Chapter 25
Henley
Finally Making Plans
“Now I understand why you picked this for our first date.” Elodie is halfway up the wall when she glances down at me and shouts loud enough for me to hear her.
“And why is that?” I can’t hide my smirk because the view from down here definitely doesn’t suck.
“So you could stare at my ass the entire time.”
“Who, me? No way.” I lift my phone from my pocket and snap a picture of her scaling the rock wall, wearing that teal spandex outfit from yoga all those weeks ago. Reaching down, I adjust my dick in my shorts, grateful that the room is empty except for the two of us.
When I originally planned this date, I knew that I wanted to do something with Elodie besides just dinner or a movie.
I wanted something unique, something interactive and fun for us to do together, and since the adventure park side of Sky’s the Limit is shut down for the winter, it gave me the perfect opportunity to give us privacy while having fun together—because if there is one thing this woman has reminded me of, it’s that I can still be a parent and have fun.
The past three weeks have been a blur. Between Elodie traveling back and forth to Nashville and booking recording time with artists lined up to work with her, and the peak of snow season hitting Blossom Peak, we haven’t had much time just the two of us.
But now that she’s home for the holidays, I’m going to take full advantage of our days together.
I check the time on my phone and realize it’s later than I thought.
“You’d better hurry up so I can still feed you before the night is over.”
“And what are you gonna feed me?”
“That’s a surprise.”
Elodie reaches the top of the wall and rings the bell. “I did it!”
“Yeah, you did, baby. Now get back down here.”
She pushes away from the wall and slowly slides down the rope that she is attached to in case she falls. Her feet plant on the ground and then she walks over to me, jumping into my arms. “I really loved that.”
I capture her lips with mine. “And I loved watching it.”
“Pervert.”
“Only for you.”
“Okay, what’s next?”
“Next, we go home.”
“What? I thought we were having dinner?”
“We are. It’s my turn to cook for you.”
After we make the drive back to my house, I open the front door to reveal the entire living room and kitchen decorated with electric tea light candles and yellow hydrangeas, Elodie’s favorite color and flower.
“How on earth did you do this?” Her stunned expression is exactly what I wanted to see.
“Let’s just say that I have a sister who is beyond eager to help me keep you around this time.”
When Elodie and I returned from Los Angeles a few days after I surprised her last month, my sister nearly beat my ass for not telling her everything that happened.
But then I explained my talk with Carol and Nick, how the meeting with Meghan helped me see the light, and when Elodie reunited with her and Laney, Dilynne broke down in tears when she told me how much she loved me—how proud she is of me for finally vowing to move past the pain I’ve been holding onto.
Never thought hearing that from my own sister would make me break down too, but fuck, we’ve come a long way from where we were as kids.
So, when I told her my plan for Elodie, she was more than willing to help me with this surprise.
“Wow.” She peers up at me. “This is beautiful, Henley.”
“I’m glad you like it. Now, I want you to go to my bathroom and relax in the tub while I make our dinner. Everything you need for a bath is in there, then we’ll eat and I have something I want to give you.”
Elodie tips her head to the side. “A girl could get used to this type of spoiling.”
“Not too bad for someone that’s never been in a relationship before, huh?”
While Elodie is in the bath, I prepare the steak, potatoes, and asparagus, topping it all off with an Oscar-style sauce that I practiced making three times before tonight just to make sure I got it perfect.
We eat and drink wine from Hart Winery, laughing and reminiscing about the past few weeks and how excited we were when Remy started crawling, but how intense it is now that she doesn’t stop moving.
When we’re finished, I clear our plates and bring over the gift I’ve been working on, hoping like hell that she feels what I have to say is enough for her.
“What is this?”
“You know, the concept of giving gifts is quite simple. You rip the wrapping paper off of them to reveal what’s inside.”
Elodie glares at me, a playful smirk on her lips. “I’m not sure I like happy Henley. His sarcasm is a bit over the top. Where’s gorilla man?”
My head falls back as I laugh. “Oh, he’s still in here, but you’ve tamed him a bit, sweetheart.”
Elodie tears the paper from the book and gives me a confused look when she sees what’s inside. “You—you gave me the scrapbook I made for you?”
“I did.”
“Uh…”
“Open it up, baby.”
Elodie slowly opens the book up and turns past the first few pages she had already filled with pictures, but stops as she realizes there are words on them now. “Henley, you…”
“I added to it,” I finish for her, scooting my chair closer to her so that I can point out the new features.
“I’ve been filling in notes next to the pictures of my thoughts, like how terrified I was during her first bath.
” Elodie chuckles. “And then, I added some photos of my own.” Flipping past the pages that Elodie completed, I arrive at the ones I’ve worked on after she fell asleep—pictures of Elodie and Remy, or the three of us together, like at Remy’s first Thanksgiving that we spent with Elodie’s parents.
When Elodie insisted on still traveling to her parents’ house for the holiday, I was extremely hesitant, even after Elodie revealed that her mom actually did attend her performance and watched from afar.
She was blown away by her daughter, and when Elodie told her mom and dad about her new music career, they actually all broke down together.
Turns out, fear can make you say and do things that hurt the ones you love, and Elodie’s parents were so scared that she’d end up disappointed, they just wanted her to find something else more realistic.
Joke’s on them though, right?
“I’ve never even seen some of these. When did you take them?” she asks as she flips through the pages, admiring the details from our time together.
“I’ve been taking pictures of you since the moment you got here, baby.” Her eyes meet mine. “I’m still mad I didn’t take one of the night I ran out of the house though, when you were playing your guitar and singing to Remy.”
“Why?”
“Because that was the night I realized you completely owned me, and I don’t want to ever forget that.”
She reaches up and cups my face. “You won’t. It’s just a memory that lives on in your mind instead of on paper.”
“Well, there are a few more memories we still need to put on paper,” I say, gesturing to the scrapbook, prompting her to keep flipping the pages.
When she gets to the one I’m nervous about, she freezes. “Henley…”
“I’m not proposing now,” I clarify. “But one day, we’re going to put our wedding picture on this page.”
“The day my mommy and daddy got married,” Elodie says, reading the title I wrote at the top of the blank page.
“And I want you to adopt my daughter when that happens so that she’s yours—because she is. You are her mother, the one that matters, El.”
Tears instantly form in her eyes. “I would be honored.”
“I’m in this,” I say, reaching for her hands and pulling her closer to me. “That’s why I did this. I want you to know that you’re it for me. You will be my wife, you will be the person I grow old with, and you will be the mother of our daughter and any future children you want to have with me.”
Elodie lunges for me, straddling my lap as we laugh and then press our lips together. I bury my hand in her hair and savor the taste of her tongue against mine, memorizing this moment because now that I have it, I don’t want to forget it.
I don’t want to forget any second I spend with this woman.
“I love you, Henley,” she says when I release her lips.
“I love you too, El. And now we have all the time in the world to do this right.”
***
“I’d better not get sick after being here,” my sister says as she stands next to me in the cafeteria of Blossom Peak Elementary.
“Why would you get sick?”
“Look at all of these kids,” she explains, motioning to the crowded room. “It’s like a germ cesspool. I feel like I’m going to need to take a bath in antibiotics when I leave.”
Elodie snorts from beside us, readjusting Remy in her arms. “I think you’ll be fine. Most of the winter colds are done now.”
It’s March and Career Day at the elementary school, hence why my sister and I are here instead of at our respective businesses.
Turns out, when one of your best friends has a kindergartener and she is told she can invite whoever she wants to speak at career day, she invites literally every adult she knows.
Elliot and Fletcher walk through the doors, Laney holding Fletcher’s hand. “Jesus, it’s utter chaos in here,” Elliot says as a group of kids run right past him, making him stumble.
“That’s what I said,” Dilynne echoes, but Elliot rolls his eyes.
“Hold on. You two actually agreed on something?” Fletcher asks for clarification. “Did hell just freeze over?”
“I don’t know. Ask Satan himself.” My sister juts her thumb in Elliot’s direction.
“Elliot can’t be Satan if I’m Lucifer,” Fletcher interjects.
Laney pats his chest. “Maybe it’s time to pass on the nickname, babe. Besides, Dilynne has a list of them for Elliot, so it’s not like just one is going to stick.”
“Uncle Fletcher!” Ellis Hart, Rhonan’s daughter and the reason we’re all here today, comes running up to Fletcher and jumps into his arms. “You made it!”
“I told you that I would.” He bops her on her nose then peers around the room. “Where’s your dad?”
“I don’t know. I hope he won’t be late. Ms. Lewis says we’re about to start.”
“Wait. Who’s Ms. Lewis? I thought Mrs. Allen was your teacher,” Dilynne asks.
“She left to have her baby. Johnny said that the baby was gonna rip open her vagina.”
Elliot practically snorts. “Looks like Johnny knows a little too much.”
Ellis tilts her head to the side. “Can babies do that? Do they rip it open with their hands and crawl out?”
“Uh…” Fletcher looks to the rest of us for guidance. “A little help here, people.”
Luckily, Rhonan arrives at that moment, practically panting as he jogs through the doors to the cafeteria, dressed in his deputy uniform. “Daddy!” Ellis shouts, wiggling out of Fletcher’s arms before running across the room to him.
“Thank God I got out of answering that question,” Fletcher mumbles, pulling Laney back into his arms as she laughs.
“Yeah, we don’t need another stripper incident,” she says.
Elodie’s brows draw together. “Stripper incident?”
Fletcher shakes his head. “Don’t ask.”
Laughing, I pull Elodie into my arms and kiss the top of her head. “Let’s just say that I won’t be letting Remy hang around Uncle Fletcher when she starts asking the tough questions.”
Rhonan walks toward us, carrying Ellis in his arms. “I didn’t think I was gonna make it,” he says out of breath before setting his daughter down on the ground.
“You look like you just ran a marathon,” Laney says to her older brother.
“Actually, I was chasing after a damn dog.”
“I didn’t know that was in your job description,” Elliot says with a smirk.
“It’s not.” Rhonan pushes a hand through his unruly hair, trying to tame it. “It’s my new neighbor’s dog, and he happens to be a bit of an escape artist.”
“Wait. You have a new neighbor? Someone is renting that house now?” Laney asks.
“Yeah, and it’s…” But he doesn’t finish his sentence because a beautiful, tall blonde picks up the microphone at the front of the cafeteria and drowns him out.
“Good morning, everyone,” she says, her voice cheery. “If you could all take your seats, please, we will begin Career Day in just a few minutes.”
Our group looks toward the rows of chairs in the back as all of the teachers guide the students to sit on the floor in their class groups.
I move toward the back, following my friends, when I realize that Rhonan is still standing in the same spot. Returning to him, I ask, “Dude. You okay?”
“Fuck my life,” he grates out, staring at the woman at the front of the room as she smiles at the kids sitting by her feet.
“What’s going on?” Fletcher asks as Elliot comes up next to him.
“That’s Ms. Lewis!” Ellis shouts, pulling on Rhonan’s hand. “That’s my new teacher, Daddy.”
“She’s—she’s your substitute?” Rhonan stutters.
“Yes. And she’s so nice and pretty. Isn’t she pretty, Daddy?”
Rhonan remains frozen as I glance over at Elliot and Fletcher, wondering what the fuck is happening. “Uh, Rhonan?”
“Go take your seat, Ellis,” he says before Ellis runs off. Closing his eyes, he blows out a breath and mutters, “This is just my luck.”
“Care to fill us in?” I add.
“That’s the woman I…” He mutters low enough that only we can hear him, but he doesn’t finish his thought.
“Wait. She’s the one from The Charming Bull, isn’t she?” Elliot interjects. “Didn’t she go to the bathroom and never come back?”
“Thank you for that,” Rhonan grates out, glaring at Elliot.
“Shit. She ghosted you?” Fletcher asks.
Sighing, Rhonan nods. “Yeah. And apparently she also happens to be my new neighbor.”
“Fuck,” Fletcher says. “And now…”
“And now? Apparently, she’s also Ellis’s teacher for the next three months,” he finishes, leaving us all stunned, and wondering how the hell the end of the school year is going to pan out for our friend and his daughter given this woman has left a chip on our best friend’s shoulder.
THE END