A moment of silence stretched out between them in the dim hallway, until he swore he could hear his own heart beating in his chest, and see the thrum of her pulse at her neck keeping the same rhythm.
He clenched his hands into fists in an effort not to touch her.
But in his mind he pulled her close, told her that she was all his, forever, and kissed her so thoroughly that she could never forget it.
“I think I’ll turn in early,” she whispered, dragging her eyes from his as if she had read his thoughts. “Good night, Jensen.”
“Thank you,” he whispered brokenly.
She glanced back up at him, warmth in her eyes now.
“It was a wonderful day, wasn’t it?” she asked softly.
“It really was,” he told her.
As he watched her head back to the guest room, he couldn’t help the longing in his chest. And he wondered what his life might be like if this wasn’t just some wonderful dream.
What if every day could be like this one?
20
JENSEN
Jensen awoke on Christmas Eve morning feeling incredible. Henry had slept peacefully through the night. And though Jensen had been up once or twice himself just to check the monitor, he was glad to know his boy would be feeling better again in time for Christmas.
And Willow is here…
He found himself hopping out of bed and jogging to the window. He wasn’t sure what he was hoping to see.
Part of him couldn’t wait for the snow to stop and the roads to be plowed so he could talk to her brother. And another part of him wished they could be snowed in forever. He couldn’t bear the thought of being away from her, even for long enough to talk to Ransom tomorrow.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her sweet smile and heard her gentle laughter as she played with Henry and talked to him.
She cares about us. Please, let this work out…
But he had learned the hard way that the most importantthings in life were often not in his control. If he wanted things to turn out as they were meant to, he was going to have to do his best and then let go.
He had texted Ransom this morning and told him he wanted to talk to him about something important tomorrow. Hopefully, they could hole up privately and he could tell the man what was in his heart.
He headed to the bathroom with the monitor, figuring Henry would be up by the time he was out of the shower. Sure enough, he had just pulled on his jeans when he heard the monitor crackle to life. Not wanting the little one to wake up alone if he still wasn’t feeling well, Jensen headed down the hall without putting on his shirt.
But when he got to Henry’s room, Willow was already there, standing by the crib, smiling and talking softly with a very happy Henry.
She looked up, and then averted her eyes immediately.
But not before he caught the blush on her cheeks.
He felt a jolt of pleasure at the idea that she liked what she saw.
“Good morning,” he told her, letting his deep voice drawl just a little.
“Good morning,” she said. “I’ve got him if you want to… get dressed.”
But they were both distracted by the sound of an engine out front.
“Let me go see what that is,” Jensen said.
He grabbed his flannel from the bathroom and shrugged it on as he headed downstairs.
