Chapter 13 Autumn
Chapter thirteen
Autumn
When Jack and I pull onto the gravel drive the next morning, Harvest Hollow is bathed in the kind of soft winter morning light that makes everything shimmer. I grip his hand tighter across the console, still half-afraid I’m dreaming. My cheeks hurt from smiling.
As soon as we get out, the house erupts. Mia races down the porch steps, shrieking. “She’s back! I knew it!”
Connor pops his head out, still in pajamas, grinning. Dad appears behind him, and Mom nearly barrels them both over as she runs toward me, arms wide.
I’m surrounded—squeezed, kissed, peppered with questions. Jack stands back, sheepish and flushed, until Mom pulls him into the hug too. “You'd better be ready for more cocoa shifts, Jack!” she laughs, but her eyes are misty.
Mia grabs my hand, spinning me around. “Well? Tell them! Tell them!”
My heart stutters. I glance at Jack. He nods, eyes warm and sure.
I step forward, voice a little shaky but confident. “I’m staying for good. I’m moving in with Jack. We’re going to build something together. Here. With you. With him.”
There’s a second of silence, then chaos. Mom cries and crushes me to her chest, Dad laughs and hugs Jack so hard I see him wince, Connor hoots, and Mia wipes her eyes. “Finally,” she whispers, hugging us both at once. “You found your person.”
Jack’s hand finds mine. We stay for breakfast and more teasing than anyone should have to survive before 10 a.m. The whole time, I feel lighter, freer, more myself than I have in years. Every hug, every laugh, every inside joke reminds me I belong here, that Jack belongs here with me.
Later, we say our goodbyes and slip out. Jack drives us back to his place—our place, I realize with a wild, giddy thrill. His arms are instantly around me the moment the door clicks shut.
Our kisses turn urgent, laughter fading into gasps as his hands slip under my clothes, tugging me closer until there’s nothing between us. I press him down, straddling him, desperate to feel all of him. He lets me take control and show just how much I love him.
I grind against him, rolling my hips, feeling him beneath me. He groans, his hands gripping my thighs, his mouth tracing fire along my jaw, down my neck.
I guide him inside me, slow and deep, savoring every inch, every shudder. We move together, finding a rhythm as natural as breathing—hands tangled, mouths pressed to skin, both of us saying yes, yes, yes with every gasp and cry.
When we both fall apart, it’s joy, pure and electric. We hold each other, trembling, whispering new promises.