38. Sky
“I feel underdressed.”I clutch the sleeves of my sweater as I get into August’s truck. It’s warm, the heat coming from the vents as I hop in.
August watches as I put on my seatbelt, one hand casually draped along the steering wheel. He’s dressed in his usual jeans but with a white shirt underneath an open plaid jacket.
“Hate to break it to you, Shortcake, but you could wear a paper bag and still be beautiful.”
My cheeks flush and I suppress the urge to grin. “Now you’re just being cheesy to make me feel better.”
He reaches for my chin and holds it as he shakes his head. “I appreciate the small-town girl in you and would never ask you to be anyone other than who you are. Jeans, sweats, makeup, no makeup, I don’t care. You’ve always been someone I wanted to look at.”
A jolt of pleasure runs through me. “I feel the same way about you,” I whisper, happy when a smile crests his face and makes it to his eyes.
“You think I’m pretty?” he says, dropping his hand and winking when I push him in the shoulder.
“Stop,” I laugh, feeling the rise of euphoria in my chest. “Where are you taking me on this best date ever?”
August gives me a long-sided glance, merriment dancing. “You’ll see. I don’t want to ruin the surprise.” He drives us through town and familiar streets before turning down a road I’ve only ever been on once.
My brows furrow as he pulls through an open steel gate and puts the truck in park along the side of the road. “Uh. The lumberyard?”
He chuckles as he unbuckles his belt and steps out of the truck.
I don’t move an inch as he comes around to my side and opens the door. My hands encase in his, the chilly air swirling around us.
He leans in and I’m bombarded with his clean scent and the warmth in his eyes. “Do you trust me?”
I ping my gaze back and forth between his, and every band around my heart expands until they break. Finally free to give him the one thing he’s been searching for, I press a kiss to his soft lips. “Yes.”
That one word opens a floodgate. August clicks the belt to release me and tugs me in for a kiss deepened by his raw emotions. His fingers dive into my hair and hold me still as he steals any breath I might have had.
Once he ends the kiss—much to my disappointment—and brushes my hair back, he gathers me from the truck with all the enthusiasm of a little boy.
“I need you to close your eyes,” he says, biting his bee-stung bottom lip and lacing his fingers with mine.
A shiver travels down my spine at giving him this ultimate show of trust. My eyes flutter closed, and I let him lead me down the gravel road, the rocks uneven under my boots. My foot snags on a large object, likely a rock, and I stumble, but August grabs me under the arm and hugs me to his side.
“You okay?” he rumbles.
“I’m good. Just don’t let me go.”
He pulls me tighter against him as we continue.
“I won’t,” he says, and I know he means more than just this walk.
All I hear is the rustle of tree leaves, a lone hawk’s call, and the soft intake of air from the two of us. It’s calming, and my heart is full. I don’t need a date with August to know I’m right where I want to be. His presence is enough.
August stops and messes with something before telling me to stay put. I clasp my hands in front of me while I wait, the anticipation making my stomach buzz.
There’s a grunt and the sound of thuds on metal. His voice comes from slightly above me. “Open your eyes.”
They spring open and my gaze travels up the side of a rusty railroad car to August, standing with a hand outstretched. Before any memories slam into me, he grabs my hand and helps me into the car. I hold on tight to his bicep as I survey the inside, my mouth dropping open.
A blanket is set up with a mountain of pillows next to one of those heaters that run on propane, so the normally chilly interior is warm and cozy. There’s a picnic basket, a cooler, and a vase with pretty fall flowers, like the ones he left on my porch.
“It’s not a fancy restaurant, but I thought we could watch the sunset in real-time.”
“Just like when we were younger,” I say, my voice full of wonder.
August nods and scuffs his feet against the metal floor. “This time without all that pain.”
That’s a day I can’t forget. It started off amazing with him showing me a sunset and allowing me a bit of freedom after being suppressed by my family. But afterward, my dad caught us walking home and I think the look of sheer terror on August’s face—on my behalf—burrowed deeper than the slap I received to my cheek. He had a front row seat to my abuse and couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
He erases his sad expression and turns, bending to pluck up a flower from the vase. “But first.”
Snapping off the leaves, he places a mauve dahlia behind my ear, his warm fingers skating over my skin. “Perfect,” he says as he shifts it slightly, the petals brushing against my temple with the movement.
There’s a quiet murmur in my heart, building and building until it’s a confident voice echoing in my chamber.
I can’t stop the sunrise or the sunset, and I can’t stop from tumbling back in love with the man in front of me. The fall is far and wide, my breath spinning like a storm in my chest as I study his face, his fingers purposeful as they finish arranging the hair behind my ear.
Everything’s been leading up to this cataclysmic moment. I don’t know where he ends and I begin; our lives forever meant to intertwine.
Before August, after August, it doesn’t matter anymore. All I see is him and all he sees is me.
“Hungry?” he asks, pulling me from my revelation.
The smell of food makes my stomach growl. August laughs and steers me to a fluffy pillow on the blanket.
“I was too nervous to eat much today.”
He pauses his movements of grabbing something from the basket, a lock of hair sliding into his eyes. “I make you nervous?”
“In a good way.”
He straightens. “Let’s hope that’s still the case after we eat.”
I furrow my brows as he sets a container in front of me. It smells good as I peek inside. “What do you mean?” It looks to be some slow cooked meat dish with rice. “Wait, did you make this?”
“I attempted to cook something, yes.”
I dip my fork into the food and chew, letting the flavors mix in my mouth. “Not bad.”
He cringes. “Don’t lie, it’s terrible, isn’t it? I told Lina I couldn’t do it, but she insisted I try and?—”
I stop his spiral with a hand on his wrist. “You did good. Really good. With all this. It’s a perfect second-first date. I don’t need fancy restaurant food. I’m happy just to be here with you and not feel like I’m doing something wrong or that something is wrong with me.”
He opens his mouth to speak, but I hold a hand up. “I don’t want to talk about Johnny and his unrealistic expectations of me. I want to sit here and eat with you, and honestly, that’s it. I just want to be with you. Now. Tell me how the project’s coming along.”
August smiles and leans back, turning his wrist until his palm is up so I can lace my fingers with his. He launches into a bunch of construction terms I don’t know, but I don’t care. I’m content to watch him beam, his excitement over Chase’s Place seeping into every corner of my body.
After eating and cleaning up, August pulls me to the edge of the car.
From start to finish, I revel in how light I feel, like the clouds spanning the horizon, the oranges and reds reflecting off the side of August’s face before we sit with our legs dangling off the edge of the railroad car. He brackets my legs from behind, our bodies pressed close together.
I sink back into his chest, and he wraps his arms around me. The wind whips and I can finally breathe, taking in big gulps of cleansing air. The last rays of the sun dip slowly behind the tree line, swallowed by the midnight sky. A low whistle leaves my mouth, carried away by the fresh fall breeze.
August stiffens behind me and I hold his arms tighter so he doesn’t pull away. “For a long time, that was the only thing holding me together. I’d whistle, and you’d come running for me to save me.”
With a heavy sigh, he buries his head in my neck before inhaling along my skin, pressing his lips to a spot below my ear, his voice a low tone I feel all the way to my toes. “That’s all I ever wanted to do. To save you from him.”
“You did.”
The silence stretches as we sit, the cold metal warming under our bodies. Trees twist and sway, their colored leaves darkened by the setting sun. The lumber in the yard is stacked twenty logs high, the scent of pine and cedar invading our noses.
Lifting his head, he brushes my hair aside and sets his chin on my shoulder. “This is something I dreamed of often. I’d be camped out under the great big sky somewhere isolated, surrounded by millions of stars, but the brightest one of them all was always missing. In the dark, I searched for you. I craved being in your space, even though I was the one who pushed you away.”
We sway into each other like the trees, his arms holding me steady as we rock.
“But it was you, Sky, who made me feel the safest. The best version of myself was when I was around you. I had a hard time giving that up for the truth, but, baby, I’m so sorry for the pain I caused you?—”
“Shh,” I whisper and twist around in his arms to lay my head on his chest and rest in his lap. His arms slide across my back, the warmth in his embrace hotter than any fire he could start.
I delve my fingers into his hair and listen as his breaths slow and match mine when I caress his thick honey-brown strands. “It’s over. It’s done. We can’t go back. We can’t undo anything. All we have is here and now. And now is the calmest I’ve ever felt in five years. Just be with me. Just let me love you.”
He shudders and pulls me tighter.
I say it again so I can feel the uptick of his heart in his chest. “I love you, August.”
His exhale is slow, ruffling the hairs on my head, his voice hoarse. “I love you, too.”
We remain like this for what feels like hours, absorbing each other’s nearness as if breaking apart shatters the bubble we’ve placed ourselves in.
It’s only the beginning of our second chance, and only together will we get to write the ending.