“Fine, if you say so.” She huffs and turns on her heel and goes back to the kitchen, grabbing an onion, sausage and okra from the fridge.

“Please tell me you’re making Nan’s gumbo.” Nan’s gumbo is the best thing I’ve ever fucking put in my mouth. The only person who comes close to making it is Ember.

“I am. I want to eat it by the fire. And you’re watching American Horror Story with me so don’t even try and get out of it.” She tells me, grinning. Deacon wines from the doorway, asking to be let out. I walk to the door and open it, ushering him outside. Following him outside I take a seat in the old wood rocking chairs that are set up there. The view is breathtaking. The cabin seems to be on its own private place in the world. No disruptions or unwelcome distractions. The door opens and Ember comes out, walking to where I sit and sits on my lap. I wish we could stay forever, just like this.

Ember

“God Hale, it’s so beautiful it takes my breath away.” I say as I gaze out upon the lake, the sun setting in front of us.

“Yeah, me too,” he replies. Looking towards him I see his gaze fixed on me and not where my eyes had just been. This man makes my heart melt into a puddle. I drop my forehead to his and revel in this moment with him. I wish we could stay here forever and block out all of the horrible things we’ve been through. Together, we sit on the porch, rocking in that chair, watching Deacon chase bugs around the yard. One hundred percent content.

“I’m going to go inside and finish the gumbo up, you coming?” I ask him as the sun goes down and the night surrounds us.

Nodding, he rises from the chair and takes my hand, calling Deacon in with us as we go. I head to the kitchen and finish chopping ingredients while he sits on the couch, remote in hand. If we could do this every day forever, I would never ask for anything else. I scoop all the vegetables into the pot and combine them with the sausage and turn it on high. I finish putting all the things that sat in bags away and toss them into the trash. Joining Hale on the couch, I lay with my head in his lap, my attention focused on the tv. His fingers thread through my hair, and soon I catch myself drifting off.

I wake up with a start unaware of my surroundings. I don’t even remember falling asleep. Hale’s not on the couch or in the kitchen, but I hear the shower running. Slowly rising, I stretch my arms above my head and yawn. Jesus, I didn’t realize I was so tired. I make my way into the kitchen and lift the lid from the big pot of gumbo, inhaling the Cajun aroma. Smells delicious. I make sure the pot is turned off and I walk into the bathroom where Hale’s showering. Steam coats the mirror and hangs on the walls. I see his silhouette within the glass door as the water cascades down his body. Every muscle on his stomach glistens as the water falls to the floor around him. He looks breathtaking. Noticing my presence he looks towards me, his eyes immediately flare with heat and his gaze travels hungrily down my body. I shed my clothes in seconds and open the door, stepping under the spray. By the time we step out the water has long since run cold and Hale has kissed every inch of my body.

I wrap the towel around me tight and dash towards the bedroom for my toiletries bag. We stand together brushing our teeth and I wash my face and moisturize. Digging inside my bag I find the packet of birth control that I take religiously and pop one out then toss it in my mouth. I begin squeezing the water out of my hair and pull it into a quick braid. I hate it in my face. Together we climb into the huge king size bed that the master bedroom is equipped with. Hale reaches out and drags me to him, our limbs tangling together under the heated blanket we’ve bundled under. Deacon whines by the bed and I let him come lay with us. The bed is plenty big enough. My heart feels full with both of my boys snuggled tight against me.

Hale

I wake up long before Ember ever stirs, but I’m still thankful as fuck for the few hours of peaceful sleep I get. It seems like the nightmares don’t come as often and I can probably thank her for that; along with the rest of the long ass list of things she’s brought to my life. Rising from the bed I throw on a pair of briefs and head to the kitchen. Deacon trails right behind and walks to the front door, whining and scratching to be let out. It’s a simple routine between us both, but one that brings comfort. Comfort in routine and uniformity. Probably something I’ll never be able to shake... The military does that to you. I begin searching in the cabinets for a coffee cup, finally snagging one from the very last cabinet I look in. I’ll wake Ember with some coffee and breakfast. Busying myself, I start the coffee and begin making French toast which I know she’ll love.

I’m putting the toast onto a plate when I feel her hands slide around me, her skin warm and soft against my stomach.

“Morning handsome,” she says as she begins pressing kisses between my shoulder blades.

“You were supposed to stay asleep until I brought you breakfast in bed.” Turning towards her I press my lips to hers, enjoying the mused, sleepy look on the face. It amazes me how she can roll out of bed looking like an angel.

“I couldn’t sleep after you got up. You’re my personal heater.” She laughs, snagging my coffee cup off the counter.

“Anyway, it’s Christmas Eve. We have lots of cookies to bake.” Only Ember would cook a shit ton of cookies for two people, just because it’s Christmas.

I pick our plates up and set them on the small kitchen table that’s placed next to the big bay window. I’m going to chain the door shut and never let her leave.

“I can’t believe it’s already Christmas... it feels like it was just Halloween. It’s been almost two months since I first saw you.” It’s been the best two months of my fucking life. I feel like a king laying my head next to hers at night. I can’t tell you how many times I thought of giving up and her blue eyes gave me the only fucking hope I could ever need.

“I know it hasn’t been long baby, but fuck, I love you so much. I don’t know what I would be without you.” Her eyes well with tears and she smiles, “Deep conversation over breakfast huh?” Laughing, I peck her lips and finish eating.

We spend the day outside with Deacon, playing Frisbee and exploring the area. There’s a hot tub on the back deck that I plan on getting Ember in as soon as it gets dark out. I’m dying to be inside her. I’m sitting in the rocking chair on the porch when she comes through the door with a beer, handing it to me and taking a seat in my lap.

“Whatcha thinking about?” She asks.

“Just life baby. I’m thinking about never leaving here. Spending all of our days in bed and watching Netflix. I could be happy with that.” She laughs, “If only, if only. We should warm the hot tub up soon. I’ll reheat the gumbo.”

We make our way inside, fix left overs and sit in front of the TV. I’d rather spend all the boring time in the world with her rather than something exciting with anyone else. It’s all the small things in life that I cherish with her. Call me a pussy, but it is what it is. You haven’t had all the years of marriage and babies and all the shit you wished for all your fucking life with the girl of your dreams.

“You know? I’m feeling sorta tired. I think I’ll go take a bubble bath and read for a while.” She says, rising from the couch. She pecks a kiss to my lips and walks off towards the bedroom.

“Sure baby, I’m gonna watch a few more episodes and I’ll be there.” I tell her, glancing up from the tv.

Ember

My stomach is in knots as I walk towards the bathroom, my courage slowly slipping. Hale isn’t the only one with a surprise gift up his sleeve. When he told me he was taking me away for the Christmas holiday I was shocked and I immediately called B, freaking out. I had no idea what to get him that would blow his mind. She promptly picked me up and together we headed straight to Victoria’s Secret. After hours of trying on various pieces of “lingerie” and a pair of “fuck me” heels (as B likes to call them) I finally had the perfect present for Hale. I know how fond of lace he is and that’s exactly why I just made the excuse of being tired, so I could put this on and surprise him. I dig through my overnight bag and pull out the signature pink bag and the heels and walk to the bathroom. I take my time washing my body and making sure I’m smooth everywhere. Stepping from the shower I rub the body lotion over my body and step into the red lace teddy, smoothing the lace against my body. I slip my feet into the heels and check my hair in the mirror. Wow. The difference lingerie does. I poke my head through the door and check for Hale. No sign of him, perfect.