‘Kira,’ her name was nothing more than a groan. He leaned his forehead against hers, steadying himself against the pleasure that was already rioting through him.
She kissed him, running her fingernails down his back, just enough to send prickling pleasure down his spine. He grunted and she smiled against his lips.
‘I love you,’ she whispered as he thrust into her again and again. She whispered against his mouth and his ear and into the crook of his neck as she held onto him, as he pushed into her, again and again, until he broke against her, falling apart in her arms.
‘I love you, too,’ he gasped, pressing his lips against her sweaty temple. They stayed like that for a long time, pressed together, unwilling to let go. Until finally, they slept.
After all, they had a lifetime to spend together. They could spare a few hours for sleep.
Epilogue FIVE MONTHS LATER
‘It’s warmer out here than I thought it would be,’ Kira said, wiping her brow and sitting back in the dirt next to him. ‘It’s nice. I feel like I’m finally defrosting after that winter.’
He chuckled. ‘And just think of all the pickles you can line up in jars or whatever, if all these grow.’
She smiled at him, and she looked absurd in her gardening hat with dirt streaked across her cheek, but he’d never seen anyone so beautiful. It was how he always felt about her. First thing in the morning, covered in dirt, sweaty from that insane hot yoga she did; in any and all ways, he found this woman to be gorgeous.
‘Thanks for making this…’ She gestured toward the garden he’d dug out behind the house earlier in the spring where they were currently planting cucumbers. The radishes were already sprouting, and he was hoping to get some small tomato plants to add soon.
Kira had a stockpile of glass jars just ready to be filled. Over the course of the winter, she’d shown him some of her homesteading inspiration and he had to admit it was all very appealing.
‘Happy to do it.’ He leaned over and planted a kiss on her nose. Not to be outdone, Benny the dog, licked the side of her face.
‘Ugh,’ Kira groaned and pushed the dog away but there was laughter in her voice. She loved that dog. All of his dogs, too. Hell, she loved dogs she’d never even met but that was just one of the many things he loved about her.
‘I’m going to go get us some lemonade,’ she said, standing and brushing the dirt from her shorts. Benny slobbered along behind her. The other three dogs were in various states of sunning themselves in the yard. Odie was rolling on his back and wiggling his butt, ensuring that his white fur would no longer be white by the time they went inside. Elizabeth sat, ears perked, on alert even as she relaxed in the sun, and Pudgy, the old girl, was asleep by her side, snoring loudly.
And they were all happy here in their new home. They loved the space to run and roam around outside, so much better than his cramped apartment. And even though it had seemed completely insane when Bennett had boarded the plane to come here, he was happy here, too.
How could he not have come back?
He’d read the letter from Kira five times in rapid succession and had booked his flight within a half hour.
It was like Kira said. It was simple. He wanted to be with her. So here he was.
And of course, it was nice to be closer to family and all that. Not to mention, Kira had set up the smallest bedroom as the perfect little home office for him to work remotely and kept him busy with so many home projects that his Mr. Fix-It tendencies were not only well taken care of, they were also appreciated.
Santa really came through on that Christmas wish. The old guy went above and beyond. Christmas snow and the woman of his dreams, it was going to be hard to top.
Bennett smiled to himself, thinking about it, as he dug in the cool, damp earth. Getting his fingers dirty was his new favorite thing about living on the farm. That and waking up next to Kira every day.
He hit something. Something hard. Maybe a rock? He dug around it, moving dirt until the metal lid of a small box was visible.
‘What in the world?’
Hearing the confusion in his voice, Elizabeth wandered over to investigate. She stuck her nose in the hole and huffed a loud breath, then turned back to Bennett, awaiting further instruction.
‘Maybe let me handle it.’ He nudged the dog to the side and dug around the box until he could lift it from the soil. It looked like the type of box you might keep money in at a bake sale. Or maybe an old Christmas-tree farm.
‘Hey, Peaches!’ he called. ‘You might want to see this.’
He brushed the dirt off, but there were no markings on the box.
‘Be right out!’ Kira yelled from the kitchen window, but he couldn’t wait.
He opened the box.
‘Holy shit.’
He pulled out the letter sitting on top and immediately recognized the handwriting.
To whoever finds this box,
You’re lucky, I didn’t want my greedy cousin to get his hands on this, so I guess it’s yours now. I can only hope you have someone worth giving it to. Good people are hard to find, so if you have one be sure not to let them go. Don’t screw it up.
~Edwin
‘I don’t plan to, Ed,’ Bennett whispered and Elizabeth cocked her head. He pushed aside the pearl necklace and two delicate bracelets before finding the diamond earrings at the bottom of the box.
He was holding them in his palm, the gems winking in the sunlight, when Kira stepped back out into the yard. She was barefoot, her legs long and tan in her cut-off denim shorts. The dogs rushed to greet her as she made her way through the grass, a tray of lemonade in her hands, and a contented smile on her face.
And Bennett knew Edwin was right. It was hard to find good people.
And he sure as hell wasn’t going to let this one go.
‘What is it?’ she asked, as she got closer.
‘Treasure,’ he said, holding up the box. Kira’s eyes widened. It wasn’t hard to go from kneeling in the dirt to kneeling at her feet. It wasn’t hard to say what he did next.
