I’d even discussed it with the vet to see if it was harming him in any way, but because of the materials it was made out of and the fact he didn’t wear the helmet or glasses all the time, she couldn’t see any reason why it would.
“I was thinking about transferring to Tampa next year to do my masters. It’s just over two hours away from our parents and nearer to Elijah and Sadie, so you’ll have them and your niece, too. But I’m not sure about your job.
“What if you decide to specialize in a field? What if you change your mind about reading blood splatter? You said the other day that’d never happen because you don’t like it, but that could change in the next year. What if you have to go farther away to get any other qualifications you need?”
I’d been so caught up in my panic and rambling out all of my concerns that I didn’t realize he’d pulled over to the side of the road until I stopped and looked around us.
“Baby, the sad fact is—crime scene techs are needed everywhere because no place is safe from crime. Sometimes you get lucky and get a job near where you live, other times, you have to commute for an extra thirty minutes in the morning to get to work. It’s like any other job in that respect. If I decide I want to specialize in a certain area, I’ll find a college that does it. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s quite a few of them in the state.” He winked at me with a smile, but I just felt like shit.
“There’s also the fact the department can organize training and courses. I don’t intend to go into anything like DNA analysis because that takes a fuck ton of studying, and I don’t quite understand all of the sequences needed, but that’d likely take years of college to do, anyway. I also don’t want to specialize in blood splatter—regardless of whether it takes my interest over the next year,” he rushed out when I opened my mouth.
“It’s not something that I can grasp fully, and I know I’ll end up messing it up if I do it. I’ll find an area at some point, but I’ll do it with your masters in mind. Once you’re finished, maybe then I can go back to college if I need to. We just never know what the future’s going to hold with things we can’t control. With things we can control,” he picked my hand up and tugged me closer to him, “we know where our future’s at, and mine’s with you. Forever.”
Kissing me softly, he smiled down at me. “So, it looks like we’re moving back, and my girl’s going to a university.”
I blinked rapidly against the tears that were building. “It’s as easy that?”
“It’ll always be as easy as that,” he promised solemnly.
And that’s when I started to bawl. Big fat ugly tears and loud wails.
He unclipped my belt and had me in his lap in an instant.
“Baby, why are you crying?” he chuckled, leaning over and plucking some tissues out of the box he kept in the compartment on his door and passing them to me.
“Because you’re so good to me,” I wailed, then added, “Because I love you more than Milkshake loves his helmets.” And finally, “And because I can’t believe I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you.”
He went from chuckling to outright bellows of laughter. “Of course you’re spending the rest of your life with me. Don’t you get it yet?” His voice had grown softer as he spoke until he was whispering in my ear.
Turning my head to look at him through the tears, I shook my head. “I love you more than anything else in the world.”
For the first time, he didn’t use a comparison like we usually did. This was another one of the moments that either changed a relationships direction entirely or deepened it even more.
Doing my best to control my tears, I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed as tightly as I could. “Don’t ever leave me, Jackson.”
“I won’t,” he wheezed, trying to get oxygen into his lungs.
“Because I really will find you if you do. I’m not lying or quoting a movie, I’m being honest.”
Being a stalker was so nineties, but I didn’t give a shit. I wouldn’t even stalk him, I just wouldn’t leave him alone. There was a difference.
Finally managing to get some space to breathe after pushing back against my arms, he smirked down at me. “They’d need to perform surgery to separate us first. Now, does this mean that we’ve got a year to find a property in Tampa?”
I nodded my head slowly. “You’ll also need to put out feelers to make sure there’s a job for you to go to. What if you can’t find one, though? I don’t want you to give up your dream for mine.”