Page 96 of Forever Theirs

At the mention of the wordhome, Miles and I exchanged a worried look.

“What? What aren’t you two telling me?”

“I’ll go talk to the doc,” Miles said, storming out of the room, leaving me to explain to Aspen what we’d decided while she was unconscious.

I glared at his back until he closed the door, shutting off the sounds from the clinic. Shaking my head, I perched on the edge of the bed and studied my hands.

“We can’t go back there. Not after finding you like that and knowing Jessica was there. It doesn’t feel like home anymore.” I dared a look over my shoulder, surprised at finding relief on Aspen’s face. “You’re okay with us making that decision without you?”

She nodded. “I didn’t want to go back there either. Not after…” Her whole body shivered along the thin mattress.

Pushing off, I grabbed another blanket the nurse left and draped it over Aspen’s legs.

“I was afraid you’d be angry that we decided without you.”

“I’m glad you did so I didn’t have to bring it up, thinking I was asking you two to leave your home for me.”

Her soft skin slid beneath my knuckle as I stroked it along her jaw. “Don’t you know we’d do anything for you, Aspen? Anything?” Inhaling deeply for courage, I repeated the words I wasn’t sure she heard the other day. “I love you, Aspen. Anything you need or want, I’ll do. I don’t just want a life with you. I want everything. The good, the bad, and all that in between. I never realized that this soul-consuming feeling was love. I thought I loved before, but now I realize it wasn’t even fucking close to how consumed I am with how I feel for you. Twice in the last week, I thought I’d lost you, and each time, it only solidified that you’re a part of me now. You’re in my heart so deep that it wouldn’t keep beating if you weren’t here.”

“Oh, Aiden,” she whispered. “You have so much love and happiness to give, and I want you. I want everything that you have to give all for myself. I love you too, so much that it feels like my heart may burst in my chest because of how full it feels. You two have shown me what true love is, and I will never let either of you go.”

Supporting myself with a hand on either side of her head, I leaned in close and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Never letting us go, sweetheart. I will hold you to that.”

Her grin was all happiness and love. “I hope you do.”

Hours ago, I thought my life was over, and now…

Now I realized it was only really beginning.

35

MILES

Sitting on the top porch step of our temporary cabin, our home until the three-bedroom one we wanted was cleaned out and move-in ready, I ran my fingers through Jubie’s thick fur, watching Aiden and Aspen rock back and forth in the porch swing. My smile dropped, catching the white gauze wrapped around Aspen’s forearm.

Two days ago, the best thing that ever happened to us was almost taken away.

Jubie grunted and nudged my shoulder with her wet nose, telling me she sensed the anxiety spike. Thankfully, the drugs wore off quickly, and after twenty-four hours under Baylee’s care, Jubie was back to her old self. So far, we hadn’t noticed any side effects, but Baylee demanded she stop by daily for the next couple of weeks to check in.

We almost lost her and Aspen all because of someone we’d introduced into their lives. My heart gave a painful thud just thinking about how devastated Aiden and I would be if we had lost our future with Aspen. The only bright side out of the whole shit show was that the threat to her, Jubie, Aiden, and me was gone.

Liam tracked the blood trail Jessica left when she fell out the back door and found her body almost half a mile away in a remote area. The way he explained it, she was already dead when he found her from the gash on the inside of her thigh that severed an artery. Though I wasn’t sure if that was exactly true. Something about the way his lips curved up in a knowing grin spoke to there being more to that story.

I would hopefully find out one day soon so I could thank the bastard for ensuring the threat to our family was finished. We would have more challenges, but hopefully none as violent as this one.

Movement down the road had me leaning forward. Knowing the trio was headed this way, I pushed off the rough boards to stand. A groan slipped out as I stretched both arms high in the air, fingertips brushing the porch overhang.

“We leave, and this place goes to hell,” Brandon said, his arm draped over his partner’s shoulders. Their size difference was comical, his six-foot-five frame towering over her barely five-foot stature.

“Welcome back,” I said, taking his outstretched hand, then turning to Amy and Carl. “We missed you guys.”

Breaking out of Brandon’s hold, Amy leapt up the stairs and wrapped her arms around my waist, squeezing me so tight I couldn’t take a full breath.

“Come on, baby, let the man breathe.” Carl carefully extracted Amy and pulled her back against his chest. “We just landed and heard about…” His gaze slid to Aspen, who had left the swing to stand beside me. “Everything. Hi, you must be Aspen Carter.” He shook her hand. “I’m Carl Taylor, and these are my partners, Amy and Brandon.”

“I cannot believe this happened here,” Amy exclaimed, tossing her hands in the air. “This place is normally so safe that we leave our doors unlocked.” She stepped closer to Aspen and pulled her into a much gentler hug than she gave me. “I’m so sorry this was your introduction to our community, to Anchor Bay.”

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