide them. “I’msosorry,” she begins. “I’m not trying to make this sad at all. Her birthday is next month, and she was my best friend since high school. Sometimes it just hits hard, you know?”

I nod. “Please don’t apologize to me. I can’t imagine losing a family member like all of you did so tragically. I only know small tidbits from people in town, but she seemed like a really great person.”

“Dean hasn’t told you about her yet?” Hattie asks, her voice quiet but rough with emotion.

I shake my head, wondering if I should’ve told them that or not. “I’m still new. I haven’t expected him to share anything.”

Hattie sighs. “It’s still hard for him to talk about her. He really loved her, and instead of talking about how incredible she was, he keeps everything bottled up inside. Just know he isn’t neglecting to tell you about her because he doesn’t trust you or doesn’t want to tell you. He doesn’t really speak about her with any of us.”

“I get it. I don’t blame him for it. It makes sense she was so great, though. Clara’s the best, and I’m sure she gets that not only from Dean but from her mom, too.”

Both Hattie and Ashton nod, but Ashton’s the one to speak up. “She was incredible and loved by all of us. We miss her every day.”

“Anyway…” Hattie begins, wiping underneath her eyes. “Sorry. It’s the postpartum hormones hitting me. Back to it. Yes, this view is stunning, and no, it never gets old, even if you’ve lived here for years.”

“Is this where all the boys grew up?” I ask, hoping a change of subject is what they want.

They both nod.

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