“How big do you think it was?” Violet asks, her arms loaded with firewood, her cheeks rosy from the chilly air.
“At least five hundred pounds. Maybe six.” Henry trails in after her, carrying twice as much wood. He hip-checks the door shut.
“You saw a bear?” I ask.
“Bear tracks.” Violet kicks off her muddy boots and carries the wood over to the fireplace.
“Did you cut all that?”
“No, but I did almost cut off my foot.” Violet holds her hands out in front of the flame for warmth.
“It’s too wet. We got this from up near the lodge.” Henry stoops to unload and begins stacking.
Neither reveals anything about how their talk went.
Does that mean it went poorly?
Did they even talk?
I’ve been on pins and needles all afternoon. This is going to drive me nuts.
“So … I ordered food. It should be here soon if you want to wash up and change?”
Violet looks down at her pants, speckled in mud. “Oh, good idea.”
I wait for her door to shut before I pounce. “How did it go?” My whisper sounds like a hiss.
Henry stands, his gaze transfixed on the flames that dance in the hearth. Finally, his lips curve. “She said yes.”
“Yes!”
“She asked if she could finish out her school year at Bishop Prep, which I said was fine. That’s what we were planning on, anyway, given we won’t be home for a few weeks.”
I sigh with relief. “See? I told you.”
A wistful look fills his face. “She called me Dad.”
A small gasp escapes my lips.
“She also called me Henry, and Dude, and Wolf. And apparently, I’m officially a DILF.” He shakes his head, chuckling. “What have we gotten ourselves into?”
“A family.” I sink against his broad chest, reveling in the strength. “How are you feeling now?”
He inhales. “Whole, if that makes any sense.”
“It does.” It’s how I’ve felt since that day Henry and I reunited, as if a missing piece of my heart returned to me. And, while Violet was never missing—because I had no idea she existed—now that she’s here, I can’t imagine our lives without her. “I’m so proud of you, Henry.”
“For what? Doing the right thing?”
“No, I always knew you’d do the right thing eventually.” I tip my head back to meet his eyes. “But you’re doing it because you want to, not because you have to.”
He searches my face. “Do you know what I want more than anything else right now?”
My body ignites with interest that I need to dose quickly. “We can’t do that until later.” The days of stripping off our clothes and fucking whenever we wish are coming to an end.
“Not that.” He rubs his thumb over my bottom lip, his voice turning husky. “I can’t wait to call you my wife. Saturday can’t come soon enough.”
My heart stutters as he leans in to kiss my lips. It begins sweetly but turns frantic in seconds, his tongue plunging into my mouth, while his fingers weave through my hair and his body is pressed against mine.
Violet will be out any moment. She doesn’t need to see her father and me mauling each other’s faces.
I break away from him, my breathing ragged. “So, did she call you Dad or Daddy?” I say the latter in a sultry tone.
I squeal as Henry tosses me onto the couch, before climbing on top of me, pinning my arms above my head. “What did I say would happen if you started up with that again?” He pitches forward to drag his tongue along my bottom lip.
Violet pokes her head out of her room. “Oh God, is this going to be like Aspen all over again?”
CHAPTER 26
I watch John steer the ferry toward Wolf Cove’s dock through a billow of my breath. The kindly old captain hugged and congratulated me when we first arrived, bringing me to tears. He was the first friendly face I saw a year ago when I left the comfort of all I’d known for the terrifying unknown.
Now he brings everyone I hold dear to the place I love, where I found myself.
A small army of staff huddle in their hotel-supplied jackets and vests, waiting with smiles and empty hands to collect luggage.
“There’s Mama!” Even with her longer curls, I can still pick her out of a crowd. I wave.
I hear a faint holler of “Abigail! We’re here!” and she waves back, as does my father who’s standing beside her, free of his walking cast, healthy and strong again.
For all the fussing that Mama did about a wedding in Alaska, she’s been buzzing around town with excitement since the bridal shower. By now everyone knows her full itinerary, from the glacier landing to the bear sightseeing trip we have planned for them and the Enderbeys in the coming days, as well as the fact that she refused Penthouse Cabin One for accommodations on account of not wanting to be eaten by wild animals.