Chapter 41
Evie
Iwiped sweat from my brow as I admired the deep green canopy. As sunlight filtered through the trees, I was hit with the strange sadness that accompanied the end of summer. The feeling that I should grab it all with two hands before the leaves turned. Before fall and winter descended.
The air smelled like pine sap and river mist, a scent I didn’t know existed until a couple of years ago. I took a deep breath, willing my lungs to fill. They still didn’t work as well as they used to, but day by day, they were becoming better at sending oxygen into my bloodstream.
Hiking was one of my favorite pre-Vincent activities, though what we were doing today was more of a walk.
Jasper had Vincent in a carrier, a giant floppy sun hat shading our little guy’s head.
While we’d both been discharged from the hospital after a day, neither of us was working for the moment.
Jasper was on leave to recover from his smoke inhalation, and I was waiting for information about what the hell was happening at Sugar Moon.
Louisa had been released and was back at work the day after the fire, but she’d then headed to New York to talk to investors.
Our offices were closed for now, and the manufacturing plant had paused operations, leaving the future of the company as well as the future of the hundreds of employees in jeopardy.
So Jasper and I were following the doctor’s orders. Fresh air, light exercise, and rest.
As Jasper navigated easily up the trail, I admired the flex of his calf muscles. The sound of the falls was faint, though with every step, it grew louder, like a heartbeat in the distance.
For what had to be the hundredth time, he turned around, checking on me.
“Still here,” I chirped.
“You’re walking too fast for someone recovering from a near death experience.”
I shook my head. Despite his injuries, he’d been babying me nonstop. “Says the man who ran into a burning building.”
“For the record, I’d do it again.”
Vincent squealed and kicked his legs.
Jasper beamed. “See? He agrees with me.”
Before long, the trees opened up to the river, and then finally, to the falls.
“We need a family photo,” Jasper said, heading to the overlook point.
I complied, and I couldn’t help but smile as he stretched his arm out to capture a picture of the three of us with the thundering waterfall in the background. The water was cold and clean, the chill of the mist welcome in the late August humidity.
For months and months, I’d rolled my eyes anytime someone mentioned Cora and Nathaniel, believing the legend was tragic and silly.
Believing they were nothing more than two people doomed by stupidity and bad timing.
But I saw it differently now. They’d chosen their own destiny when life had tried to push them away from what they truly wanted. That was the true lesson here.
“Maybe they didn’t jump because they wanted to die,” I admitted to Jasper.
His eyes flashed with amusement, like he was pleasantly surprised by my admission.
“Maybe they wanted to live without fear. On their terms.”
Face splitting into a smile, he held a hand out. “Come on. I’m hungry.”
He led me down the back way, along a gently sloping path that curved around the granite hills and deposited hikers at the bottom of the falls. By the time we reached the bottom, we were drenched in sweat and starving.
I laid out the blanket we’d packed, and Jasper opened his backpack, procuring a pouch of plum puree for Vincent and a Basil-approved charcuterie assortment for us.
Vincent, who could now sit up on his own, amused himself by scrunching the blanket in his fists and giggling.
“I still dream about the fire.” Jasper’s tone was serious, though after he popped a piece of Manchego into his mouth, he grinned.
I rearranged my ponytail and chugged my water.
It had only been two weeks since then, so that was natural.
Already, I knew that I’d never forget the details of that day.
The fear and the panic, then the relief that came when I saw his face.
It wasn’t just a memory. It was part of me, mapped in my neurons forever.
“I was terrified,” he admitted. “And I still am. The thought of losing you. The sight of you slumped in that corner. The feel of your weak pulse beneath my fingers.”
Giving him a sympathetic smile, I grasped his hand. “I’m still processing,” I told him. “And there’s so much we don’t know yet.”
My career, my town. It was all floating in the abyss. The unknown. Caleb had been arrested for murder and arson and a list of other horrible crimes. My employer was embroiled in scandal, and most of our offices and records had been destroyed.
When I let myself think about all that, the peace I’d worked so hard to achieve felt like it was slipping away. I was beyond fortunate to have Vincent and Jasper. That was more than enough for now. But the guilt ate at me each time I considered all the ruined lives.
“You can’t carry all the broken pieces,” Jasper said gently. “You didn’t make him light the match. But you survived, and that’s enough.”
I nod, tears stinging my eyes.
“Shh.” He scooted closer and put an arm around me. “Listen to the water and breathe. I’ve got you.”
We sat for a long while, watching the rushing water, playing with Vincent and laughing when he made silly faces, and feeding each other.
The day was one of the best days I’d ever had.
“We should get married,” Jasper blurted out after a long, satisfying silence.
Heart lurching, I pushed him away. “Are you crazy?”
His face was completely earnest as he met my eye. “I love you. You and Vincent, you’re it for me.”
“It’s not that simple,” I said, nerves skittering through me.
With a shrug, he popped a blueberry into his mouth. “It is, actually. The fire, the mess, it’s all in the past. Let’s build something out of the ashes. Let’s take this chance we’ve been given and do something amazing.”
I wanted to laugh it off. Protest. But I couldn’t. Because he was right.
Even so, it was too soon.
“We can’t get married.”
“We don’t have to get married yet if you’re not ready. Or ever. Just be mine.”
“I am yours,” I said.
With a slow smile, he pulled me into his lap. “Good. Because I’m all yours, Evie. Be gentle with me,” he said, his voice full of tenderness and vulnerability. “I may seem like a big, tough, manly man, but I have a squishy heart.”
He took my hand and placed it against his chest.
My stomach flipped at the sweet gesture. For so long, I’d written this man off as unpredictable, wild, and reckless. But that was so far from the truth. He was steady. He was dependable. And he was, above all else, mine.
Arms draped over his shoulders, I kissed him, reveling in the sensation of his warm lips on mine.
“We just have to choose each other. Every day.” He scooped Vincent up and brought him close, his little baby cheeks damp with drool.
He made it sound so simple. So easy. Like we weren’t just neuroses stuffed into skin and walking around trying not to mess everything up.
“Don’t overthink.”
I sighed. “But—”
“Shh.” He put a finger to my lips. “Just say yes.”
“What am I agreeing to?”
“Everything and anything.” He tightened his hold on us.
I shifted, searching for an appropriate response. Or maybe an argument. But before I could formulate the words, my attention was snagged by the falls.
The spray hitting the rocks caught the sunlight, creating two rainbows over the surface of the water.
I gasped, tears once again threatening. It was maybe the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
The falls never stopped. No matter the season or the storm. They changed and adapted, but the water kept moving.
Maybe love was the same. Wild, uncertain, constantly evolving. Beautiful in every way.
The three of us clung to one another, in awe of the sight. And for the first time in forever, I didn’t think about what was coming next. I just took a breath of fresh air and enjoyed the miracle unfolding in front of me.
Jasper and I didn’t need to leap. We’d already fallen. Together.