Chapter 18
Sitka
“Well, our plan worked,” my grandma says from the passenger seat as she grins over at my mom.
“A little too well,” my mom says with a laugh. I catch her eye in the rearview mirror before she says, “Try to tone down that glow, honey. You’re lit up like a lightbulb right now.”
“I love it,” my grandma says. “It’s probably a good thing your dad and brothers are working late tonight, though, and a really good thing you’re talking to them tomorrow. This is one secret that can’t be kept for too much longer.”
“Definitely not,” my mom agrees. “She’s bursting at the seams.”
“He’s coming over with Bran,” I tell them. “We’re going to ride the trails, and I want him to meet the dogs.” I smile at the look my grandma gives me and quickly add, “And I want you both to get to know him better, of course.”
“Bring him by later when you want a slice of pie,” my grandma says. “Boris won’t keep secrets from your dad, but I think I can work my magic and convince him to stay quiet since it’ll be less than twenty-four hours.”
My mom says a quick, “Eww,” while giving me a wink in the rearview mirror.
My grandma laughs and nudges her daughter’s arm. “You’re the one who took that to a place it didn’t need to go. I kept it PG with the whole ‘work my magic’ line.”
“How on earth could I not read sex into that line?” my mom asks, making us all laugh.
My grandma shrugs and says, “That’s on you, sweetheart. Either way, I’ll make sure Boris doesn’t spill the beans. Don’t worry about how I accomplish that. Just like I never ask you questions about your magical ways.”
“Okay, I’m gonna stop you right there,” my mom says while I mutter a quick, “Thank god.”
My grandma laughs and turns her head to look at me.
“You come by it honest, Sitka honey. I’ll spare you the details of the noises I heard coming out of my parents’ bedroom.
Let’s just say the women in this family apparently have a gift.
” She looks from me to my mom. “How much you wanna bet Damien’s still wearing a smile he can’t hide? ”
“You sure you want to bet again, Mom? You lost the last one,” my mom says.
Grandma gives me a wink. “I thought maybe Ev had caught your eye. I can see now that Damien’s the better fit for you.
You’re an outdoorsy girl at heart, and you’ll always need to feel the salty air on your face and breathe in the scent of pine trees.
Ev seems great, but that man is dead-set on his goal of becoming a lawyer right now.
You’d wilt like a flower kept from the sun if you had to stay in the city 24/7. ”
“Yeah,” I agree, knowing it’s true but also wondering how in the hell we’re going to make this cross-country thing work. I worry about it until we drive past the guards and then drop my grandma off.
“Don’t forget about the pie,” she reminds me before giving me a hug.
“I won’t, Grandma. Thanks.” I hop in the front seat for the short drive back to our house, and when we pull into the garage, my mom stops the car and looks at me.
“Any regrets?” she asks.
“Not a single one,” I tell her, unable to hide my grin when I think about how amazing last night and this morning had been.
She smiles back at me and nods her head. “Okay then. I’ll be with you every step of the way. Between the two of us, we can make your dad see reason.”
“I hope so,” I say before getting out of the car.
Nyx greets me at the door, and I kneel down so I can properly love on her.
I can’t wait to show her off to Damien. Hex and Ghost come barreling over, not wanting to miss out on the praise and butt scratches.
When I tell them they have to be nice to Damien when he shows up, they grunt and lick my hand, which I’m taking as a solemn vow to behave.
When Bran and Damien show up an hour later, my mom and I are sitting in rocking chairs on the patio, watching the seagulls and cormorants dive for fish.
Nature never ceases to amaze me, and when one of the gulls surfaces with a big fish in its mouth, I look over at my mom and grin, catching sight of Damien over her shoulder.
He’s watching my reaction to what I just saw with a sexy grin playing at his lips.
I get up and run to him as Bran walks out behind him. Hey, I sign to him while I hug Damien. He dips his face to the crook of my neck and kisses me.
“I missed you, besyonok.”
“Me too,” I tell him before I kiss his cheek and slide my fingers between his. Holding his hand, I turn to face my mom. She’s trying to play it cool, but she looks so happy I’m worried she’s going to start crying and planning the wedding.
“Maddie, it’s good to see you again,” Damien says. “Thanks for letting me come over for a little bit. I don’t want to make this awkward for you, but I thought it might help if we talked.”
Before my mom can say anything, Nyx barks and starts running towards us. She’d been in the woods with her brothers, but the sight and sound of someone new finally caught her attention.
Damien watches the hundred-pound dog come barreling towards him, and I can’t help but be impressed that he doesn’t tense up at the sight.
When I look up at him and ask, “Not even a little bit scared?”
He gives me a wink and says, “I know you won’t let her hurt me.”
“You’re right about that. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
His lip curls up at that as he cups the back of my neck and kisses my head. “There’s my besyonok. Always so fierce. I would never let you put yourself in danger for me, though.” Lowering his lips to my ear, he whispers so only I can hear, “I’d spank your sweet ass so red for even trying.”
I’m grinning when he pulls back, which just makes him laugh, and when Nyx comes to a stop in front of us, I kneel down and tug on his hand, urging him to do the same.
With our fingers still entwined, I hold them up to the very curious dog in front of us.
She sniffs our hands, gives a soft whine, and then licks our fingers.
“Oh, you’re a sweet thing, aren’t you?” Damien coos at her, lifting his other hand up so he can pet her head.
I swear she leans into his touch and grunts her pleasure when he massages her head and scratches behind her ears.
When I look over, the smile on Damien’s face washes away any worry I’d had that these two might not get along.
It would’ve broken my heart if he’d hated my dog.
When Hex and Ghost join us, I go through the introductions again, but I notice the way Damien keeps giving special attention to Nyx. She beams up at him, clearly enjoying the preferential treatment, and when she sits and leans her weight into his leg, I raise a brow at her.
“Picking favorites already?” I ask her.
Her tail thumps the ground at the sound of my voice, but she doesn’t budge from her new favorite spot. Ghost and Hex lose interest and trot back off into the woods, but Nyx stays with us when we sit in the two-seater rocker closer to my mom and Bran.
Switching to signing and speaking, my mom picks up where they’d left off and says, “I’m glad Bran brought you over, Damien. I wanted to talk to you too. It’s obvious Sitka’s head over heels for you.”
“Yep,” I say, not bothering to downplay the truth everyone can see.
Bran snaps his fingers, and when I look over, he signs, Way to play it cool.
I laugh and lean in closer to Damien when he puts his hand on my thigh.
“I don’t usually keep things from my husband,” my mom says, “but Sitka told me she’s telling him tomorrow. I can hold onto it until then, but I can’t do it any longer than that, and I’d never do this for anyone other than my daughter.”
“I understand,” Damien tells her. “I’m very sorry you have to keep it from him at all. It wasn’t my intention to come here and cause trouble.”
My mom grins at him. “So you didn’t make this trip just so you could see her? How disappointing.”
Damien huffs out a laugh and drags his fingers along my knee. “No, I definitely made the trip just to see her. I honestly didn’t think she’d give me the time of day, though.”
I laugh at that and turn my head to look at him. “Well, I busted right through that worry, didn’t I?”
He squeezes my thigh and says, “You did.”
When I look back at my mom and Bran, I see them sharing a look before my mom quickly wipes away a tear that she’s trying very hard to hide.
She notices me staring and says, “What? It’s the damn salty sea air making my eyes watery.”
Damien leans forward and says, “Well, since they’re already watering, I might as well tell you that I’m in love with your daughter, and I plan on marrying her as soon as possible. She’s it for me, and there’s no way I’ll be able to get on that plane without her.”
My mom sniffs, giving up the pretense of wind in her eyes and brushes the tears off her cheeks. “New York is a long way away,” is all she says, and those words break my heart a little bit.
“Oregon is three hours behind. We can leave at 8 a.m. from New York and land in Oregon by noon. My schedule is very flexible, so we could come back pretty much whenever Sitka wanted to. I would never keep her from you, Maddie.”
Relief floods me at his words, and he must feel the tension leave me because he looks down at me, brow furrowed in confusion. “I know how much you love this place. Did you really think I’d keep you from it?”
“No, I just worried we wouldn’t be able to visit a lot,” I admit.
“We can visit whenever you want, and Nyx will come with us, of course.” He reaches down to give her another scratch. “What do you think, Nyx? You ready to rack up some frequent flier miles?”
“It’s settled then,” my mom says with a sappy grin on her face. “We just need to gently break the news to your dad and brothers.”
Easy, right? Bran asks.
“Piece of cake,” my mom agrees. Standing, she walks over to us, and when we do the same, she gives Damien a big hug. “I’m glad you came for a visit,” she tells him. “I’ve never seen my daughter this happy before.”
“I promise I’ll always love her and take care of her,” he says. “You don’t ever need to worry about that.”