Page 29 of Chase Our Forever

Ashton laughs. “Yes. Marshall built this house before Dean was ever born. He loves to tell the story of how his dad waspissed at him for building so far from the town. The house closer in town was renovated into an office space for the realty group. Marshall willsurelytell you how his dad ended up falling in love with this property and would come visit any chance he could, before he passed, because of the views.”

The comment makes me smile. “I love that. Marshall was onto something. It’s really beautiful here.”

“Wait until it snows. Having this view for Christmas is even more spectacular,” Hattie chimes in. Our steps fall in unison as we walk along the property. The tire swing is in the distance to the right. To our left is a doghouse with at least ten tennis balls sitting in front of it.

“Is it possible to have a white Christmas?” I ask excitedly, dreaming of actually seeing snow on Christmas Day for the first time.

Hattie and Ashton look at each other with wide smiles. “It’s almost always a white Christmas since we’re in the mountains,” Ashton responds.

Hattie excitedly grabs my arm and pulls me toward a door on the side of the house. “I’ve always been someone who loves Christmas, but oh my god, Liv, you just made me even more excited for you to have your first Sutten Christmas. It’s magic and will be here before we know it.”

I hadn’t thought about spending the holidays in Sutten. I knew I’d be here for Halloween because it’s only a couple of weeks away, but I hadn’t thought too far past that. I guess I hope I’ll still be here and things will still be running smoothly with Clara and Dean.

“You do plan on being here for the holidays, right?” Ashton asks, as if she can read my mind.

I shrug as we walk through a side door into the house. “I guess.”

I don’t really know how I feel. Now that they’ve asked, I would love to be here for Christmas, but that realization terrifies me. If I’m here until Christmas, it’s because I’ve fallen in love with the job and this town—and the people in it. It means I’m happy here, and being happy means I have something to lose.

I’ve never been truly happy somewhere. My life hasn’t always been good, and now with things lining up, I’m scared of how quickly that can change.

But I do still really want to be here. I want things to work out for me to see a white Christmas. To spend the holidays with this family. I’ll just have to deal with the uneasiness of finally having the potential of something I wouldn’t want to lose. Right now, I’ll try and focus on the good.

We walk into a laundry room. The array of different shoes lining the floor makes me smile. There are ones of all different sizes, showing that even though Shirley and Marshall’s kids are all grown up, this house is still full of love. I realize both Hattie and Ashton are still quiet, probably waiting for me to say more about Christmas. “I’ve never really done anything big for Christmas, so it’d be fun to be here for it.”

“So it’s settled. You won’t quit before the holidays, and you’ll get to experience the most magical time of year in the most magical place to live.” Hattie winks at me as she playfully lifts her shoulder in a shrug. “Not that I’m biased or anything.”

“People really seem to think I’ll quit. I don’t get it. Dean doesn’t seemthatbad.”

Hattie and Ashton share a look. They both smile, but there’s also sadness in their eyes. I don’t know if it’s at the mention of Dean or if they’re still thinking about Selena. “Dean isn’t bad. He’s just…”

“Dean,” Ashton finishes Hattie’s thought. “The thing about him is you just have to give him grace. Every now and then, we get glimpses of the man he was before we lost Selena. Hewas carefree and happy with her around. Always a little quiet, but there was light in his eyes. After losing her, the light disappeared. It comes back every now and then, but a lot of the time, it’s hard for him to be even a shell of the person he used to be. He can seem cold and closed off at times, but I think it’s just because he’s terrified of ever allowing himself to be happy again.”

Her words make me stop in the middle of the laundry room. They both wait for me in the opening to a hallway, but I’m too busy still letting her words sink in to move. They make me sad. For Dean, for Clara, for everyone.

I give them both an encouraging smile, wanting to ease their minds that I have no plans of quitting anytime soon. “He’s been fine. I understand he’s been through a lot. Maybe he hasn’t always gone about it the right way with people, but after knowing Clara for only a short amount of time, I know she’s special. He’s just doing his best to give her what she deserves.”

Ashton nods. “Some of the nannies did suck. Or were weird, so I couldn’t blame him for some of the firings.”

This makes me laugh as I follow them down the hallway. There are pictures lining both walls. It seems busy but in the best possible way. Years of memories line each side, and if Hattie and Ashton weren’t busy leading me to other places in the house, I’d take a minute to stop and look at all the photos to get a glimpse of the Livingston family over the years.

“Okay, let’s continue the tour. I have so many questions I want to ask you to get to know you better,” Hattie states excitedly, grabbing my arm and pulling me down the hallway.

They spend the next hour showing me around, and even though it’s something as simple as a house tour, it’s so great to spend time with them. They asked questions, but they never seemed intrusive. Both Hattie and Ashton just seem genuinely interested in getting to know me.

I’m not used to people wanting to know anything about me. I thought I’d be uncomfortable sharing things about myself with people I only met today, but I actually enjoyed it. It’s refreshing to have people interested in the little nuances of my life.

By the time we meet up with the rest of the Livingston crew, Hattie and Ashton are already demanding we have a girls’ night one weekend soon.

It feels like for the first time in my life, I might be on the verge of having real friends. Between Hattie and Ashton and then Lexi and Pippa, I’m thrilled at the idea of Sutten not only bringing me a job and a safe place to live but real friends, too.

I didn’t used to want friends—now, I’m cautiously excited about making them.

18

DEAN

Clara sleeps peacefullyin the back seat as I put the truck in park in the driveway.

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