“Happy Birthday, Sis.” Tanner put his arm around her shoulders and gave her an affectionate squeeze.
“Happy Birthday, Brother,” she responded as the family began to sing Happy Birthday to them.
Jace counted to three, and they each blew out the candles on their own cake at the same time.
“Make your wishes,” Greta said.
Ellie thought about it. She had everything she could want in life. She hoped with all her heart that it could continue just as it was.
She and Tanner each received a pile of gifts as usual. The McLeods always gave each other presents.
Tucker handed Ellie a small, wrapped gift. She tore off the paper, opened the chocolate-brown velvet box, and her eyes widened in surprise. A pair of gold earrings with chocolate diamonds sparkled against the cream satin of the box.
She smiled up at him. “You remembered that I love chocolate diamonds. Thank you.”
He rested his hand beneath the table on her thigh and gave her a light squeeze. “Happy birthday, Ellie.”
She hugged him, then gave him a soft kiss.
After they enjoyed cake and ice cream, then cleaned up, Levi brought out several board and card games to choose from. Greta and Hoss played cards, while the other six of them settled on the classic edition of Trivial Pursuit.
Tucker, Ellie, and her brothers had a highly competitive game with Ellie winning by a whisker. They each had different strengths and were all good at Trivial Pursuit. They decided on another round, and this time Levi won.
It was late when they finally went to their cabins, and Ellie fell into an exhausted sleep, spooning with the man she loved.
Ellie and Tucker stayed until Monday afternoon. Ellie had to fly to L.A. on Tuesday morning, and Tucker needed to return to his ranch.
They’d had a great time shooting skeet, swimming, fishing, and taking the Jet Skis out. They played games in the evenings, taking pleasure in the cool night air.
Ellie wished they didn’t have to leave—it felt like they hadn’t stayed long enough. But she was working on a new anime project and having fun with it.
The hardest part of going out of town was not seeing Tucker as much as she used to. But eventually it would slow. She needed to take advantage of the attention she’d gotten due to her work on Myth Hunter.
When they got back to her townhouse, they dropped her gear from the trip on the floor.
“Stay the night.” She placed her palms on his chest. “My flight doesn’t leave until early afternoon.”
He kissed her and brushed her hair behind her ear. “I’d like that.”
“Oh, good.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body to his. “We can start with a nice, warm shower. Then a little something to eat before we go to bed.”
He slid his hands down to her bottom and brought her even closer to him. “I’m ready for that shower.” The hard ridge between them let her know he was thinking the same thing as she was.
She smiled, took his hand, and led him up to her bedroom.
14
A couple of weeks after Ellie’s last trip alone, she and Tucker were finally traveling together.
After making it through airport security at Tucson International Airport, Ellie and Tucker stood in line to have their carry-on luggage scanned.
Behind them, raised voices caught Ellie’s attention, and she looked back to see some kind of commotion going on in the security line.
“Guess we made it through just in time.” Ellie looked back at Tucker. “Our plane is going to be boarding soon.”
He nodded and prepared to go through the scanner in his sock feet. He’d worn athletic shoes instead of boots to go through the airport—boots were a bear to take off and put back on in security.
They both walked through, grabbed their stuff, and put on their shoes. Once situated, they headed for their gate. A boarding call for their flight came over the loudspeaker, and they picked up their pace. Tucker still kept his strides shorter so she could keep up.
