Page 78 of Wake Me Up
“I guess you’re right,” I say, pushing my chair back and standing up.
I pull my pants back up and button them before I jerk my chin towardthe brown paper bag on the corner of the desk. “Guess I’ll eat my lunch now. I already had my dessert.” I wink, grabbing the bag and peeking inside. “A blowie and my favorite sandwich from my favorite sub shop?” I pull the contents of both her sandwich and mine out, along with the two iced teas. “You’re too damn good to me, darlin’.”
A satisfied smile rests on her face as she redresses herself before she walks over to the door and unlocks it. She opens it halfway before she walks back to the desk, sitting down on the seat across from me. As she takes her sandwich and begins unwrapping it, Cade pops his head in.
“Is it Bring Your Wife to Work Day or what?” He flashes a cheesy grin before his wife appears next to him in the doorway and waves.
“Hey, Haley!” Freya beams.
“Hey, Freya,” Haley answers, glancing at the desk. “Cade, they are in the middle of a romantic lunch date. Time to go.” She takes his hand, pulling him out into the hallway.
“Whoops, sorry for interrupting!” Cade calls out.
Freya and I have both met Haley a few times now. She seems nice, and Freya really likes her. I’d bet she has ano bullshitside too though. To straighten out a man like Cade Huff, you’d have to.
Then again, when I asked him how the hell Haley got him to settle down, he said, “She loved the devil right out of me.”
It might sound cliché, but inside, I knew he wasn’t bluffing.
Freya starts to unwrap her sandwich before she bursts into laughter. “Well, if they had gotten here, like … thirty seconds earlier, that would have been awkward. Cade would have wondered why you’d locked your damn door!”
Taking a bite of my sandwich, I shrug. “Still worth it, babe. My dessert was fucking delicious, and now I’m eating my lunch.”
I’ve been at this new job for a while now, but today? Hands down my favorite.
And I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Istand in the large field, surrounded by acres upon acres of apple trees. My heart is pounding, and I didn’t realize how sweaty my palms were until a few minutes ago, when Aviana pulled her hand from mine and told me my hand was sweaty and that it was grossing her out. The kid was trying to be nice, holding my hand to calm me down, because I know she could sense that I was nervous, but then I went and grossed her out.
“I don’t get why you’re nervous,” Cane says, judging the shit out of me. “You’re already married to my mom.”
“He’s nervous because this time, her kids are going to be here, ding-dong,” Aviana says, coming to my defense … sort of. “And because he’s afraid she’s going to hate this land and he just bought it for her a few days ago. No takesies-backsies.”
“She’s going to obviously like it,” he scoffs. “Look at it!”
Freya’s SUV suddenly appears, pulling into the dirt driveway. Though I’m sure she can’t see us yet because we’re shielded by the apple trees. Watching her drive closer only has my heart beating harder. She eventually parks, no doubt confused why Cash led her here to a friend’s house, only to find an abandoned field. Cash was obviously in on the secret, but I know he’d sell it to his mom like they were really headed for him to go to his friend’s place.
When Cash convinces her to get out of the car—just like me and the other two kids talked about—that’s when we all step into view. The confusion on Freya’s face can be seen all the way over here, but reluctantly, she follows Cash toward us. Cane and Aviana trail me to her, and we all meet in the middle.
Freya looks around, holding her hands out at her sides. “Where the heck are we? Don’t tell me that after all this time, you’re an axe murderer, and this is your site tobury bodies.”
“Maybe.” I look around at the kids, putting my hand on the top of Cane’s head. “Nah. I’m kidding.”
One look at Freya, and I’m fucking nervous that I’m going to let her down. All I’ve ever wanted is to be perfect for her because of everything she’s been through.
I drag in a shaky breath, feeling the sweat bead on my forehead before I reach for her hands. Today, I’m giving her the anniversary she deserves.
“It’s been a year since we got married. A year since I met you at the pier and twenty-four hours later, the knot was tied. A year of getting to know you better while also feeling like I’ve known you my entire life.”
Freya’s eyes well with tears, but I still have more to say. My entire life, I’ve kept my feelings inside. But for her, I know it’s okay to let them out.
I glance around at her kids, who stand around us, and now it’s my eyes that are glossy. “A year of getting to know your kids, learning their favorite things—or least favorite things. A year of finding out that Cane can throw a mean curveball, sleepwalks at least three times a month, and almost always takes the garbage out even though no one even asks him to. A year of watching Cash grow into one helluva a goalie, be weirdly on time for everything, and help Avy with her math homework anytime she needs it.” My eyes find Aviana’s—one of the strongest kids I’ve ever known. “A year of hearing Ave tell jokes that are funnier than either of her brothers’, watching her learn to bake like her mom, and most of all … be seizure-free.”
When I look at Freya again, her cheeks are soaked, and she’s sniffling.
“A year isn’t a long time, I’ve learned. Because while a lot happens in a year, it’s not nearly enough time to learn everything about you and your kids for me. It’ll never be enough time.” I swallow. “When we got married, the three most important people in your life weren’t able to be there. But now, a year later, I wanted to make sure they were. I love you, Freya. And I’ll never stop being grateful that you shared such a big piece of yourself with me. You shared your kids.”
“Tripp,” she squeaks through a sob, “that was beautiful.” She looks at her kids before gazing at the field. “Why are we here though?”
