Page 48 of Sunny Skies Ahead
As I watched him retreat into the kitchen to brew us another pot of coffee, I realized that maybe the ache in my chest was the weight of the past holding me back.
Kameron returned with two cups of coffee, and I leaned forward to kiss his cheek gently.
“Thank you,” I murmured, and I hope he understood all that I tried to convey, but couldn’t find the words to speak aloud yet.
Kameron’s answering smile told me he did.
Kameron video chatted Connor and Lucas to tell them the good news, and I spent most of the afternoon creating folders for each type of document we’d need. I sorted through everything from invoices to monthly bank statements and correspondence with previous cohorts. I went through our social media accounts and scoured the comments and direct messages for anything we could use as a personal anecdote, and sent messages to those individuals asking for permission to use their statements in our presentation.
It might have been a bit overboard, even for me, but I refused to give Kameron anything less than my best.
This was what we’d all been working towards so hard this spring and summer. If Winding Road could secure the Warrior’s Grant, all of Kameron’s grand plans for this land would come to fruition. Not only that, but they’d be well on their way to ensuring the long-term success of Winding Road with all the resources the Warrior’s Foundation would provide for them.
It was a life-changing grant. For everyone involved with Winding Road, but also for the people that came here to get the help they so desperatelyneeded.
By the time the evening rolled around, Lucas was back upstairs after a full day of farm work. We’d both spent most of the afternoon and evening hunched over our laptops, compiling notes and ideas into a shared document that had the basic outline for the presentation.
Kameron shut his laptop first, and I followed suit.
“Do you have plans tonight?” I blurted.
Kameron quirked an eyebrow. “If by plans you mean the fact that I planned to watch T.V. and goof off on the internet until I collapse, then yes, my evening is booked solid.”
I looked down at my lap briefly. Was I really about to do this? It was hard enough for me to throw caution to the wind and stop overthinking for long enough to enjoy something, and what I wanted to do tonight involved more than just living in the moment.
It required vulnerability.
“Do you have plans?” he asked.
I have so,somany plans, I wanted to say.
But there was something I had to do first. If I was going to put my heart on the line, I needed Kameron to know the full story. There couldn’t be any more secrets, no more closed doors or hiding from the memories.
“I want to tell you my story,” I whispered. “But I need you to promise me that you won’t pity me.”
Kameron’s eyes shone with understanding, and he reached for my hand.
“I don’t pity you, Imogen. I never have.”
“You’re a good listener,” I said, zipping the pendant of my necklace along its chain. It was a classic nervous habit I’d never been able to break.
“And that’s a bad thing?”
I swallowed back a hysterical laugh. Was I really about to do this?
“It’s not a bad thing. But it’s not something I’m used to.”
“Well, I’ve got all the fixings for burrito bowls,” Kameron said, nodding his head toward the kitchen. “What do you say we fix dinner and talk?”
“Sounds good,” I said. The act was innocuous enough; we’d shared dozens of dinners together. None of those dinners had come after a series of kisses, but it would be fine.
Kameron set about making the ground beef and I gathered the toppings, taking time to wash out Bass’s water and food bowls before refilling both. Hopefully, he’d want to take a nap during dinner so Kam and I could talk in peace.
The scene was surprisingly domestic. I’d lived by myself for most of my adult life, save for the year I lived with Jacob. That year was anything but domestic bliss, so the ease with which Kam and I moved around each other in the kitchen took me by surprise in the best possible way.
We took our seats at the table, and I let out a long breath.
“Do you remember that night at the party, when Abbie made that joke about my chaotic bisexual energy?
