Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Zane
This past week has been one of the best of my life.
The job site has stayed busy, but Ryland finally hired enough extra hands to keep us from working until dark every night.
Most evenings, I’m home before dinner’s finished, just in time to find Maxinne humming in the kitchen while she stirs whatever she’s making.
I usually sneak up behind her, wrap my arms around her waist, and steal a kiss before she laughs and tells me I’m being a distraction.
I can’t stop thinking about how I could do this forever, and for once, that thought doesn’t scare me.
We eat together every evening, sometimes at the table or sprawled on the couch with plates balanced on our knees while Sven patiently waits for someone to ’accidentally’ drop him a bite.
Between shared meals, evening walks, and talking before bed, Maxinne has quietly become part of my everyday life.
I still can’t believe I get to call her mine.
It’s snuck up on me, how fast everything has happened. A few months ago, that would’ve been enough to send me running in the opposite direction. Now, I find myself thanking God for every second I get with her.
Maxinne is curled up beside me on the couch, her legs draped across my lap as I press my thumbs into the arch of her foot.
She hisses, jerking away when I find a sore spot, then dissolves into laughter.
Sven shoots to his feet with an offended bark, convinced I’m attacking his favorite person.
He watches me suspiciously until Maxinne reaches down to scratch behind his ears.
Only then does he settle back onto the rug with a dramatic sigh.
I smile at her, loving that this is how I get to spend my evenings.
A quiet voice presses in at the edge of that thought.
For now. I know better than to believe that things will stay this easy.
This time, I don’t let it take root. I silently thank God for this moment and choose to trust Him with whatever tomorrow brings.
“This past week has felt like an answered prayer,” I say, pressing my thumb into the arch of her foot.
“I know what you mean.”
I watch as she gathers all her hair in her hands and twists it over her shoulder, her fingers working gracefully as she tugs her strands into a braid.
I’m mesmerized by the practiced movement.
It’s probably something she does every day, and yet I can’t look away.
It’s another small thing that she does that has me falling for her.
She squints at me. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I shrug nonchalantly. “Like what?”
She tilts her head, studying me. “I’m not sure…”
“As if you’re the only woman that I want in the entire world?” I smile at her.
“Is that really what you’re thinking about over there?” She nudges me with her foot.
“Absolutely.”
Her face relaxes, eyes softening, and her smile curls at the edge of her pale-pink lips. “I only want you too.”
I beam at her words and at the promise we’re making to each other. Then, an idea hits me as I reach for my wallet. I pull out the folded piece of paper that’s worn soft from years of being tucked behind my driver’s license.
Her brow furrows. “What’s that?”
I turn it over in my fingers. “A list.”
“A list of what?” She sits up straighter.
I hand it over to her and watch as she unfolds the paper carefully.
“What I want in a woman,” she reads aloud.
Heat immediately travels to the tips of my ears as she begins to read it out loud.
“Has a relationship with God. Willing to grow alongside me.”
I watch her eyes move down the page, and a tiny crease appears between her brows as she continues to read.
“Has a clear idea of what she wants out of life. Believes marriage is forever. Must live in Covewood and want to stay.”
The room falls quiet, and her gaze slowly lifts to mine.
“You’ve just been carrying this around?”
I shrug. “Yeah. I wrote it back when I thought I was ready to date again after Lily. I thought if I could find someone who checked every box, everything would work out the next time I trusted someone with my heart.”
A smile tugs at her lips, and her eyes drift back to the page, but before she can say another word, I reach over and take the paper from her hands.
“Zane—”
Her eyes widen as I tear it in half. Then again, and again, until the little scraps flutter onto the coffee table.
“Why did you do that?”
“Because I don’t need some list telling me what I want in a woman…” I proclaim, taking her hand, and my thumb brushes over her knuckles, “when all I want is you.”
She goes completely still. Her lips part on a small breath, and her eyes glisten as they search mine. Then, almost shyly, her fingers weave between mine, holding on like she never wants to let go.
“Even though I don’t fit all of it?”
I let out a laugh. “I don’t—”
“No. Let me finish.” She shakes her head, so I settle back into the couch and let her continue. “When I first came to Covewood, my relationship with God was a mess. But now I’ve rededicated my life to Him. And I’m still growing, but I want to keep growing alongside you.”
A smile tugs at her lips as she squeezes my hand.
“And okay, maybe I don’t have my entire future figured out yet. But I do know I want to finish college, and afterward, I want to put down roots here.” She glances away shyly.
I smile with satisfaction. “Really?”
She nods. “Really.”
“And marriage?” The question comes out quieter than I intended.
The smile lingering on her lips fades. Her fingers tense against mine, and she holds my gaze with a steadiness that wasn’t there a moment ago.
“I’ve seen what happens when people stop choosing each other. When I get married, I want it to be forever.”
The thought of marriage has never been casual to me.
It’s a promise before God. A daily choice to keep showing up, even when it’s hard.
That’s what I’ve wanted all along. It’s never been about finding the perfect woman, and I don’t expect a relationship to never face hardship.
I’ve always wanted someone who’d be willing to keep choosing us, even when life gets messy.
“And Covewood?” I ask as she scoots closer until our knees touch. “I want this town, and I want the guy who comes with it.”
I lean in, intending to keep it brief, but the moment my lips find hers, passion overrides that plan entirely.
My hand finds her jaw before I’ve made the decision to reach for her, tilting her face up toward mine, and what started as a quick kiss turns slow and deliberate the way it always does with her.
When I finally pull back, I keep my hand where it is, thumb tracing the line of her cheek, and hold her gaze for a beat longer than necessary.
Long enough that she knows I heard every word and let it settle inside my heart.
“I just wish my mom would come around to the idea of me living in Covewood.”
Her gaze slides to mine, and she looks tired, like the weight she’s been carrying around has suddenly become too heavy to bear. I want to wrap her in a blanket and tug her into my lap. So that’s exactly what I do. I reach over and pull her to me.
She giggles. “Zane, what are you—”
I interrupt her with a quick kiss. I grab the blanket off the back of my couch and wrap it around her, encouraging her to place her head onto my chest. We lie like that for a long time, me stroking her back, her taking in deep breaths.
“She’ll come around,” I finally say, brushing my thumb over her hair.
“I hope so.”
I have this frantic desire buzzing under my skin to fix whatever is hurting her heart right now. Maxinne twists around until she’s tucked into my side, her cheek settling against my shoulder. Tension leaves her body in slow increments as I press a kiss into the crown of her head and breathe her in.
She sighs, and the sound travels straight through me, all the way down to my toes.
This is the kind of moment people spend their whole lives chasing.
I grin, resting my cheek against her hair, my fingers tracing idle, lazy patterns along her arm.
Sven lets out a dramatic huff from his bed, clearly offended that we’ve chosen each other over him.
I’m about to say something else when a beam of light cuts across the far wall.
I recognize it as headlights and frown, wondering who in the world would be here this late at night.
Sven’s ears perk up before he pushes up from the floor.
A low bark builds in his chest, becoming sharp and alert now as he moves toward the front door.
Maxinne shifts against me. “What is it?”
“I don’t know.” I ease out from under her, watching the light move across the windows again, growing closer this time. “Stay here.”
Maxinne doesn’t listen. Instead, she’s pushing up beside me as Sven lets out another loud bark as he paces near the door.
I move toward the window, pulling the curtain back enough to see a car I don’t recognize rolling to a stop outside.
The driver’s door opens, and a woman steps out.
It’s dark enough that I can barely see her except for her long brown hair.
Maxinne sucks in a sharp breath beside me. “Oh my gosh…”
Her eyes are locked on the person outside, and the color completely drains from her face. Her lips part, but no sound comes out at first as her free hand curls into the fabric of my shirt, bracing herself.
“That’s my mom,” she finally says, her voice thin.
Wide eyes lock onto mine, panic already rising within her. I stand up straighter, my heart pounding quickly as every instinct in me is becoming alert. Before I can say anything, she rushes toward the door.
“Max—” I holler, but she’s already out the door, the night air rushing in behind her as she hurries toward the driveway.
I follow her, gravel crunching under our feet as we round the side of the cabin and see her mom moving up the porch steps of Ashton’s cabin.
Her hand lifts, poised to knock, until Maxinne shouts, “Mom!”