I’m in control. Well, we’re in control. None of this would be possible without Chase. I’d still be holding everyone at arms’ length and going through the motions of survival.
“Son of a—” Chase cuts his words off before he says something in front of Kayla’s small ear as he stumbles into the room. He closes the door behind him and locks it, and I hold back a laugh as he shakes his wet hair like a dog.
“She’s relentless,” he groans when Kayla starts knocking and calling out for him.
His eyes fall on me when I start laughing, and he licks his lips as he stares at some of his artwork. Kayla persists, pounding on the door, and I move closer to him until he grabs me at the waist and pulls me to him the rest of the way.
His forehead presses against mine, and I sigh happily while hugging him.
“Uncle Chase! Aunt Mika! We’re going swimming. Come on!” Kayla says while pounding the door.
“Yeah, Uncle Chase and Aunt Mika, let’s swim!” Aidan goads, laughing like the ass he is on the other side of the door.
Chase groans miserably, while I snicker against his chest, but he grins at me when I pull back. We both change quickly into our swimsuits, and we head downstairs, lacing our fingers together as we walk.
On a side note, I’ve learned how to swim again. I still don’t know how to ride a bike—the irony.
Hunter and Megan walk up with Trey—their four-year-old son—and I go to hug them all, finishing with Trey who clings to me. When Kayla yells for him, he takes off toward the lake, and Aidan catches him before he can jump in the water without a lifejacket.
Chase gets conned into taking both little ones out into the water, and I watch like I can’t look away as he plays the doting uncle like a pro. I have something I lost, and he has something he never had—a happy family.
There’s food—some of it I even cooked. The adult drinks are locked in the rolling bar outside, and the kid drinks are overflowing from the coolers. I watch in awe at how different my life has become.
This is a life I once only dreamed of, but now it’s my reality.
I was wrong about love. I once said it wasn’t worth it to love and lost than to have never loved at all. Well, if there’s a chance to find that love again, that is.
Tonight we’ll sit on the roof where it all started… The same rooftop we got married on ten years ago. Everyone thought we were crazy, considering Chase just made a few calls with no times, and everyone showed up to see us standing on top of the roof while someone called out our vows from below.
It was just the beginning of our best days.
The greater the struggle, the greater the reward.
My reward is wet and climbing up on the dock right now, and water is running down his chest and abs. It’s definitely something I like watching.
He winks when he catches me ogling him. It sucks that guys just get hotter with age.
My bikini shows the scars and the art he’s done, but I don’t hide it anymore. That’s because of him.
When he reaches me, he wraps his arms around me from behind, and rests his chin on top of my head as we watch the kids play in the lake. Whit and Aidan laugh with Kayla and Trey, while Hunter and Megan sit on the dock and kick water at them.
My head falls back against Chase’s chest, and he hugs me closer when we hear a car honk. Sounds like Blake just got here. It’ll be a busy first week, just like it is every year.
Chase waves at Blake as he walks by with a little curly-haired girl on his shoulders. He sits down and seems to daze off with a smile on his face.
I lower myself to his lap, and his arms wrap around me before he nuzzles my neck with his face.
“What are you thinking?” I ask him as he holds me tighter.
“I was thinking… I really love summer.”
THE END…