crib and make sure he falls asleep. Jake then suggests drinks on the porch, and I enthusiastically agree. His heartfelt conversation with Mom earlier still has me reeling, since it was the first time for me to see him talk to her with such openness.
“Thank you,” I begin before taking a sip of my cider.
“For what?” He looks at me, surprised.
“Well, being amazing?” I titter. “But mostly because of how much you tried for Dad.”
“He did help me with the divorce.” He shrugs. “I reckoned, I owed him one.”
“You were very genuine, and I think you might have convinced her.”
“Yeah.” He nods, a slight shadow of regret quickly flashing through his eyes. “I hope you’re right.”
“Well, she is my mother, she must inherit the ability to forgive from me,” I joke, immediately regretting it.
“Oh yeah?” He chuckles, clearly attempting to lighten up the mood as he leans over and tickles my stomach.
“Stop it!” I draw it out, giggling and shrinking away. “There’s a food baby in there.”
“Right, right.” His hand slows down and settles on my belly as he rests his head over my shoulder.
He rubs over the fabric of my cotton bottoms, sending waves of warmth through me.
“Think we can put a real baby in there?”
“Excuse me!” I giggle. “We’re barely getting acquainted with the one we already have?”
“I dunno,” he slightly shrugs, “you still haven’t gotten your Ember.”
Shifting backward in surprise, I lift his chin up with two fingers, making him look at me.
“You remember that?” Disbelief is all I sound like.
“How could I forget?” His eyes grace me with the most breathtaking look of adoration. “It was the moment I knew that I wanted to be the father of your four children.”
“You lie!” I giggle, shaking him along with me.
“I swear to God.” Straightening up, he opens his hand and starts excitedly counting on his fingers. “I wanted Joseph, Ember, Alder, and Dara.”
“Oh my God!” I widen my eyes, instinctively placing one hand over my mouth. “When did that happen?”
“When we were apart.” His smile lessens. “I was daydreaming, giving myself hope that you’ll end up with me and I’ll get to give you everything you’ve ever wanted.”
Feeling my heart race, I cannot believe my ears. The last thing I imagined was Jake thinking of our unborn children’s names.
“So,” I shake my head, blinking, “why those names?”
“One way or another, they all refer to trees. A source of life… shade… everything beautiful.”
Amazed by his thought process, I part my lips to say something. But I am lost for words. His life so close to nature has given him a whole other side that I am yet to discover.
Noticing that I am quiet, he raises an eyebrow with a skeptical look.
“You don’t like them?”
“They’re beautiful.” I grin, my voice barely audible. “Jus—” I shake my head, lost for words.
“What?” he whispers, insisting.
“What a cowboy!” I finally muster a joke before feeling the blood rush to my cheeks.
“Oh, yeah.” His hand reaches to caress my cheek, and it burns with even a greater rush. “The one you saved.”
He inches closer to kiss me and all my defenses are gone. I know that I have been so lucky to have met him. Wise to have forgiven him. And rosy with hopes that our bliss is just beginning.
As I close my eyes and let him claim my mouth, I think about all the times I have spent worrying and questioning; they seem like a distant memory now.
While his tongue leaves invisible marks on mine, I recall the ones his love has left on my heart, imprinted there forever with the power of our union.
His hands scout my body, every inch of me beating with desire under his touch, just like my soul as it yearns for more of him. To explore him, every side of him that I am yet to see.
When his fingers find a way under my shirt and onto my bare skin, I wonder… if every time we make love, his fingerprints are left on me, would I eventually be covered in his scent forever?
I know that the road ahead will not be easy since no marriage ever is. But I am now sure that Jake is the only man I want to take this journey with. The only father I need for my children. The only lover I would ever crave.
Under a starry sky and in the open field, he lays me down and showers me with kisses. And as if he can read my mind, he