8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Aileen
I sit in my little apartment the next morning with a cold cup of coffee and restore the email I deleted three weeks ago.
It’s a formal transfer offer, complete with a better salary, a relocation stipend, and a response deadline two days away.
If Forrest had waited much longer to make his move, I’d have missed the chance to accept it.
Forrest sits across the tiny table without saying a word while I type that I accept the position and hit send on the message that will change the rest of my life.
"Okay," I breathe when it's done. "Okay. I did it. Now, I have to find somewhere to live year-round, because this place is for temporary housing only and—”
"Live with me, Doc," Forrest says.
I look up.
"Too fast?" he asks. He doesn't look worried. He looks like a man stating a fact he's already made peace with.
"We've known each other for three weeks."
"Four, on Friday. And as I’ve already said, I’m head over heels in love with you.
" He reaches across and takes my hand. "I've got a cabin up the mountain with a view of the whole lake. There’s a spare bedroom that no one ever uses, and I’d think it’d make a great home office for a fisheries biologist." His thumb moves over my knuckles.
"Come see it. If you hate it, we'll figure something else out. But I don't think you'll hate it."
“I want to see it. Can you take me there now?”
Forrest chuckles. “Let’s go.”
As soon as I catch sight of the cabin through the windshield, I know Forrest is right. I don’t hate it. In fact, it’s perfect. Like a cabin in a fairytale.
It sits high on the mountain road with a wraparound porch and a view that stops my breath.
The whole lake stretches out far below, sparkling in the sunlight.
Inside, the cabin is just as lovely. The walls are exposed logs, and there's a leather couch that looks like the perfect place to take a nap. The walls are covered in framed photos. There’s a picture of Forrest and the guys at around sixteen or so, shirtless and tan, wearing swim trunks and grinning at the camera.
There’s another of him and a man who looks like an older version of him—clearly, his dad—both holding up enormous catfish.
There are photos of the lake in every season, including one with trees that are heavy with snow and the water frozen along the bank.
I can’t wait to see Lake Mercury in all its seasons.
"Well?" Forrest says from the doorway. “Think you could live here?”
Yes! “Well, I haven’t seen the bedrooms yet. Or the bathroom. What if you’re a slob who pees on the floor?”
Forrest chuckles, leading me to the bathroom first. It’s even cleaner than my own bathroom. So, he’s not a slob. Good to know.
Then he leads me upstairs to the bedrooms. I carry my duffel bag with me. The one that has followed me across six states and forty lakes and never once been completely unpacked in all those years.
The master bedroom is spacious, with windows that offer a view of the lake. But there’s nothing but a bed and a dresser.
“This room needs some art on the walls.”
“Whatever you want, Doc.” He walks over to the dresser, opening the top drawers. They’re all empty. “These are for you.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You emptied the drawers for me?”
“I did.”
“When?” I ask, incredulous. “We didn’t get together until last night, and you’ve been with me since then.”
Is it my imagination or are his cheeks pink?
“I emptied them the day we met. Just in case things worked out the way I hoped.”
I set my duffel bag on the bed, and then I open it, moving the contents to the dresser drawers. My dresser drawers. This is my house now.
He comes to me and puts his hands on my waist. “This makes me so happy.”
I turn in his arms to hug him. “I haven’t said it yet… but I love you, Forrest. I honestly do. Thank you… for everything.”
“The pleasure’s all mine, Doc.”
“Well,” I say, a wicked grin spreading across my face as I pull him toward the bed. “Not all yours.”