Page 69 of Aiden & Lily

These were the moments he breathed for. He could see their future spread out before them like the lines in a storybook. Heck,if Reese showed up right now and Aiden had to come clean about everything, part of him believed it would all work out.

Then he remembered how many times Lily had already shown him grace, and his heart seized. He still didn’t know what would happen if she learned the one truth he’d continued to hide.

Reese was scheduled to be out of town for a couple more weeks. Aiden kept telling himself that gave him time to figure out the right way to explain everything. But deep down, he knew there might never be a right way.

It wasn’t that he planned to keep this from her forever. He knew the truth would come out, and he wanted to be the one to tell her. He was simply terrified that once he did, all the happiness they had found would disappear.

“What are you thinking about?” Lily whispered.

He turned his head and kissed the crown of her hair. “Our future.”

She hummed, a smile in that single sound. “Tell me about it.”

Aiden chuckled. “I don’t want to scare you off.”

Her fingers found his, and she laced them together before giving his hand a squeeze. “You could never.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I think I could.”

“Try me.”

An amused sigh left his chest, and he closed his eyes, allowing himself to be vulnerable with her. “You finally decide you’re interested in animal medicine and start taking courses to become a vet technician. Around here, there’s always a need for traveling veterinarians, and that’s what you decide to do. We get a small plot of land where we can have a couple of horses and maybe a few dogs.”

“No shih tzus,” she said with a giggle.

“No shih tzus,” he agreed. “Maybe we’ll talk to Mateo and get a couple of ranch dogs just for fun. Because one day, we might decide to raise a few animals.”

He felt her shift beside him, lifting her head so she could look at him. “Yeah?”

Aiden glanced down at her and grinned. “Absolutely. You have to marry a farmer, right?”

She laughed. “Oh, you’re totally right. Can’t go disappointing my dad, now can we?”

He tapped her nose. “Shh. Let me finish.”

She mimed zipping her lips, but her eyes sparkled with interest.

“Let’s see. A house on a small piece of land. Lots of animals. A new job.” He tilted his head. “What am I missing?”

“Kids?”

Her question was so quiet and sweet that he slowed their swaying and looked down at her.

“You want kids with me?” he murmured, his heart squeezing. She could see him as the father of her children. He’d never thought much about being a dad, but knowing she could picture him that way did something to him.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “A whole bunch of kids. And we’ll do something silly when we name them. Maybe they’ll all be named after trees. Or types of butterflies.”

He laughed. “Types of butterflies?”

“Or something equally ridiculous,” she said with a giggle. “But they’ll be ours, and that’s what will matter.”

Aiden studied her for a long moment before brushing his fingers beneath her chin and grazing his lips against hers. “Nothing would make me happier than having that life with you.”

Then he kissed her again, slowly this time, trying to pour every promise he couldn’t yet voice into the tenderness of it.

The soundof hammers echoed through the structure. They were putting up the siding on the church that day, and while the work was slow, there was something rewarding about the whole experience. Aiden didn’t even mind that he hadn’t been competing at the rodeo as often.

“Things still going well?”