Raven
The cabin comes into view just as the light begins to soften.
Late afternoon spills gold through the branches, warming the wood and catching on the windows.
The place looks different now. Not because anything has changed—but because I have.
I’m married. The word settles in me as we slow, heavy and thrilling all at once.
This isn’t just a cabin anymore.
This is where we’ll wake up together. Where I’ll learn which floorboard creaks and which window sticks in the winter.
Where I’ll leave my shoes by the door, and one of Sam’s hoodies will stay draped over the back of the sofa because I’ll keep stealing it and never put it back.
I can see everything so clearly. Curtains hanging from the windows instead of bare glass, flowers on the table, my things woven into his until the house feels claimed.
Until it’s ours.
Sam eases the bike to a stop, the engine cutting off. I start to smile, but then I see him.
My father stands near the porch, hands tucked into his jacket pockets, posture too still to be casual. The note I left him is folded once in his grip.
My heart stutters.
Sam's posture changes almost imperceptibly. His hand settles over mine where it's wrapped around his waist, steady and reassuring.
He cuts the engine and swings off first.
“How’d you find us?” Sam asks, voice even.
My father’s eyes stay on me. “Mouse,” he says simply.
Of course.
Sam nods once, already bracing for the conversation he expects to come next. But my father doesn’t look at him again.
“Can I speak to my daughter?” he asks. “Alone.”
His words land softly, but they carry weight.
Sam hesitates—just a beat.
I reach for his hand and squeeze once. “It’s okay.”
He studies my face, then nods. “I’ll be inside.”
I watch as he disappears into the cottage, the door closing softly behind him.
For a moment, it’s just me and my father, the tension pressing in between us.
“Walk with me,” he says.
We move slowly around the edge of the property, the ground already familiar under my sandals. The creek murmurs nearby, steady and indifferent.
He doesn’t speak right away. Neither do I.
“I read your note,” he says finally.
I swallow past the knot in my throat. “I was going to call.”
“I know,” he says. “I didn’t expect to find out this way.”
That lands harder than I expect.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” I say softly. “Or Knox.”
He stops walking and turns to face me. “You ran off and got married without telling me, but you didn’t mean to hurt me.” He lets out a slow breath. “You’re my only daughter, Raven.”
My throat tightens.
“I didn’t get to see it,” he continues. “Didn’t get to stand there and watch you choose the man you love. I always thought I’d be there for that.”
“I was scared,” I admit. The words come out small, but true. “I didn’t think you’d approve. Not after everything that’s happened.”
He studies me for a long moment, then sighs. “I knew,” he says.
I blink. “You what?”
“I knew about the two of you from the beginning. I saw it,” he says. “I just waited for you to trust me enough to tell me yourself.”
My chest tightens until it hurts to breathe. “I didn’t know how.”
“You’ve never kept things from me,” he says gently. “That’s what hurts.”
We start walking again.
“I looked at your mother the same way he looks at you.” Dad’s eyes drift toward the house before finding mine again. “I saw it the day I realized the two of you were together. I wasn’t hurt because you fell in love with him.” His voice softens.
“I was hurt because you didn’t think you could tell me,” he finishes. “I would never ask you to walk away from a love like that?”
Tears burn behind my eyes as I stop and turn toward him. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I should’ve told you. But I didn’t want to lose you.”
He pulls me into his arms before I can finish and holds me the way he did when I was little, and the world felt too big.
“You could never lose me,” he says into my hair. “You might be married now. But you’ll always be my little girl.”
I laugh softly through tears. “Even now?”
“Especially now.”
As we make our way back to the house, I realize something has changed. Not between Sam and me. Between Dad and me.
When we step inside, Sam looks up immediately, the tension still written across his face.
My father meets his gaze and nods. “Take care of her.”
Sam answers without hesitation. “Always.”