Page 89 of Merging Wright

Damn. I don’t know what I ever did to have this woman in my life, but whatever it was, I’m so grateful. And I never want her to leave me.

40

Playlist: “Father And Son” – Cat Stevens

(from Guardians of the Galaxy)

[Jane]

I strongly disagreed with Mach not telling the sheriff about the near break-in at Adventure Dex. Whoever that person was, he might have had the answers we needed. At the very least, I wanted to inform the other merchants to be on their guard against potential break-ins. Mach again disagreed, telling me break-ins were the nature of all businesses and they should have a plan with insurance and security services. In general, Mach refused to believe what he called Myles mumbo-jumbo and small-town rumors.

I let it go, but I was still worried.

By mid-October, another mural is painted on the river side of Adventure Dex.

“The rivers flow not past, but through us.” John Muir’s inspirational words would greet those traveling the river.

Camilla gave me another idea for a mural. “The river flows, making it never the same waters twice. Just like love.” She’d paraphrased Heraclitus as I looked up the saying to make certain we weren’t plagiarizing someone.

She gave me a pointed look as she spoke, tacking on her extra simile about love. Did she mean we never love the same? We can experience love a second time or a third time but it’s never the same each time we fall. A new person. A new stage in our lives. A different experience. Never the same feeling twice.

I’m pondering this, propped up in bed when Mach exits the bathroom. Our marriage will soon be two months old, and we’ve fallen into routines . . . like nightly sex. My God, the sex is amazing.

Mach climbs up beside me, falling on the bed in that heavy manner he has. He perches up on an elbow and looks up at me. The fine lines by his eyes endear me to him. His mouth is quirked. He has something on his mind.

“We need costumes for the party at Trophy’s,” Mach states.

Trophy’s is going to have a porch opening celebration on Halloween. The once-balcony off the back of the building was glassed in for year-round use. A giant bar was built the length of the glass enclosure, offering a great view of the natural wonder prominent in this town—the river. Charlese and Beau are hosting an adults-only event called Frank-N-Steins, offering hot dogs, brats, and a variety of beers.

“What are you thinking?” I’m surprised he’s the one suggesting costumes.

He lifts a hand and places it on my belly, plucking at the cotton shirt. “Maybe we could go as a couple.”

“Like matching costumes?” My voice rises in shock, melting Mach’s expression like I’ve tossed ice water on him.

“We don’t have to. I just thought—”

“No, I love this idea,” I reassure him, cupping the side of his face. “Who should we be?” Romeo and Juliet? Too romantic. Wonder Woman and Superman? They weren’t a couple.

“How about Gamora and Peter Quill from Guardians of the Galaxy?”

Mach likes to mix up my playlists, adding in songs that remind me of the movie. Just like I told him with our five facts, he loves older music while he looks like a country musician.

Mach’s head pops up, his gaze leaping to mine. “That’s my favorite movie.”

“How did I not know this about you?” I teasingly gasp, placing a hand over my heart.

“A wife should know these things about her husband.” Mach playfully bites his lower lip and wiggles a brow. He’s so Mach-nificent when he playfully looks at me like he is right now. Like I puzzle and surprise him in a good way, and he might, just maybe, have feelings for me that are more than great sex and doing him a favor, like a fake marriage.

“Funny,” I flirt back. “But I’m certain I don’t know all your secrets.”

“Pretty much.” He tugs a pillow underneath his perched elbow, lifting him higher. He moves the hand on my belly between the valley of my breasts as I’m not wearing a bra. “What’s a secret you haven’t told anyone?”

I sigh. I swallow. I toy with offering Mach this tiny truth about me.

“My pregnancy was ectopic. That means the baby was developing inside my fallopian tube. They had to remove the entire tube and my ovary. In a routine follow-up, they told me I had something suspicious on my other ovary. It was ovarian cancer.”

“Jane.” Mach’s voice is soft while his body stiffens.