He laid on the bed beside her for what felt like forever the next morning. Nothing could have pulled him from her side other than the house burning down around them. Dinner never happened the night before, but he had plenty of stuff in the fridge for a great breakfast. She loved omelets, and he'd paid close attention over the last few months on what she liked in hers. She'd be surprised for sure seeing that they'd never talked about it before.

It was the little things. The communication between them was going to have to improve, but the little things would be a balm for the times when things got fucked up, and they would. There was almost no way around that. Sometimes life threw shit at him, and his only reaction was to be an asshole to anyone and everyone. It wasn't that he chose that reaction, it just happened. After thirty-one years of being the guy he was, it wasn't going to change overnight, but he sure as hell would work on apologizing and not directing too much of it toward her if he could help it.

"I love you so much," he whispered and reached over to pull the covers over her back. He kissed the side of her face and got up. His slacks were on the floor, but pajama pants sounded like the better option. He only had two hours before he needed to be ready to head to Amanda's funeral. He pulled his pants over his legs and tied the drawstring tight before looking for his phone.

The text on it was from Matt, just checking in. He texted his brother back that he would see him at Amanda's funeral. He quickly gave him the name of the church too, seeing that Matt was too much of a knucklehead to figure anything out on his own.

"Or maybe I'm just not giving him enough credit." Damon brushed his fingers by his lips and pressed the button for Kendal.

"Hey, man. What's up?" Kendal sounded better, not good, but not nearly as lifeless as he had since Amanda passed.

"I was just calling to make sure you didn't want me to come get you this morning." Damon walked to the fridge, opened it and pulled out the various items he'd need to make breakfast.

"No. I'm able to get myself there. I was trying to decide between a black tie and a blue one. This is why I should already be married. I can never get the color scheme right for anything."

"Black for a funeral." Damon turned and leaned against the counter. "Is Dana coming today?"

"I would assume so, though I really wish she wouldn't." Kendal sighed softly. "She would come even if something hadn't started between us. She was one of Mandy's nurses and the two of them connected."

"That's awesome. It's nice to know your sister had people watching out for her all of the time."

"That's true. I'll see you there, okay?"

"All right."

"Hey. Damon."

"What?"

"Is Bethany coming? Have you talked to her since yesterday? Did you guys end up going out for dinner?"

"Whoa. That's a lot of questions. I should charge you for information gathering."

"Answer the questions, man. I just didn't want her to feel like I didn't invite her. I forgot to mention it yesterday at the courthouse with everything going on."

"She's coming today. She spent the night last night. We worked everything out. I mean, we certainly have a long way to go to repair all the damage we both did to the relationship, but we agree on the fact that we're willing to work on it. She's wearing the ring again, and I didn't have to pin her to the ground to force it on her finger."

"Good. Damn, at least something is working out in the world."

"Yeah, I'm stupid blessed. I'll see you in a couple of hours. You know all you have to do is call if you decide you can't get yourself up there. I'll drop everything and come get you, man."

"I know. That's why you're my best friend."

"See you soon." Damon dropped the call, set his phone down and worked on breakfast. The sound of someone walking into the kitchen behind him caused him to smile. He glanced back to see Beth wearing one of his white button down shirts, and it would seem nothing else.

Her hair was an unruly mess, her pretty mouth a little swollen from his licking and kissing at it all night. He could imagine what the rest of her beautiful body looked like.

"Sleep good, baby?" He walked across the kitchen and pulled her into his arms.

"Like a baby, funny enough." She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into the kiss. "I need to go home to grab something to wear for the funeral. You want me to take one of your cars or can you run me over there?"

"Whatever you want me to do. I made you breakfast. Eat real quick while I change and then we'll go."

She inhaled as if trying to discern what breakfast he'd made. "Smells divine."

"It's a ham, egg and mushroom omelet with cheddar cheese on top like you like." He kissed the tip of her nose, released her and walked toward the bedroom. "Enjoy."

"Wow. You did this for me?" she called after him.

"Yeah. I figure I'd better stop saying how much I love you and start proving it." He chuckled. "You could always wear this pretty dress in here on the floor. It's wrinkled, but I could throw it in the dryer for you."

"That's a good idea. You think it looks good enough for a funeral?"

"Yeah. It's perfect." He closed the door to the bathroom and turned on the shower. He needed to wash the scent of their lust off of himself before changing. Nothing sounded better than calling her in to join him, but they'd never make it to the funeral in time.

Sadness welled up inside his chest as he let the hot water run across his skin. Kendal would have a hard time holding it together at the service, which was completely expected, but there was nothing that bent Damon over more than seeing someone he loved suffer.

At least Beth would be there beside him. Just a quick glance her way and he would be forced to consider the future. It was finally bright again now that she was back in the picture. Did she want a bigger house than the one he had? And how many kids? He smiled at the thoughts running through his mind. Never in a million years had he considered truly settling down with someone.

He finished up and got out about the time she walked in. "You getting in?"

"Yeah, just real quick." She reached for him and kissed him a few times. "Thank you for making me breakfast. It was delicious. The best omelet I've ever had."

"Good. I wanted you to enjoy yourself this morning like I did last night." A nefarious grin slid up his face as he chuckled.

She shook her head and pulled his shirt over her head, leaving her beautiful ass on display. "You're so corrupt."

"You like it."

"No, I love it." She glanced over her shoulder as she got into the shower. "What are your plans after the funeral?"

"I need to swing by the office to talk with my dad today if he's up for it. I know he's got a conference call with a company that's overseas and has no concept of taking off for a weekend." He snorted and reached for his comb, running it through his hair a few times. "I want to try and clear the air between us."

Bethany poked her head out of the shower. "Clear the air? Did something happen?"

"From when my mother died. My father is still upset with me for not going to the funeral, and not that anything could probably change that, but I need to get all of it off of my chest. I don't want to let the pain of that shit continue to ruin my life. I can't afford it anymore. I won't take the chance of having it fester further and hurt this thing between you and me. It's not worth it."

"Do you want me to go with you?" The earnest sweetness in her voice melted him a little farther, as if possible.

"No. I need to close down the old hurt by myself. I'm honestly not sure if my dad knows that my mom slept around, and I wouldn't want to bring that up with anyone in the room but the two of us." Damon turned to face her instead of watching her in the mirror's reflection. "I have no clue how he's going to react."

"Something tells me that with as much as your father loves you, no matter how he reacts, the two of you will work it out."

"I hope you're right." He tightened the towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom, rehearsing the same conversation that had run through his mind a million times over the last ten years. No matter the outcome, it was time to be truthful and give himself rest from carrying around the burden alone.

"Thanks for coming today." Kendal reached out and pulled Damon into a hug.

"Of course, man." Damon squeezed him and moved back to let Beth get in a quick hug as well. The pretty dark-haired girl standing just off to his left seemed to be trying not to watch Kendal too closely.

"Guys, this is Dana Young. She was one of Mandy's nurses and is a friend of mine." He put his hand on the girl's lower back as Damon smiled and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you. I think we got to see each other earlier this week at the hospital." He smiled as she nodded. She looked a lot like Ana, but there was no way in hell Damon was going to mention it. The fact that Kendal was touching the girl was a good sign. Maybe Kendal had taken Damon's advice and figured out a way to have love in his life despite the fact that it might hurt his career again. If not, the man was in the wrong damn career.

"We did." Dana smiled back and turned to Beth.

"I guess we should sit down." Damon glanced down at his girl as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He glanced back up to Kendal. "We'll let all of your extended family sit up here with you, and my family will be a few rows backs if you need us, okay?"

"Just remember that you're a pallbearer."

"I know." Damon walked Beth to the back, and they sat down next to an elderly couple who still seemed very much in love. Damon took Beth's hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her fingers a few times. The fact that she had her ring back on her finger gave him more peace than he thought possible.

How quickly they both were moving away from not working things out and letting go of what could possibly be the best thing life had to offer them.

"I love you," he whispered softly and kissed the side of her head as she snuggled against him.

"I love you too." She turned and kissed him once before settling in beside him.

The preacher walked in, and Damon turned his attention from Beth to the front. He was grateful that Kendal had decided against an open-casket funeral. Seeing Amanda up front while the service was going on would have been too much. Especially for her older brother.