“Did you tell Kath that they could come back?”
“I said I was good, they shouldn’t worry and I’d text soon when they could come back.”
“Text them,” he ordered. “They wanna see you’re okay. You text. Get dressed. Walk me to my truck. And I’ll get outta here so they can have you to themselves to see you’re okay.”
She nodded again.
He gave her a squeeze.
Then he gave her a kiss.
That kiss led to another one and a few more, all soft, quick, sweet.
But it eventually led to them making out before he unfortunately needed to pull away and say, “Your family needs to see you’re good, Cady.”
She thought it was unfortunate too, gave him that, it made him smile so he touched his mouth to hers one more time before he found her phone she’d dropped in the bed and gave it to her.
He got out of bed, put on his sweater, socks, boots and gave her privacy after she texted, doing this stroking Midnight while she dressed.
She put on the thick socks she’d been wearing that he hadn’t noticed until the second time when he’d taken them off and when they got downstairs draped a shawl around her shoulders before she started to walk outside in her socks with him to his truck.
He stopped her before he even opened the door.
“Cady, shoes,” he said.
She looked to her feet then to him. “I’m okay.”
“It’s not even twenty degrees out there.”
“Am I hanging out there for an hour?”
“No.”
“I’m good.”
“Cady, there’s snow out there. Put on some boots.”
“Coert, they’re at the Lobster Market loitering over whoopee pies. They probably stopped loitering two seconds after I gave them the go ahead to come home. They’ll be back any minute.”
“Boots,” he ordered.
“These socks are thicker than my boots.
“What’d I say?”
“Coert!” she snapped.
“Cady.”
Her frame went still.
Then she bowed her head.
He grew instantly alarmed.
Shit, he shouldn’t have pushed the boots.
When she lifted her head, she was on him again. Hands in his hair, yanking his mouth to hers and kissing him wet and heavy and deep.
He turned her, pushed her against the door and participated avidly.
He eventually tore his mouth from hers saying what he had to say, not for him or them.
For her.
“I gotta go.”
“Love you,” she whispered.
That was when Coert stilled.
“Love you, Coert,” she whispered again.
“Love you too, Cady,” he whispered back, went in for another touch of the lips and said, “Just stay in. Stay warm. And I’ll call tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Another lip touch like he couldn’t exist unless he had that connection and finally he pulled her from the door, set her aside and gave himself one last moment to give Midnight a quick rubdown. He moved his eyes to her, shot her a smile, waited and watched her face get soft.
And then he turned to the door, opened it and walked right out.
He was halfway to his truck when he heard the door open behind him.
He turned and started walking backward seeing Cady in the door.
“Get inside!” he called.
“Text me when you get home,” she called back.
“Right.”
“Talk to you tomorrow!” She was yelling now.
“Right!” he yelled back.
“’Bye!”
“Later, baby!”
He nearly ran into his truck so he turned to watch where he was going, got in, started her right up to get her warmed up, because it was freaking cold, and he looked to Cady’s door.
She stood illuminated by the light behind her, the Christmas swags, the spiral pines, Midnight sitting at her side.
She waved.
Coert waved back.
It looked like Midnight woofed.
And he was smiling when he reversed out and drove away.
He was still smiling when he got into his house, turned on Janie’s tree and pulled out his phone.
Home safe. Sleep tight. Love you, he texted.
He was in his kitchen pouring a needed two fingers of bourbon when he got back, Family’s back. Impromptu meeting. Although they see me breathing, Pat’s in trouble.
He strikes me as a guy who can take it, Coert returned.
He is, thank God, she replied.
After taking a sip of bourbon he told her, We’ll scratch a meeting with your family on the agenda before they leave.
I’m feeling a good deal of happy right now and Mike can be more overprotective than his dad. So maybe you can meet them over Skype when they’re a gazillion states away.
Coert grinned. Fortitude, honey. We can do this.
Yes we can.
Coert kept grinning and sipping as he turned on his TV but sat not watching it, rather smelling Cady on him, his phone in his hand, Cady on the other end.
And just to say, he texted, I’m liking that good deal of happy.
She didn’t text for a while and Coert didn’t like it until she did, and it stated, Daly put me on the hot seat. I was just grilled to within an inch of my life and then had to endure Kath shouting, “For God’s sake, Daly, can’t you see you’re ruining her afterglow!” Thank God the kids are at Elijah’s or that would have been bad.
Coert burst out laughing.
And when he was done, he tried to think of the last time he’d laughed that hard with that sense of freedom.
It wasn’t even when he was with Cady, no matter how funny she could be, and she’d always been funny, because all he was doing to her was standing in the way.
Was Elijah there tonight? he asked.
Out on a date but he’s back and I’ll tell you about it, but this date was not good seeing as I think Verity got a huge crush on him the second she laid eyes on him.
Which ones are Verity’s parents?
Kath and Pat.
Was in his presence five minutes and still can say, she catches his eye, they should count themselves lucky.
Yes. I SO agree. He’s SUCH a good guy.
Coert was again smiling. Yeah.
I should let you go. Kath’s opening another bottle of wine and she’s demanded the men go to the studio so I think I’m about to be on a different kind of hot seat.
More smiling Right, Cady. Don’t worry about your afterglow, honey. I’ll give you another one tomorrow.
Her reply didn’t come as quickly, and he got why when he read it and felt it deeply when he saw, Love you, Coert. A lot.
I know, Cady. Love you too. Talk to you tomorrow and see you tomorrow night.
Can’t wait. See you.
Don’t get drunk. Afterglows aren’t as good through a hangover.
It was then she sent him a cartoon picture that looked a lot like her, smiling big, but wearing a dragon outfit with a sword in her chest with the words You Slay Me! hanging over it.
A shock of laughter exploded from his throat and he asked, What the fuck is that?
He got rapid texts.
Bitmoji.
Nieces and nephews.
Learn to cope. I can have entire conversations through Bitmoji.
Coert chuckled and returned, Go get drunk with your girls. But not too drunk.
Okay. Sleep tight.
Oh, he would.
Will do. Night, honey.
Goodnight, Coert.
He didn’t text her back to hold their connection even when he wanted to, letting her go to be with her family.
But he did stare at the cartoon of Cady in a dragon suit and he did it a long time.
Then he couldn’t stop himself from leaning over, elbows to his knees, pressing his bourbon to one temple, his phone to his other, his mouth engaged with sucking huge amounts of oxygen into his lungs.
It happened.
They did it.
They were committed to negotiating the in between and finding each other again.
Which meant rediscovering each other.
Which meant Cady sharing Bitmojis.
He stopped deep breathing and started laughing then he grunted twice to hold a different emotion at bay and folded deeper into himself holding the phone and glass to the back of his neck.
“She forgives me,” he muttered to his knees.