I kissed my son on the temple and snuck out of his room, leaving him sleeping soundly in his small bed. Another two am blood sugar check done and gone.

“How is he?”

Gentry’s voice surprised me as I slipped into my own dark bedroom. I’d expected him to be asleep because that’s how I left him. He seemed to have this sixth sense when it came to these little excursions down the hall because he woke nearly every time.

“He’s good. One-ten.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Yeah. The doctor and I agreed anything between eighty and one-fifty is ideal.”

“See? I’m starting to catch on.”

“You are.” I shrugged out of my robe and climbed into bed beside him, sighing as I lay my head on his chest and his arms came around me. “I’m actually pretty impressed. You’re picking all this up fairly quickly.”

“Not as quickly as I should.”

“It’s only been a few weeks.”

“Nearly a month.”

“Has it really been that long?”

He kissed my neck, his lips warm and soft against my skin. “It’ll be a month in two days since I walked into Jack’s office and found you standing there.”

“A month? Doesn’t seem that long.”

“It seems like seconds.”

It felt like a lot had changed in those few weeks. I sold the business. I’d always imagined myself running my father’s real estate business with him someday, but when he got sick and I came home to take over, it wasn’t the same. There were so many obstacles; but I don’t think that was really what the problem was. It was being there without my dad. It just didn’t feel right. And the offer I finally accepted was more than generous. It would keep Noah and I comfortable for a year or more while I decided what I wanted to do next.

But it wasn’t the rival real estate agent I’d sold to. It was Joanie.

“I didn’t even know you had that kind of money,” I’d said to her.

“My parents are helping me get a loan.” She’d smiled sort of dreamily. “I’ve always wanted to own a business of my own and this is perfect, Amelia. I really want to do this.”

So we did it. We signed the paperwork just yesterday afternoon. I was afraid I’d be filled with regret once it was done, but in truth, I was relieved. It was time for me to find out what I wanted to do with my life, to be my own person without following in someone else’s footsteps or grabbing in desperation at the first opportunity that came along. I was excited about the prospect.

The house was the next thing on the chopping block.

“Do you like colonials?”

“As in houses?”

“Yeah. I saw one this morning that I really liked.”

Gentry ran his hand slowly over my belly. “You’re serious about selling this house?”

“Yeah.” I sighed, laying my head back on his shoulder as I gazed up at the shadows on the ceiling. They were more familiar than the lines on the back of my hand, but, again, it was time to move on. “There are so many good memories about this place, but there are so many bad ones too. And I think it’s time to put the bad ones behind me.”

“Are you thinking of buying or renting?”

“Buying.”

It hadn’t occurred to me to rent. Noah and I rented in Nashville and while it had its advantages, it wasn’t a good investment. I wanted to invest in our futures.

“I like colonials.”

“I don’t want anything too crazy big, but something where Noah can be a little boy without having to worry about running out of space, you know?”

“A two-story?”

“Maybe.”

“I saw one like that in Germantown, not far from Brent’s new property.”

“Yeah?”

“I think you’d like it. It’s brick with big, white columns, a huge front yard and even bigger back yard, big enough to put in a pool if you wanted.”

“Sounds nice.”

“It has a big kitchen and a full dining room. And an office on the first floor for whatever you might want to do in the future. Plus, there’s a bonus room upstairs that Noah could use as a playroom.”

“Sounds like you thought of it all.”

“I had you in mind when I looked at it.”

“Mr. Stone,” I said, rolling into him as I spoke in my best schoolmarm voice, “is this your way of asking me to move in with you?”

“I think it makes sense.”

“How’s that?”

“We have a kid. We should be under the same roof.”

“Oh, so we’re doing it for Noah?”

“Of course. Why else would we?”

Even as he said it, his hand began to wander low on my belly, his fingers dancing in places they probably shouldn’t have been if he was serious about his motivations.

“You don’t want to be with me for any other reasons?” I asked, sliding my hand over his, pulling his fingers tighter against me.

“Oh, I suppose there are a few perks, but that’s the main reason.”

“Hmmm…”

He kissed my neck, his mouth blazing a trail slowly down my chest until one of my nipples was deep inside his mouth, his breath hot on my skin. His hand moved in such a lovely motion against my inner core, his fingers doing things that made me forget that we’d already been here once tonight, that we’d explored and touched every inch of each other’s bodies over and over again these past few weeks, barely containing our cries of ecstasy despite knowing our child was just across the hall. It was like those first few weeks in our first apartment, those first moments of adult lust we finally allowed ourselves to share. We couldn’t get enough of each other.

A part of me hoped that this was the way it would always be.

“Move in with me, Ami,” he said softly against my ear.

I couldn’t think with everything he was doing to me, couldn’t get my thoughts to move in a logical direction. But I knew there was a reason why I needed to object, I just couldn’t quite remember what it was.

“Gentry…”

“I love you. I love Noah. I want us to be a family.”

“What if this doesn’t last?”

There it was, the fear that had settled in my chest almost from the moment I took that leap of faith. There was a difference between leaping and willingly turning a blind eye. I knew what I was getting into, but I wasn’t going to pretend I didn’t know what pitfalls might lie ahead of me.

Gentry grew still. He pulled back just slightly, his face barely inches from mine. “Do you still not trust me?”

“I want to.”

He nodded as he chewed on his bottom lip. “I don’t know how to convince you that I want to make all of this right, that I want to make up for lost time, other than to show you that I am committed to you and Noah.”

“Moving in together will do that.”

“Buying a house together. Putting our names on a deed side by side.”

My eyes widened a little. “You want to buy a house with me?”

“Yes. I want to make a life together and that’s a good way to get started, don’t you think? To show you how committed I am. I can’t just run out on a mortgage.”

“Well, you can, but it wouldn’t be good for your credit. Or mine.”

“It’s a dangerous step. But I think it’s worth it. Don’t you?”

The idea of living with Gentry again, sharing a bed every night for the rest of our lives, was an idea I could definitely wrap my mind around. But I had to remind myself that just two weeks ago everyone thought he was engaged to a nice little German woman.

“So we move in together. Then what?”

“We do this,” he said, nuzzling my neck as his hand went to work between my legs again. I groaned, squeezing my thighs together to slow his movements.

“Besides that.”

“There’s this…”

He removed his hand and reached behind him, dangling a simple gold ring from his thumb as he moved his hand over my face.

“We could get married. Maybe talk about another baby. Not that Noah isn’t perfect, but I’d kind of like to be there from the beginning this time.”

I stared at that ring, my heart hurting at the sight of it. It was his grandmother’s ring, the same ring I threw at him when he couldn’t tell me he wasn’t in love with Madeline. I took it from him and held it in my hand, a tear sliding slowly down my cheek.

“Would you rather if I got down on one knee?”

I shook my head. “I think we’re past romantic gestures.”

“I’ll do it. I’ll do anything you want, Ami.”

There was such sincerity in his voice that I knew he meant it. I ran my thumb along the subtle engravings in the soft metal of the ring and sighed. I never thought I’d see this ring again. Never thought I’d ever be back here, never thought—despite everything—that he’d ever want me again. I was overwhelmed, grateful for the turn in events, grateful that we’d somehow managed to find our way back to each other.

He was weak once, frightened by our feelings for one another. And it could happen again. He could hurt me again, could walk away from us again. Or he could stay loyal to me for the rest of our lives. I had no way of predicting what would happen and neither did he.

All I knew is that I was happy right here, right in this moment. And I wanted to hold on to that.

“Okay.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded. “I’ll marry you. And I’ll buy a house with you, but no mortgage.”

“You drive a hard bargain, woman.”

I shrugged. “Take it or leave it.”

He slipped the ring out of my hand and slid it onto the appropriate finger. It was the perfect size.

“I’ll take it.”

He pulled me into him and kissed me, his lips lingering on mine. A moment later, he was inside of me and we found a rhythm that was just ours, that was perfect. I clung to him, not because I needed him, but because I wanted him.

There was a time when I needed Gentry. I didn’t know who I was without him because he had been such a big part of my life for such a long time. I knew now who I was with and without him. I didn’t need him in my life to define myself, I didn’t need him to take care of me or to make my life whole. But I wanted him. And maybe that was better.

*

Gentry was gone when I woke the next morning. I rolled over and realized it was late. He’d let me sleep in, a luxury I hadn’t enjoyed in much longer than I could recall. I lay there a few minutes longer, enjoying the moment, before climbing out of bed and hopping into the shower. I took my time there, too, because for the first time in a very long time, I had nowhere in particular I needed to be.

My dad was standing next to the large picture window that looked down over the circle drive when I came out of my room. I was shocked to see him there because he had hardly left his room in the past several months because of the confusion that came with his disease. But he seemed calm now, just staring down at the world like he used to do so often when I was a child.

I moved up beside him and stood quietly until he noticed me.

“Oh, hello!”

I smiled. “Hello.”

“It’s a beautiful day.”

“It is.”

“It’s summer, yes?”

“First of August now.”

He nodded, his expression thoughtful. “I’ve always loved summer here in Memphis.”

I was a little surprised he knew where he was. There was so little he seemed to know these days. Maybe it was a good sign, one of those lucid moments the doctor was always talking about that I rarely saw.

“The street seems busier than I recall it being, though.”

“It’s grown a lot in the last fifteen years or so.”

He nodded again, his movement slow, contemplative. “I’ve grown a little forgetful, but it seemed to me that it used to be less active than this.”

“It was. A quiet street. Good for raising a family.”

A smile, wide and grateful, flooded his face. “Exactly.”

It was something he used to say a lot about this street. He once said it with pride, but it changed to a rueful sort of thing when the city altered the zoning laws to allow businesses on the other end of the miles-long street. There was a coffee shop down there now, a dry cleaner, and a few other suburban-type businesses less than a mile from the house now that had caused the increase in traffic flow. I knew he must have hated that when he was lucid enough to understand it.

He was quiet for a long few minutes, his expression still thoughtful. Then he glanced at me, at the ring on my finger.

“I had a daughter once,” he said with a touch of fear coming into his voice, “who wore a ring like that.”

“Is that right?”

“She was beautiful, my daughter. A lot like you.”

I smiled, tears burning in my throat. “Thank you.”

“I wasn’t kind to my daughter. She was growing, moving beyond me. I didn’t like that, so I pushed her away.” He shook his head. “I was afraid she’d leave me, so I left her first.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I missed out on so much by doing that.” He sighed heavily. “Do you have children?”

“A son.”

“Hold on to him as tightly as you can. Even when he’s pulling away, keep a hold on him. Don’t ever let him go.”

“I won’t.”

“I wish I could tell my daughter how much I love her.”

A tear spilled down my cheek. I reached up and brushed it away. “I’m sure she knows.”

He nodded once again. “I’m sure you’re right.” He touched my arm, then turned away without saying anything else. I watched him go, grateful. I was glad to see him that way again, to see him as a man with dignity. The man I’d been living with all these months was a frightened old man, a man afraid of his own shadow because he couldn’t remember his own name, let alone anything else. No one deserved to be reduced to such a thing no matter their sins. And my dad…he was a good man. He deserved so much more than this.

Noah and Gentry were at the kitchen table when I walked in, Chloe at the stove making omelets for the two of them. Rebecca was cutting up fresh fruit at the sink, preparing my dad’s breakfast. I walked up behind her and touched her shoulder. “He’s lucid this morning.”

She looked up and nodded. “More so than I’ve ever seen him.”

I smiled, purposely ignoring the concern I could see in her eyes. I didn’t want to know why that didn’t thrill her, didn’t want to take away the joy that had taken up space inside of me.

“What are you two up to?” I asked as I joined my boys at the table.

“Dad said we could go fly in a helicopter today!”

My eyebrows rose as I focused on Gentry. “Is that right?”

He tilted his head to one side, looking every bit like the child who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Jack’s thinking about buying a helicopter for the security firm and he wants me to test out this one he’s thinking about. I thought, why not make a day of it for the family?”

“Why not indeed?”

“I’m a professional pilot, remember? It’ll be fun.”

“Please, Mom!” Noah said, bouncing on his chair.

I laughed because I’d never seen Noah so excited about anything. Even Gentry had this boyish excitement written all over his face. How could I say no to all of that?

“Okay, okay. I know when I’m outnumbered.”

“Thank you, Mommy!”

Noah ran around the table and launched himself at me. I held him close, remembering what my dad had said. Don’t ever let him go.

I wouldn’t.