Page 100 of Secrets That Bind Us
“That doesn’t surprise me, Verity. After he found out I took your virginity, he became a fucking psycho. We lost the play-offs because of him. He made sure to sabotage my future in that way. I wasn’t worried, though– I had the grades. Scouts were still looking at me.”
“Until your accident.”
He nods.
“Dean, I'm so sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“What are we going to do? I can’t just leave this like this.” I gesture to the wall and the… bones.
Dean sighs and shakes his head. “Grab my gym bag and some gloves. I’ll dig a hole and burn the bones.”
“I think you’re supposed to salt them, too.” Dean looks at me quizzically and I shrug. “That’s what they do on Supernatural.”
He tilts his head back and laughs. “Still obsessed with that show?”
“Have you seen the Winchester Smolder?” I don't tell him I’ve seen every episode at least fifteen times. That once a year, I’ll throw it on and binge it. That there are entire episodes I can lip sync every word without an issue. I’ll either impress or annoy him with that tidbit later.
He chuckles again. “Yeah, I remember the smolder.” He attempts to do it, and I laugh– in front of a fucking corpse. “Alright, c’mon. Let's get this done before the rain starts up again and the kids wake up. Somehow the kids slept through the racket. Hopefully, we can finish soon. We have a big day tomorrow with the soft launch.”
So we do.
We put on gloves, put the bones in Dean’s gym bag, grab a shovel from behind the barn, and dig a three-foot hole. Just to humor me, Dean pours salt all over the remains and lights them up. A heaviness around us seems to lift, and the smoke rises. When it’s done, they've burned to nothing but ash as the sky does its best to turn pink, but the rain clouds overhead don’t give it a chance. Fog from the pond rises, lapping at our feet just as he covers the ash back up with soil. “What a fucking Halloween.”
I stare at the dying embers turning into greyed ash as the first few drops put them out. “Devil’s Night indeed.”
We head inside.
We help each other shower, but once we’re in our bedroom, we lose ourselves in soft touches and kisses, trying to help the other get dressed. Every featherlight touch of his helps me forget. Every glide of his tongue keeps my mind on him. On us. On the future we’re going to build together. When he enters my body, it’s with a precision so fierce yet delicate– in unhurried yet perfectly paced strokes– because he knows exactly what I need, what I want… how to tell me he loves me with words and acts. Like burying a fucking body.
We crest together and fall together.
Every time.
As it should be.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Dean
Present Day
We’re finishing up a few things when I hear a knock on The Ink Plot’s door. I look up from the display to see Jason carrying a large box. Taking out an earbud, I hurry up to unlock the door and let him in, taking the box from him. “Shit man, thank you.”
He grins as he looks around, hands on his hips, then lets out a low whistle. “Well, butter my ass and call me a roll. It looks fuckin’ good in here.”
I nod, reaching down to open the box. Verity and I had a last-minute idea to put a halogen sign that reads“Came for the Ink, Stayed for the Plot,”for a photo prop. Thankfully, Jason’s brother owns a custom sign store. Verity and Zoey were able to convince the Townsends to transfer their boutique over to the space on the other side of the building so Zoey could interconnect her new tattoo parlor to The Ink Plot’s cafe side by a sliding door– so people waiting could browse and hopefully drum up more business.
Jason is helping me put it up next to the large display.
Eli comes up to us in his usual tailor-made suit. “Oh, is this the sign?”
“Jason, Eli, Eli, Jason.” I introduce. “Eli is Jake’s husband. Jason is my best friend and the Fire Chief.”
They shake hands. Jason looks around the place. “Show me around? Muscles here can haul that out. I just want to make sure everything is up to code. I haven’t been in since checking it all out before the renovations.”
I roll my eyes at Jason but continue hauling it all out of the box. I look up at the display Verity trusted me to create. I went online and found a few videos on how to make an artsy book display out of old books. I took a few pieces of plywood, had Savannah paint it black, went to a second-handbookstore, purchased some old books, and nailed them to the thing. Once I was done, Savannah added vines, little flowers, and made it way better than I ever could. My daughter is great with those types of things.
