Page 67 of Wild Dreams

Marigold smiled.

"This morning was the best I've had in a long time," I said as I lowered my mouth to hers. I kissed her slow and sweet. I had no end game or intention with it, other than to show her how I felt. All these feelings were bubbling up in my chest, and I wasn't ready to quash them. I'd take things day by day, just like Marigold suggested.

"Thank you for a great evening and a better morning," I said as I forced myself to turn away from her. I didn't want Marigold to be a distraction. If this relationship got in the way of work, I'd have to break things off.

On the way home, I thought about how we'd agreed to continue whatever this was past the weekend. It filled me with a scary kind of hope. That I could have it all.

How much better would days be if I knew I was coming home to Marigold?

The thing was, I made my own schedule and worked most days, so everyone expected me to be there. But what if I took a day off?

I was lucky no one else had snatched Marigold up, and it was only a matter of time before some lucky guy did.

I swear, the calls I responded to and the complaints I heard weren't as big of a deal. I was able to calm people down more quickly, and it wasn't just my commanding presence. I felt at peace. Happy even.

When I arrived at the theater, it was just Scarlett and Marigold on the stage, acting out something.

"I think it would be best if the tree were here." Marigold stood on the section of the stage that jutted out to the side. "We can hang pictures on the wall here. The audience will know everything that's going on, but the other characters, like the parents, won't."

"That's genius, and I've been wanting to incorporate the entire stage."

"I know you have. I thought you might like it."

I sat in one of the back rows to watch them act out each trap. There were three, each one crazier than the last. They were testing them to see what would work the best.

Scarlett leaned against the wall. "They could have a mishap with one of the traps, and the police or fire department is called. The kids get in trouble. The parents give them the lesson, and they have to decide whether to go through with the traps in real life."

"Oh, I love that," Marigold said, eagerly writing it down on the page. Then she lifted her head, squinting to see me in the back of the auditorium. "Chance?"

I stood and made my way to the stage.

Scarlett sat next to Marigold. "I thought that was you.”

"What do you think?" Scarlett asked Marigold. "This is your play."

"I think it has the magic of the season combined with hope."

Lately, I was starting to believe in a future where Marigold was part of it. Or at least hope that it was possible.

17

MARIGOLD

"Ican't believe you wrote all of this in a few days," Scarlett gushed, and I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.

It hadn't taken me that long to write it. Maybe it wasn't good. "It just came to me."

"It makes for a fun yet festive holiday play with a lesson in the end. It's the trifecta. What do you think, Chance?" Scarlett asked him.

"I can't believe you can come up with a storyline."

"You probably don't use your imagination often. It's a muscle that expands the more you use it," I said sounding, like the book nerd I was. Chance was led by a strict set of rules and almost never went outside those parameters. It made believing in something bigger than you nearly impossible.

"I'll have to take your word for it," Chance said with a smile.

"You think we'll have enough time to pull this one off? I'm not sure we'll be able to do much set design," I told Scarlett.

"I already had the Fletchers working on general set design that we could use in any play."

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