“Bullshit,” Nate coughs as he walks by with a stack of plates in his hands. I reach my hand in and remove a few rolls and throw them in my bag, giving him a look to let him know I’m watching him.
After the table is cleared, dishes are washed or in the dishwasher, and the desserts are set out on the counter, we all head into the family room to watch the end of the football game. Jake gets up so Mom can sit in her chair and sits on the love seat next to Nate. Travis, Will, and Maddox are sitting on the couch with Brooklyn on Maddox’s lap. I head over to the couch with the intention of sitting on the floor, but Maddox has other ideas. He moves Brooklyn over so she’s sitting on one leg and slaps his other leg indicating he wants me to sit. There’s no place I’d rather be than snuggled up on Maddox’s lap with my daughter at my side. This is my home.
After the desserts have been consumed and a couple of card games have been played, Maddox and I gather up our belongings to head towards home. He has to work tomorrow since he traded a shift from earlier in the week when Brooklyn was in the hospital, and Brooklyn is still weak from her pneumonia.
As we make our way to Maddox’s truck, my family joins us in the driveway to see us off. It’s kind of our own little tradition.
“Thank you so much for dinner, Mom. It was delicious.”
“Oh, you are so welcome, honey,” she says with a warm hug. Mom turns her attention to Maddox and Brooklyn.
“Take care of my girls,” she tells Maddox with a hug and kiss on his cheek.
“I will. I promise.”
“And you, little lady, need to go home and get some rest. Grandma will stop by in the afternoon tomorrow to check on you. Okay?”
“Otay, Gramma. I wove you,” Brooklyn says with a big wet kiss on my mom’s lips. I hug all of my brothers as Maddox fastens Brooklyn into her seat in the back of the truck.
“I love you, baby girl. We’ll see you Sunday,” my dad says as he hugs me tightly against his chest.
“Love you more, Dad.”
With one last wave at my family, I settle into the front seat of the truck. Maddox shakes my dad’s hand before climbing in. As we head out the driveway, I can’t help but feel the exhaustion settling in.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I think I’m just tired. I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed tonight. It feels like it’s been weeks since I was home.”
“We’ll be home in just a little bit. Actually, I wanted to make a pit stop quickly if that’s okay with you.”
“That’s fine,” I say assuming we’re going to run by his house so he can grab more clothes, maybe a clean uniform for tomorrow. Maddox reaches over and takes my hand in his, linking our fingers together on the seat of his truck. The peace and contentment settle over me as I shut my eyes and slowly drift off to sleep.
*****
“Babe, wake up.” I can hear Maddox talking to me, trying to rouse me from sleep. I feel his soft lips press gentle kisses on my lips and nose. “Avery, we’re here.”
“Where?” I open my eyes and try to focus. The landscaping is different. We are definitely not at my place or Maddox’s. So where are we?
“Come on,” he says as he hops out of the truck and starts to get Brooklyn out of the backseat. She’s talking a mile a minute and I feel like I’m still struggling to catch up.
I open my door and step out, taking in my surroundings. That’s when I realize instantly where we are. The house. My dream house. I look over at Maddox with confusion written all over my face. “What are we doing here?”
Maddox walks over, Brooklyn tucked in his arm, and he holds out a hand to me. “Come with me and I’ll show you.” Without any hesitation, I place my hand inside of his.
I’m quiet as we walk up the stone walkway towards the front door, though a hundred questions are flashing through my mind. When we get to the front door, we both stop and look at each other. Now what?
Maddox reaches in his pocket and pulls out a key. Not just any key. A key that he places in the lock and turns. He turns the knob and gently pushes open the door. How did Maddox get that key? He stands there watching me, waiting on me.
“Are you ready?” he asks. Ready for what, I’m not sure. My heart is racing and my stomach is in knots as I take his offered hand and we walk through the front door.
Maddox pulls a small flashlight out of his coat pocket. He shines it down so that we can see where we are walking. The house is completely empty. Strange. I thought the couple who built it had left their furniture for when they returned.
“Over here is the living room,” he says as he walks into the large open room with a big bay window that faces the front porch. The room extends the entire length of the house with sliding glass doors on the back. There’s a big, beautiful stone fireplace in the middle of the outside wall. We walk to the sliding glass doors. “Out here is a big backyard with concrete porch with built-in fire pit. It’s pretty cool. Over here,” he says as he points the flashlight to the right, “is the kitchen. There’s an island for extra counter space and a bar area where you can put stools.”