Page 66 of On the Edge

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll see.” I leaned into the mysterious tone before chuckling. Maybe Jonas couldn’t bring himself to say the words, but I could read between the lines of his little dream. “I’m bringing you to Easter dinner. Expect questions about adoption and surrogacy by dessert.”

“You want kids?” He pulled back to stare into my eyes. The cautious hope I saw in his was all the confirmation I needed to nod.

“I’m told I’m not terrible with them.” I shrugged like this was a totally casual, normal conversation instead of the most important talk of my life. “Maybe someday I’ll want some kids to get mini-bikes for.”

“Let’s get crazy.” Jonas sounded dazed, but I simply grinned.

“I could get behind that dream of yours, the house, dogs, family.”

Jonas looked all emotional as he swallowed hard. “A family. That’s the dream.”

“Then I want to give you that.” I made my voice as confident as I could, even as my insides shuddered. “I love you. Let me try to make your dreams come true?”

“Yes.” Jonas released the word with a gasp, then narrowed his eyes at me. “You love me?”

“How could I not?” I gave him a fast, hard kiss. “And I’ll probably screw up in trying to give you everything you deserve, but hopefully you’ll be patient with me.”

“How could I not?” He echoed me with a small, hopeful smile. “I love you too.”

“Good.” I’d been pretty sure he did, but hearing the words for the first time still made me giddy, drunk on endorphins. “Because I was serious about bringing you for Easter. Prepare to be a Murphy.”

I kissed his surprised reaction away, continuing until he was too distracted to ask whether the Murphy bit was a joke. It wasn’t. He’d see.

Chapter Thirty

Jonas

April in Oregon was one of those months we longtime residents looked forward to all year. The snowy days were behind us, tulips and daffodils flooded front yards, and mild temperatures greeted the return of outdoor entertaining. Mount Hope was awash in spring decor. In fact, my Saturday shift had been full of minor Easter egg hunt injuries—three sprained ankles, a wrenched wrist, a bumped head, and a bite from an angry toddler. All in all, a good shift to head into a few days of downtime.

But first, I had to survive a gauntlet on par with passing my various nursing license exams.

“Is that what you’re wearing to the Murphys for Easter?” Eric knocked before coming down the basement stairs with a hamper of dirty towels.

“Yeah.” I glanced worriedly at my pressed blue dress shirt, navy tie, and gray slacks. “What’s wrong with my outfit? Folks usually dress up for Easter dinner.”

“Not worried about Sean strangling you with the tie?” Eric shot me a wicked grin.

“He’s been surprisingly good about this whole thing.” I tried to sound positive when, in truth, I was pretty sure Sean had spent the last few weeks avoiding me. We’d made stilted small talk in passing, but our longer conversations and closeness felt like a distant memory.

“Uh-huh.” Eric sounded unconvinced. “Also, brave of you to wear something dry clean only to the Murphys. I always feel like they’re one tossed roll from a food fight over there.”

“Should I be worried about family drama?” I adjusted my tie. I wasn’t about to change, not with Declan ready any moment, but now my nerves were surging all over again.

“It’s the Murphys.” Eric shrugged as he loaded towels into the washer. “There’s always drama. But you’ll be fine.”

“And you? Will you be okay today?” I needed a shift away from myself as the conversation topic. I still wasn’t used to this much chatter around my love life or life in general.

“Maren’s in town. The kids have created an Easter menu where every dish has bacon, and we have enough dyed eggs for six hunts.” Eric grinned widely. “Things are good.”

We’d passed the one-year mark of Montgomery’s death in quiet acknowledgment, all of us reaching out to Eric and the kids as they entered the second year of their journey without Montgomery’s large presence. And something seemed to have shifted within Eric in recent weeks, a return of his easier smiles and teasing nature. He’d always been the most serious of us and a silent leader, but he seemed less stoic these days.

“I’m glad.” Seeing my friend happy made my shoulders lift as I returned his smile. “You know you still have me, right?”

“Buddy, nothing is ever destroying our friendship.” Eric crossed the room to clap me on the shoulder. “You falling in love is a good thing, not a stressor. And with Rowan deciding against college, my financial pressures are a lot less. I’ll be okay when you move out.”

I made an indignant noise, but I wasn’t faking my shock. “Who says I’m moving out?”

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