I wanted to go to her. Wrap her up and hold her and kiss the fuck out of her until she no longer wore that look in her eyes.
Gage grabbed me by the hand and gave me a good tug. “You have to hurry and get ready. We only have one hour which is only really super short. You don’t want to be late because being late is bad.”
I sent him a big smile. The kid was a stickler for the rules. “Right. On it.”
“Whew. We did it.” Juni gave him a high five, like they’d been stressed.
Juni looked up at me. “And don’t worry, Uncle, Aster is going to try reallys hard to come as long as she don’t got nothin’ else to do.”
I looked at the woman who swarmed me like a remedy.
Filling holes and cracks and vacancies.
I glanced at Juni.
“Don’t worry, Juni. She’ll be there.”
* * *
What if time and distance held no meaning? What if it held no standing or claim? What if we had made a million mistakes and those mistakes led us astray and we got lost and wandered for years?
And what if, after all of it, we ended up at the very same place?
I squeezed Aster’s hand where she hesitated beside me. Her breaths were shallow and her apprehension thick. Vapor puffed from our mouths as we stood in the frozen darkness outside Eden’s modest house that was lit in Christmas lights in one of the older family neighborhoods in Redemption Hills.
“It’s so small.” Most would take it as an insult, but Aster whispered it like wonder.
Like the sight of it stole her breath and filled her heart to overflowing.
I got the sense the girl gazed upon her dream home. One on a poster tacked to a wall or on an inspiration board that would never come true.
Out of touch. Never tangible. A flatlay that could never come to life.
I turned around to face her, still holding onto her hand as I cocked her a grin. “You probably shouldn’t announce that when we get inside. Someone might think it’s rude.”
She choked out a disconcerted laugh. “That’s not what I meant.”
I stepped forward, brushed back a lock of her hair, and tucked it behind her ear before I rested my hand on the side of her face. “I know, Aster.”
She gulped. She was so damned pretty I couldn’t look away. I let the pad of my thumb brush along her cheek. “Eden lived here before she met Trent and Gage,” I explained. “They’re building a larger home just on the outside of town. Jud and Salem are building one on the property next to them.”
From over my shoulder, she looked back at the house. Her voice was a thin mist. “They’re so sweet.”
She blinked while still staring that way. “This afternoon was…”
“Crazy? Chaotic? Wild? I already saw the proof of it explode in my house. Poor Gretchen is going to be battling glitter for the next six months.” I let it go as a tease.
She whispered, “No, Logan. It was wonderful.”
My chest tightened, and I stepped back and gave her a gentle tug. “Just wait until we get inside.”
Aster remained rooted, and her eyes dropped closed. “I’m not sure I should go in there.”
I touched her chin, urging her to look at me. “Why not?”
This time, the laughter that left her was dejected. “I think I’ve intruded on your family enough.”
I gave her a slow smile. “I don’t think you’ve intruded on my family nearly enough.”