Page 24 of The Art of Dying

He slapped me on the arm. “Don’t fuck it up, brother.” He chuckled to himself and left me for his shop, tending to the huge engine sitting on a stainless-steel table.

Mack trotted out, waving to Sully. “Thank you!” she called to him. I opened the door to the Chevy, watching as she settled in. “Alecia said they’re in!”

“Four steaks it is,” I said. “Sully has to work late. Probably a good thing. No one else would be able to talk.”

We held hands for the drive to the Big Y, and I kept one hand on the shopping cart handle and the other with my fingers intwined with hers, leaving her one free to grab the items we needed. Her hand didn’t leave mine when we carried our bags to the truck, or from the Big Y parking lot to my house.

“My parents have the big dining table, so I figured my place was best for supper guests?” I said as I pulled into the drive.

“Agreed,” she said. “I love their table. It’s so rustic and beautiful…” She trailed off, noticing my expression. “What?”

I sighed. “I joined up because I thought I wouldn’t have anyone here to miss, and now I have you and I’m wheels up in three days.”

She tried to smile, but her eyes immediately glossed over. “For how long?”

I didn’t want to say it. I was afraid of her reaction. “We deploy every other year. It’s my year to be in the sand, but I’ll be at Camp Pendleton until then. I get a week of leave every three months after I’m back stateside, and I can request whenever I want, but it’s not always guaranteed. I’ll be in officer’s quarters. It’s a two-bedroom house with my own phone, so that’s the good news. The guys in the barracks have to share a phone between seventy-five of them unless they spring for their own. When I’m in the field training, we won’t be able to talk for a few days, but I’ll have notice for when that is.”

“One week in maybe three months.” She nodded, then looked forward with a laugh. “This is stupid. I met you a month ago. I don’t know why I’m so upset.”

“Because you’ll miss me?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I mean I’ll miss you, but…”

My heart felt like it stopped. I wouldn’t blame her if she ended it. We’d spent every day together, but it had still only been three weeks. Waiting was a lot to ask from a brand-new relationship.

“Because I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you.”

My eyebrows shot up, but with so many thoughts flying through my brain in that moment, I couldn’t get a single word formed in my mouth.

“I know,” she said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I know it’s crazy. I promised myself that this time I’d take it slow, but the more I fought it, the harder I fell. I’m sorry, I’m not trying to guilt trip you…”

I reached over and pulled her into my lap, and with both my hands on each side of her face, kissed her like I was never going to see her again. When I finally let her go, she pressed her forehead to mine.

“You know, Sully usually checks in on the house while I’m gone, but…”

“I can do it,” she said without hesitation. “I don’t mind.”

I intertwined my fingers in hers. “I’m not asking you to take care of two houses. I’m asking you to move in. Make it yours. Paint if you want. Redecorate if you want. I’ll leave you money and send more if I need to.”

She laughed once. “Move in with you? We just met, that’s nuts.”

“So is falling in love with you in just a few days, but I don’t question anything when it comes to you.”

She shook her head. “I left Nashville to move here with Mason after barely knowing him for six months, and that was too soon.”

“I’m not Mason.”

“No, no… I know you’re not. I just mean following my heart hasn’t worked out for me in the past.”

“So, keep your house. Exit strategy. C’mon, Mack. I’m crazy about you. Be crazy with me.”

She sighed and shook her head again, but the grin on her face already told me her answer. “I’m keeping my house. And I’m not getting rid of your parents’ table.”

“Deal,” I said.

She sat in my lap for the better part of an hour. We kissed until my lips felt chapped. We hugged and laughed and planned until we remembered the groceries. I carried her and the bags in at the same time. The second I placed her back on her feet, we got to work. We’d been celebrating in the truck so long, we’d forgotten Lucas and Alecia would be on their way over any minute.

I marinated the steaks while Mack prepped the asparagus and baked potatoes. Just as she put the orzo in a pot of water to boil, the doorbell rang.

---