Page 66 of Make Me Whole

My eyes fluttered open to look at him. He seemed as happy as he was on Halloween, and it filled my heart with hope and joy. I combed my fingers through the hair at the back of his head and whispered, “Me too.”

“To be continued?”

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

27

MAX

“Whales!” Ella dropped her bike in front of the porch and ran toward me. She jumped into my arms as soon as she was within reach. “The kids at the park said we can see whales from the cliff! C’mon, Unclad, let’s see them.”

Aiden abandoned his bike as well and ran toward Sky. Without a word, he grabbed her by the hand and dragged her inside the house. The way Sky and I seemed to fit into the parental role each kid lacked made me even more certain that we were meant to be a family. I was still unsure of how to tell Sky—and Al—that, but I knew I wouldn’t go home without making Sky officially mine.

With Ella in my arms, I followed them to the back deck.

The space was as wonderful as Sky had told me. The view was incredible, the hot tub gave me ideas for how to improve on the kissing Sky and I had agreed to continue later, and the grill made me feel right at home. As I took it all in, I had to agree with Sky about Molly. It was impossible to understand how a person could own a house like this and choose to live in Windy River instead.

Aiden stood on the second board of the railing—to get an unobstructed view of the water, I was sure—with Sky bracing him at the waist for safety. I stopped next to them, and the four of us stared at the water for a few seconds, holding our breaths in anticipation. Then, a spray of water shot up and a large, black tail splashed the water.

Sky and I gasped in amazement and the kids went nuts. As if propelled by our enthusiasm, a smaller animal splashed the surface as well and was followed by another, and another. It was such an amazing sight, and experiencing it together with the three of them was so muchmore.Holding my breath, I touched the small of Sky’s back, and she looked up at me with eyes filled with tears.

As the sun dipped lower, painting the blue sky with shades of pink, red, and orange, the whales splashed their fins and said goodbye.

“That was awesome!” Aiden exclaimed, jumping from the railing onto the deck. “Can we move here, Dad?”

I put Ella down and noticed that her eyes had widened with excitement at Aiden’s suggestion. I shook my head.

“No. I don’t think Molly wants to sell this place, and we’re renovating a house you both love. That’s all the house we need.”

“But that house doesn’t come with whales,” Ella shot back.

I tilted my head, amazed that neither of them noticed I had just implied they would both live at the reno house. Perhaps it wasn’t obvious enough for ten- and seven-year-olds, but it was for Sky. Her smile turned my heart into a not-so-macho goo.

“True, but I’m thinking about installing a pool in the back yard. That’s almost the same thing.”

Ella’s black brows tugged together. “Not really. But I guess that having a pool is cool too.”

I looked at Sky for help, and she came through. “Who wants to go with me to the store for s’mores supplies?”

Both kids raised their hands. When I didn’t, Ella put her fists on her hips. “Why isn’t your hand up, Unclad Max?”

I chuckled. “’Cause I’m staying. Someone has to get dinner and the fire started. Otherwise, no s’mores.”

Though Ella pouted, she didn’t protest. Food solved many problems with that one. I walked the three of them back inside the house, handed Sky the keys to my truck, and they left.

Alone, I started prepping dinner. I had brought meat and veggies for skewers prepared from home, so I only had to assemble them which took less than five minutes. The corn was ready to go, so I stuffed everything back into the fridge, took out a bottle of beer, and went outside to heat the grill. It was a gas grill—not my favorite and proof that a woman owned this house—so it was a quick task as well.

I moved on to the fire pit, glad to have a more tasking job to tackle. To my surprise, however, next to the circular bench around the pit was a wooden box withFire Suppliesprinted on the lid. I opened it and inside was everything a person would need to start a fire, including some valuable dry logs.

A bit frustrated and with nothing to do, I sat down on the bench with my beer and watched the fire.

The fire reflected on my gold wedding band, drawing my gaze to it. It reminded me of a scene fromThe Lord of the Rings, and I smirked.

Marge loved the books and I loved the movies—not so much for the story, though I really liked it, but for the memories attached to them. We first met on an outing to watchThe Fellowship of The Ringwith friends. I took her to a red carpet showing ofThe Two Towerson the night I asked her to marry me, and we watchedThe Return of the Ringon our honeymoon.

Even our wedding bands were chosen with the series in mind—this one completely per Marge’s demands. I can be a little nostalgic, but I’m not that sentimental.

As those long ago memories flooded my mind, two things surprised me. The first was the absence of the familiar knot in my throat whenever I thought about my late wife. The second was the sound of Marge’s voice reciting one of her favorite lines from the movies in my head.

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