Page 137 of Hound Dog
He groaned but wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me again as he kicked the door shut.
I was home. For one more night, I was home.
But Finn and I had forever.
Epilogue
Haylee
Two years later…
I staredat my mom’s list in my hands as the cruise ship we were on rocked beneath me. I hadn’t checked off the final item on my mom’s list yet.Take an Alaskan cruise.
Technically, we weren’t in Alaska yet.
The captain said that any minute now we’d be able to see the coastline of Alaska. Then, and only then, would I mark off the final goal on my mom’s bucket list.
Beside me, Finn rubbed my back in slow, rhythmic circles.
In the past two years, he’d made it his personal mission to help me accomplish each and every one of these goals. We’d done almost everything together—from skinny dipping at midnight, to petting an elephant, to… of course, making love under the stars.
Still, a little piece of my heart hurt knowing that in a few minutes, this list would be done. Like that little piece of my mom I’d been clinging to would no longer exist.
It was silly. I knew it was. But in a way, I was afraid to finish her list.
The whole point of a bucket list was to complete it, right?
Then why was I so sad?
“Are you okay?” Concern rang in Finn’s voice.
I started to nod, then stopped myself. “I think… I think I’m just sad because, even though I’m finishing this list for her, it breaks my heart that she didn't get to do any of these things. I mean, I know that was the point of me doing them, but still. It just feels wrong.”
When I dared a glance to my left, Finn had his lips pressed together.
He cleared his throat and pulled a wrapped gift out of his back pocket. “I was going to wait to give you this, but I think you may need it now.”
My brows pulled together. “What is it?”
He rolled his eyes at me. “Just open it.”
I traded him my mom’s list and the cupcake pen, which still worked because I only ever used it to check off items from Mom’s list. He tucked both into his pocket and stared at me as I carefully unwrapped the gift. It was small-ish. The size of a cell phone.
I tore the paper off and crumpled it into a ball.
It was a worn notebook. A small one.
I started to open it, but before I could see what was inside, he gently draped his palm over mine.
“What’s going on?”
He smiled at me. “Last New Year’s, remember how Meryl asked us to help her go through the boxes in her attic?”
I nodded. Meryl had so much crap up there that she’d been storing for years. It was about time we went through it all.
“Well,” Finn said, “I found this notebook up there. I talked to Meryl about it and asked her if I could wait until a special occasion to give it to you.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but smiled, nonetheless. “You’re sneaky.”
