Page 110 of Shelter from the Storm

“I love my necklace,” she said softly, for the twentieth time since she’d unwrapped it this morning. When he’d explained that the necklace with its heartbeat charm represented the day he met her, the day his heart beat for the first time, she clasped it around her neck, vowing to never take it off.

“More than the photo?” he asked.

“It’s a tie.”

Theo chuckled.

He’d given her over a dozen gifts, some big, some small, but the two she’d reacted to the most had been the necklace and the framed photograph of everyone taken at Thanksgiving. She teared up when she saw it, remarking that the photo included every single person in the world she loved. She planned to hang it up in her office, next to the older one she’d had framed of her and Shaw at her brother’s graduation.

Gretchen had kissed him when she opened it, quietly whispering, “Thank you for giving me a family.”

Even now, the thought of those words and her soft kiss warmed him, made him happier than he ever thought possible.

He’d gone on to explain to Gretchen that the Thanksgiving photo was a tradition Mom had kept going since the first year she and Dad were married. Everyone who sat down together for the meal would gather on the front porch to pose. When he mentioned Mom had a photo album dedicated to just those pictures, Gretchen asked if she could see it.

So once they arrived at the farmhouse for dinner, Theo pulled it out, flipping through the pages as Gretchen asked who everyone was in the earliest photos, and then remarked on how much the family had grown and changed. She’d been right. Theo couldn’t remember the last time he’d flipped through that album, but it was fun to reminisce.

By the time they hit the final photo—this year’s—he and Gretchen were surrounded by no less than ten other people, all jostling for position around the couch so they could look too. This year’s Thanksgiving group had been the largest, because they’d added Shaw, Edith, Manny, and Kasi’s family.

Gretchen sighed, as she sank even deeper into his embrace. He tightened his arm around her waist, then decided to tease her back, pressing his cock against her ass.

She giggled. “I’m going to miss our cabin.”

“I’m not,” he said.

Gretchen glanced over her shoulder, eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Because I’ve got my sights set on a better one. It’s farther up the mountain, closer to Remi’s stables.”

Gretchen’s eyes widened. “I know which cabin you’re talking about. I helped Mila prepare it for renters one weekend because there was a rush turnaround between the departure of one party and the arrival of the next. The view from the front porch is incredible.”

“It is. It’s also one of the first cabins we updated when we decided to give them all facelifts. It has a more modern, less rustic feel inside.”

“What do you mean, you have your sights set on it?”

“That’s the one I’m going to ask for. For us.”

Gretchen twisted in his arms, facing him. Theo kept his arm around her waist, refusing to let her shift away, so their faces were close, her ginger-scented breath reminding him of the cookies they’d eaten for dessert. “For us?”

“I plan to live out my life on this farm,” he explained.

“I know. If this was my home, I’d never want to leave it either.”

Theo loved that she adored his family’s farm and Gracemont as much as he did. “That’s what I’m saying. It will be your home. Obviously, when you agree to move in with me, we can’t live with my brothers. So we’ll need a place of our own. And that cabin?—”

Gretchen drew in a soft breath.

“We’re still doing this on your timeline, okay?” he reiterated, not wanting to scare her or put pressure on her.

“I know. It’s just… You’ve really thought this out, haven’t you?”

Theo playfully bopped the tip of her nose with his finger. “I’ve got our whole future planned.”

“You do, huh?” she asked, grinning widely.

“Absolutely. Test me.”

“Fine,” she said. “Where do you see us in a year?”

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