“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” I laugh, watching Cole trying to fold my clothes and place them into the tub in front of him. Most articles go in looking like rolled balls rather than nice, neat folds.

Cole insisted we start the moving process pretty much the minute I got out of the hospital. He said he needs to make sure he’s close by the next time I decide to go out trying to rescue animals.

“Nope. You are not moving a muscle.” He narrows his eyes at me from across the room.

“I’m not incapable of folding clothes you know?”

“Mel, you’ve got a broken arm.” He gestures to the cast on my arm that will be in place for at least another three weeks.

“And?” I question. “I can bend my elbow,”—I make a show of it by bending my arm up and down—“and I can move my fingers.” I wiggle them at him. “If you’re going to insist I move in with you this very second, the least you can do is let me help you pack all my things. I may not have awful OCD, but I swear every time I watch you fold something I tick.”

“What are you saying? You don’t like how I fold.” He fakes offense.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” I laugh.

“In my defense, I hang everything in the apartment, other than towels and boxers. Who cares if a towel or underwear isn’t folded perfectly? Besides, I can fold better than this, I’m just anxious to get it done.”

“Which is precisely why you should let me help you,” I argue.

“We’ve already discussed this,” He reminds me. “You can’t just jump back in and start doing everything you used to do. You’ve only been out of the hospital for two days and the doctor told you that you have to take it easy.”

“Sitting on my butt folding clothes is easy,” I smart off, laughter bubbling in my voice.

“Keep pushing it, and I’ll lock you in your bedroom until I’m finished.” He waves a finger at me playfully.

“I dare you to try.” I can see the challenge flare behind his eyes, but he makes no attempt to act on it.

It’s been three weeks since I woke up, and he’s still treating me like I’m some fragile piece of glass that can’t lift a finger or I’ll shatter into a million pieces. It’s sweet, and I love that he wants to take care of me. But the independent, head strong person I’ve always been is having a hard time letting him.

“I tell you what. If it’s bothering you that much, I’ll let you fold the shirts. But pants, sweaters, anything even remotely heavy is all mine,” he offers, finding an alternative he deems acceptable.

“Deal.” I’m off the loveseat and onto the other side of the couch before he can say another word, a large pile of my clothes now sitting between us.

I immediately get to work on folding shirts, thankful to have something to do to keep myself busy.

As nice as it is finally being out of the hospital and away from the chaos, I find myself rather restless at the same time. I guess I still haven’t processed that things are finally starting to resemble normal again. Well, as normal as they can be considering I’m up and moving an hour and a half away with little to no prep time.

David was happy to hear of my decision to move, considering I’ll now be much closer to where he lives. He stayed in town for a full week after I woke up. I swear between him and Cole I was never alone. Sometimes I was grateful for it, other times I just felt like I needed a moment to catch my breath.

Matt didn’t linger; him and his wife, Christy, took off within a couple days of arriving. It was good to see them, but I was also glad to see them go. Matt and I have never been that close, so seeing him for the first time in months in my condition wasn’t ideal. It did warm my heart to know that when push came to shove, he was there for me. That has to mean something, right?

John never made it home from Europe, but I didn’t mind. He called me a couple nights after I woke up, and he sounded really happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for him. He was always a bit of a free bird. It’s nice to get to see him spread his wings.

Joan and Corrine still visited every day, and Kyle popped in a couple times each week to visit for a few minutes. He’s been working himself to the bone recently with work being so demanding and then all the projects he’s taking on at the house. I swear that man never stops.

Little by little everyone seemed to start returning to their normal lives. Everyone except for Cole. Like I said, he never left my side.

His boss was completely understanding of the situation and granted Cole a temporary leave of absence. He’s scheduled to return next week, but I can already tell he’s nervous about leaving me. I hate that I put him in a position to have to worry about me.

At the end of the day, even I have to admit that trying to worm my way down a steep embankment covered in snow was not my best decision ever. What can I say? Sometimes I act first and then think second. It’s an Anderson curse.

“I know it can’t be easy for you, Mel.” Cole speaks after several moments of silence have passed, pulling me from my thoughts. “You have always been so independent, and I know how much you hate having someone take care of you. But I hate to tell you that you might as well get used to it because I plan to take care of you every day for the rest of our lives.”

“I want you to take care of me, and I want to take care of you. But there’s a difference in taking care of each other versus doing absolutely everything for the other person. Right now, I’m lucky if you let me go to the bathroom alone.”

“I worry about you.” He turns his face in my direction, abandoning a pair of jeans mid-fold.

“I know you do, and I love you for it. But, Cole, look at me. I’m fine. I’m healthy. I feel really good. You can’t coddle me forever.”

“I can try.”

“You’ll fail,” I state matter of fact.

“You’re so stubborn Mel.” He wrinkles his forehead in the cutest way, making him look almost like a teenager again.

“And yet you love me anyway.” I smile.

“So much it hurts,” is his only response.

“I think this is the last one,” Cole says, appearing from the hallway carrying a large moving box.

“It looks so empty in here,” I say, leaning in the kitchen doorway as I look around the hollow space that used to be my living room.

“Not having second thoughts on me now are you?” He stops, setting the box on the floor just a couple feet from where I’m standing.

“Not even a little bit,” I answer honestly.

“Good,”—he closes the distance between us, pulling me gently into his arms—“because you’re stuck with me forever now,” he says, securing me against his sweaty frame as he drops a kiss to the top of my head.

“Eww, you’re so wet.” I squirm in his grip, but he doesn’t let me go.

“You love my sweat, baby.” He looks down at me with a wide grin.

“In all fairness I love every part of you.”

“And damn if I’m not the luckiest man on earth because of it.” He kisses me good and deep, the action sending a sudden rush of longing through my body.

It’s been so long since we’ve gotten any alone time. I have to admit I’m rather anxious to get to Cleveland, for more than one reason. I physically crave Cole’s touch in a way I’ve never craved anything before.

“Get a room!” The statement echoes through the empty house, and we quickly pull apart, our heads turning in unison to see Kyle standing in the front doorway.

“I think our dear friend here is onto something,” Cole says, looking down at me. “Maybe we should get a room. How about in our apartment where I can kiss you whenever and wherever I want without some asshole interrupting us.” He shoots a playful, angered look back at Kyle.

“Just be careful, you see where that got Corrine and me.” He laughs, referring to the baby.

“My point exactly,” Cole says, winking at me before stepping back and retrieving the box he set on the floor moments ago.

I’m so taken aback by his response that it takes me several beats to form actual words.

“I’m sorry, what?” I finally call after him, but he only laughs, his entire back shaking from the movement, before he disappears outside to load the box into the moving truck.

Certainly he’s not serious.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so damn happy,” Kyle says, pulling my gaze to where he’s still standing next to the door. “Or you, for that matter.”

“I am happy.”

“Listen to you.” He laughs, shaking his head. “I am happy.” He mocks my voice. “You’re a hell of a lot more than just happy, Mel.”

“God, I really am.” I giggle, so overjoyed I feel like sunshine is going to start shooting out of my body at any moment.

“I’m really happy for you guys. Both Corrine and I are. But it’s gonna be weird not seeing you around anymore.”

“I will still come and visit,” I promise. “Besides, I have a little baby I plan to spoil to pieces coming in just a few short months. You’ll be wishing I didn’t visit as much.” I laugh.

“From the sound of it you might have one of your own on the way sooner than you think.” He gestures outside.

“He’s just messing around. We are nowhere near ready to have kids.”

“No one ever is, Mel. It happens though, and I gotta tell you, it’s incredible. I haven’t even met the baby, and I’m already so in love I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“Your baby is one lucky kid. You and Corrine are going to be fantastic parents,” I reassure him.

“Thanks for saying that. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t more than a little terrified.” He shuffles his feet, looking down at the floor for a moment.

“You’ll be great. And like I said, Aunty Mel is going to spoil that baby rotten. I mean, as long as you don’t get tired of me coming around like every other day,” I tease.

“You know you’re welcome anytime. This is still your home. Maybe not this actual place.” He gestures around the room. “But Irving, it will always be your home.” He pushes open the door. “I should get out there and help Cole get this all situated. You about ready?”

“Yeah, I just need a minute.”

“You got it.” He nods once and then disappears outside.

I take a deep breath, looking around the empty house that once meant so much to me. It was my refuge from the house I grew up in, my way of escaping without ever really leaving.

I wander from room to room, remembering how different my life was the last time I saw this place empty. I was nineteen and had just lost my mother. On top of that I had two teenage brothers to care for and quite honestly, I wasn’t sure I was up to the task. But we made it through okay.

I don’t think I bought this place intending to stay as long as I did. But after the boys moved out I couldn’t bring myself to go anywhere else.

For the longest time I thought I couldn’t leave Irving because it was where I belonged. Now I realize it wasn’t the actual place holding me here but the ties it had to Cole. The memories of my childhood contained inside the small borders of the town lines.

But this place isn’t my home anymore, it’s just a house. Just boards and window. And Irving is just a town that I grew up in.

Cole is my home. I know that now. My refusal to leave was just my inability to let him go once and for all. And I can’t even imagine where I’d be now if I had.

In the end it always came back to this place. Where a messy haired ten-year-old kid moved in across the street and changed my life with our epic first words...

“You the new kid?” I asked.

“You the neighbor?” he replied.

That’s all it took.

I offered him my heart that day without even realizing it, and not only did he take it—he also never gave it back.

“Hey.” I jump when Cole’s arms come around me from behind, having not heard him come back in the house. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He smiles against my neck.

“I was just, I guess I just got lost in thought.” I turn in his arms, securing mine around his neck, careful not to scrape him with my rough cast.

“Oh yeah, what were you thinking about.”

“Just things.” I shrug.

“What kinds of things?” He leans down and rubs the tip of his nose against mine.

“About the day we met. I never imagined this is where we would end up. I mean, how could I? I was only ten, and you were just some messy-haired kid with dark eyes and the cutest dimples I’d ever seen.” I sigh dramatically.

“Seems like maybe someone had a crush,” He teases.

“Maybe,” I whisper, kissing him softly. “Do you remember the first words we ever said to each other?”

“Do you?” he whispers across my lips.

“You the new kid?” I pull back to look into his dark eyes.

“You the neighbor?” he quips without missing a beat.

“Melanie.” I step out of his embrace and offer him my non-casted hand.

“Cole.” He smiles, shaking it slowly but not letting go.

“You wanna ride around for a while?” I ask, referring to the bike—still in the moment—but I can tell by the look in his eyes he’s back here with me in the present.

“Oh I’d like to ride you around a hell of a lot longer than a while.” He pulls me back to him, kissing me so deeply I can feel the effects all the way to my toes. “How about the rest of our lives?” He hoists me up into his arms and carries me from the house.