Page 123 of Loud Unspoken Memories

“Dallas, no. You’ve already done so much.”

He pushes my hair behind my shoulder and whispers, “I’ve got money, Marti. I’m going to spoil you and Charlie, so you’d better get used to it. We’ll go car shopping as soon as we get you moved up here.”

I shake my head. It’s all so surreal. “I don’t have anything for you. I had no idea what to give a man who has so much money he can buy anything.”

“You,” he says. “You can give me you. Move in with me.”

My eyes go wide. I’m excited, yet terrified. “Hold on, space cowboy. I’ve got more than just me to think about. We’ll move here. We’ll move here tomorrow if that’s what you want, but we’ll rent a place of our own. Charlie just lost his dad. He needs time to process that before having another significant father-figure in his life.” I try to gauge his reaction. “Does that scare you?”

“Not anymore.”

He pulls out his phone.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Looking for rentals.Short-termones. One for you and Charlie. And one for me.” He glances up. “They’ll be close. I never plan on being far away from you again.”

Lucas sits down and looks over Dallas’s shoulder. “Rental properties, eh?” He turns to me. “So about that offer…”

“I accept,” I say without hesitation.

Dallas’s smile grows even wider as he continues to scroll on his phone.

“Fantastic,” Lucas says. “Welcome to the Montana Winery family.”

“I’m happy to be a part of it.” I look around the room at their large family.“Allof it.”

~ ~ ~

After a long day of playing, eating, and socializing, I tuck Charlie into bed.

He pulls Grumpy close. “I like it here, Mommy.”

“I like it here too, Charlie. In fact, we’re going to move here. Not to this house. I mean we will probably come over here quite a bit, but we won’t live here. We’ll get an apartment. What do you think?”

“In Calla Creek?”

“Yes, we’re going to move to Calloway Creek.”

“Are Unca Asher and Bug coming?”

“No, buddy. They aren’t. But I have a feeling we might be seeing them often, especially Uncle Asher.”

“You can fly down to Orlando to see them anytime you want,” Dallas says from the doorway.

“I like planes,” Charlie says through a yawn.

“Me too.” Dallas stares at me. “What about you, Marti? Do you like planes?”

I roll my eyes. “Let’s just say my aversion to them isn’t as strong as it was before.”

How could it be? One of those planes brought me back to him. And him to me.

“Goodnight, Charlie,” Dallas says, and disappears.

Charlie’s eyes grow heavy as I read himThe Night Before Christmasone last time. Then Bex hops up on the bed and protectively settles in next to him.

It warms my heart that Charlie’s world has expanded so much over the past twenty-four hours.

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