Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“I guess I do.” Jonas shrugged like he’d never bothered to consider his own desires.
“You do,” I said firmly. “Tell me a secret dream.”
Jonas shook his head like the very notion was silly. “You. Seriously, just having a partner. Someone to do life with. Someone to care about.”
“Okay, you’ve got me for that.” I turned my pointer finger into a magic wand. “And?”
“What do you mean and?” Jonas scoffed. “That’s the dream.”
“It’s hardly a secret one.” I rolled my eyes as everyone who’d ever met Jonas could likely guess he was the relationship type. “Come on, Jonas. Dream big.”
Closing his eyes, he scrunched up his face like letting this much hope in was painful. I held him close, silently encouraging him.
“I have a storage unit,” he said softly. “Sometimes I think about getting a little house. Eric won’t need me here forever. It would be nice to have someone to come home to, a partner like I said, and Oz, of course, and maybe a friend for Oz.”
“Pack of dogs, check.” I kissed him soundly on the cheek. “And I’m a Murphy.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll see.” I leaned into the mysterious tone before chuckling. Maybe Jonas couldn’t bring himself to say the words, but I could read between the lines of his little dream. “I’m bringing you to Easter dinner. Expect questions about adoption and surrogacy by dessert.”
“You want kids?” He pulled back to stare into my eyes. The cautious hope I saw in his was all the confirmation I needed to nod.
“I’m told I’m not terrible with them.” I shrugged like this was a totally casual, normal conversation instead of the most important talk of my life. “Maybe someday I’ll want some kids to get mini-bikes for.”
“Let’s get crazy.” Jonas sounded dazed, but I simply grinned.
“I could get behind that dream of yours, the house, dogs, family.”
Jonas looked all emotional as he swallowed hard. “A family. That’s the dream.”
“Then I want to give you that.” I made my voice as confident as I could, even as my insides shuddered. “I love you. Let me try to make your dreams come true?”
“Yes.” Jonas released the word with a gasp, then narrowed his eyes at me. “You love me?”
“How could I not?” I gave him a fast, hard kiss. “And I’ll probably screw up in trying to give you everything you deserve, but hopefully you’ll be patient with me.”
“How could I not?” He echoed me with a small, hopeful smile. “I love you too.”
“Good.” I’d been pretty sure he did, but hearing the words for the first time still made me giddy, drunk on endorphins. “Because I was serious about bringing you for Easter. Prepare to be a Murphy.”
I kissed his surprised reaction away, continuing until he was too distracted to ask whether the Murphy bit was a joke. It wasn’t. He’d see.
Chapter Thirty
Jonas
April in Oregon was one of those months we longtime residents looked forward to all year. The snowy days were behind us, tulips and daffodils flooded front yards, and mild temperatures greeted the return of outdoor entertaining. Mount Hope was awash in spring decor. In fact, my Saturday shift had been full of minor Easter egg hunt injuries—three sprained ankles, a wrenched wrist, a bumped head, and a bite from an angry toddler. All in all, a good shift to head into a few days of downtime.
But first, I had to survive a gauntlet on par with passing my various nursing license exams.
“Is that what you’re wearing to the Murphys for Easter?” Eric knocked before coming down the basement stairs with a hamper of dirty towels.
“Yeah.” I glanced worriedly at my pressed blue dress shirt, navy tie, and gray slacks. “What’s wrong with my outfit? Folks usually dress up for Easter dinner.”
“Not worried about Sean strangling you with the tie?” Eric shot me a wicked grin.
“He’s been surprisingly good about this whole thing.” I tried to sound positive when, in truth, I was pretty sure Sean had spent the last few weeks avoiding me. We’d made stilted small talk in passing, but our longer conversations and closeness felt like a distant memory.
“Uh-huh.” Eric sounded unconvinced. “Also, brave of you to wear something dry clean only to the Murphys. I always feel like they’re one tossed roll from a food fight over there.”
“Should I be worried about family drama?” I adjusted my tie. I wasn’t about to change, not with Declan ready any moment, but now my nerves were surging all over again.
“It’s the Murphys.” Eric shrugged as he loaded towels into the washer. “There’s always drama. But you’ll be fine.”
“And you? Will you be okay today?” I needed a shift away from myself as the conversation topic. I still wasn’t used to this much chatter around my love life or life in general.
“Maren’s in town. The kids have created an Easter menu where every dish has bacon, and we have enough dyed eggs for six hunts.” Eric grinned widely. “Things are good.”