Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LOGISTICS
DYLAN
I linger in baggage claim after Dahlia and Chloe have vanished into the crowd.
The airport roar fades to white noise. We’re all here in the same state at the same time, the same December wind slipping through the doors, but I’ve just waved them off with a hug and a kiss on the cheek like we’re old pals.
I just met them. Why does it feel so wrong to say goodbye?
Tully’s Suburban idles curbside, hazards flashing, exhaust puffing in the cold. He leans out the window, waving me over. My brother is built like a tank—even though I’m taller, he could probably still take me.
“Hey, man. Good to see you,” he says.
I toss my bag in the back and slide into the passenger seat, leaning over to give him a quick hug. My brothers and I are all over six feet tall and are capable of wrestling at the drop of a hat, but we also hug every time we see each other. The Whitmans are a burly yet sappy lot.
“Good to see you too,” I tell him.
He merges into traffic, heading for 35. “Flight okay? Shop blow up without you?”
“Rudy’s holding it down. It’s been our best season yet, custom orders out the ass.” I take in the piles of snow. “But yeah, I didn’t cross everything off before I left and needed to go back and take care of some logistics.”
Speaking of out the ass, I’m talking out the ass right now.
Tully nods. “It’s all right. Dad’s doing well. Things are coming along with the renovation. You’ll see the progress, I think.”
We chat about the resort and Tully’s hockey season and pull into Windy Harbor a couple of hours later. The house is noisy when we walk in, music blasting. It smells like Grandma Nancy and Grandma Donna have been cooking for hours.
“Hey, there you are,” Goldie says, barreling into me with a huge hug. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
“Uncle Dyl,” Grayson yells.
“Hey, buddy.”
He hugs my leg, and I sweep him up, flip him upside down, and set him back on his feet again, his favorite thing for me to do. He laughs and reaches up for me to do it again.
“Dad and Camden are due back any minute,” Noah says, hugging me.
“Oh, good.” I look around. “Where are my grandmas?” I call.
I hear giggling in the kitchen and grin at my siblings. Grandma Donna and Grandma Nancy are two of the cutest old ladies in the whole wide world.
“Here we are,” Grandma Donna sings, her arms spread wide.
I lift her, making her squeal, and hug her tight. She’s still giggling when I set her down.
“Oh, fer crying out loud,” she says, her hand moving to her chest like she’s catching her breath. “I’m too old to reach your altitude.”
That makes me laugh. “Never. You’re never too old to see things from this view.”
“I’m glad you’re home, honey,” she says.
“I’m glad you’re home too.” Grandma Nancy puts her arm around my waist and leans her head against my arm. “Good gravy. Are they feeding you out there?” She reaches out and pinches my stomach, or tries to. “I can’t even pinch an inch!”
“That’s a good thing!” I laugh.
“You’re gonna freeze. You need some insulatin’ up here,” she says. “Thank goodness your hair has grown in. That was sweet of all you boys to shave your heads with Everett, but you need the hair, doncha know.”
I snort. “Thanks, Gran. Let’s hope I don’t go bald then…since you don’t think I have the face for it.”
She shakes her head dismissively but also doesn’t correct me about the face. “You’ve got good hair genes on either side. That hair’s not going anywhere.”
Kevin barks, and we all look at each other. Goldie rushes into the other room.
“They’re pulling into the driveway,” she calls.
“Oh, Dylan, can you help me move the Crock-Pot real quick?” Grandma Nancy asks.
“Of course.”
I hear Dad’s voice as I walk out of the kitchen, and Tully is coming out of the bathroom at the same time.
“Did I hear Goldie say they’re back?” he asks.
“Yep, they’re home.”
We walk into the living room, and I hug Dad hard and then Camden.
“You look awfully happy, Dylan,” Dad says. “Did you have a good flight?”
I remember the last several flights I’ve had with Dahlia and grin. They only know about this trip, though.
“I actually had the best flight I can ever remember having,” I say.
Camden stares at me. “Sounds like you met someone.”
I can’t help it when my smile grows. “You could say that.”
Thankfully, the attention turns to how much better Dad’s looking, so I don’t walk myself into a hole that I can’t get out of.
“You really do look great, Dad,” I say as we walk into the dining room.
“I feel better every time I see you kids,” he says. “The best medicine.” He puts his arm around my waist and studies me. “You’re looking really great too, son. You’re always a little too handsome for your own good, but…” He whistles and shakes his head. “Tonight, you have got it going on.”
I laugh. “Well, thanks, I think.” I make a show of looking my clothes over. “I guess I’ll have to wear this outfit more often.”
“If that’s all it takes, you need to tell me where you shop.” He pats my back and then reaches up to pat my cheek. “Love you, son. Thanks so much for being here.”
“I love you too, Dad. Of course. I’m glad to be home. I miss everyone so much.”
“If only we had bigger waves, huh?”
I chuckle and wait for him to walk in front of me into the kitchen. “Even the waves aren’t enough to keep me there.”
He looks at me over his shoulder and grins. “Now, that is love. I know how obsessed you are with surfing.”
I grin at him. He’s not wrong. My first time on a surfboard felt like I’d finally found my thing—what I was good at, what I truly loved and could see myself focusing on for the rest of my life, in one way or another. But family comes first.
It’ll be hard to leave my shop behind, and maybe one day I can be in both places…but I feel at peace about the move.
It will take time to get here, but the months will go by fast.
And now that I’ve met Dahlia, I know I’ll want to be here even more.
After dinner and hanging out with the fam until Dad’s yawning, I go to bed earlier than usual, claiming I’m tired from a long day of flying. With it being two hours earlier in California, I’m surprised no one’s questioning me on it, but I think they’re genuinely tired.
The truth is, I really want to say hi to Dahlia.
Hey, beautiful. How’s it going over there?
It’s only a minute or two before I see the dots.
Hi. It’s going well. We had a nice dinner with my mom and aunt, and now we’re home. Chloe is out. But before she fell asleep, she asked where you were.
Aw. She did? That’s so sweet.
You made a big impression on her.
She made a big impression on me. So did her hot mama.
How has your night been?
We had a great dinner, all of us. My grandmas always make enough food for an army. My dad looks so much better than the last time I was home, and he got a good report from the doctor today.
I’m so happy to hear that!
Is it crazy to say that I’m missing you tonight?
If it is, I’m crazy too.
Because you miss me?
Yes.
I have the cheesiest smile on my face right now.
I take a quick picture, cheesing it up, and send it to her.
She sends back a laughing emoji.
Can I call you?
Of course
I pick up on the first ring. “Hi.”
“Ahh, I feel better already.”
She laughs, and it sends warmth throughout my veins.
“When can I see you again?” I ask.
“I’m not sure. Christmas is in a few days, and I’ve got to make up some work from being gone.”
“Right. We’re busy around here too. Lots of family stuff going on. Makes me hate the whole keeping-it-a-secret thing. We could be hanging out so much more.”
“I know. It sucks. But you’re a couple of hours away…and don’t have a car in Minnesota, so it would be hard for you to get here anyway. And hard for me to get away from work and the family. Both of our families would be wondering where we were if we disappeared on them.”
“So close and yet so far.” I sigh.
“I have to go back to California for New Year’s Eve. When are you going back?”
“Sounds like I’ll be going back for New Year’s Eve.”
She laughs, and I love the sound so much. “Okay, but I’ll understand if it doesn’t work out. I know your time here isn’t about me, and you need to spend the holidays with your family.”
“Dahlia, the minute you fell into my lap, everything became about you.”
Her laugh is low and husky. “You’re such a sweet talker.”
“That’s not what you were saying last night.”
“Well, yeah, you’re not just a sweet talker.” I can hear the laugh in her voice.
“You bring out the sweet and the naughty in me, Dahlia Granger. What can I say?”
“You can say a whole lot, is what I’m learning…”
I laugh and then moan. “God, I wanted to kiss you so bad at the airport. It felt wrong to kiss you on the cheek and send you on your way.”
“It did feel…strange…after…all we’ve done.”
I laugh under my breath. “Yes, my sweet, proper girl, it did feel strange after all that fucking we’ve been doing.”
I hear her quick intake of breath, and my heartbeat thrums faster. I love to make her blush, and I’d bet anything she’s blushing right now.
“All naughty aside, I enjoyed every minute with you, Dahlia, not just between the sheets and everywhere else we managed to…well, I said I was putting the naughty aside, didn’t I?” I pull the comforter over my legs and lean back.
“I enjoyed every minute with you too. It feels like I’ve known you much longer…” Her voice trails off a little bit.
“Yeah, it really does. You sound tired. I’ll let you sleep and talk to you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, okay?”
“You too. Night, Dylan.”
“Night, Doll.”
It takes me a long time to fall asleep, and when I do, it’s to thoughts of her green eyes and those full, perfect lips smiling at me.