Quadruple Duty

“Walk with me?” I asked him, eager to talk.

“Yes,” he smiled. “Later.”

First, the guys got reacquainted… and for once, I sort of hung out in the background. It had been a long time since the four of them were together at once. They needed some time to talk, to tell their stories, to clap each other on the back and rib each other with inside jokes and talk about where they’d been and what they’d done. They were constantly seeking me out, though. Opening their arms to welcome me into their little circle, or square rather, and with me, I guess it became a pentagon.

“The house looks amazing!” Dakota exclaimed, walking and looking around. He was soon joined by Ryan and Jason, who showed the two of them what they’d missed.

I flushed red at all the praise on that end. The place really did look spectacular. Everything was finally coming together — all the hard work with the contractors and subcontractors was finally paying off. Not to mention the money. I shuddered to think how much got spent on bringing the old Victorian back to its former glory. In the end though, it w

as all worth it.

“I hear you’ve got a new business enterprise?” Kyle asked me.

I nodded, blushing some more.

“We’re going to need to see that,” he said. “And soon.”

I couldn’t wait to take them to the new place. Universal Designs already had a number of clients, most of which I’d salvaged from our old business. But in all honesty? We had some new ones too. The website was bringing in some surprising traffic, and without Dawn skimming or redirecting from social media, things had taken off pretty quickly.

I even had a new assistant: a bright young marketing guru by the name of Cindy. Someone who was not only dedicated to design, but finally dedicated to me.

The guys bullshitted around most of the day, until we all got hungry and decided to grill outside. As always, Dakota took over the grill. Ryan and Jason were bringing him up to speed on what he’d missed while he was away, when I felt a gentle tug on my arm.

“C’mon,” smiled Kyle. “Let’s take that walk.”

We usually walked the lake, but by now I knew of a few new trails into the woods themselves. I led him down one of these paths for a while, one I knew broke into a small but beautiful clearing that let the sun shine down while still being secluded.

Once there, Kyle slipped his hand into mine. He pulled me against him and kissed me again, bringing back all the old feelings and emotions. Reminding me of just how much I’d really grown to love him.

“This place reminds me of our first walk together,” he said. “In the park.”

I smiled as the sun illuminated every handsome curve of his stubbled face. “No bench though,” I said.

“I could build one,” Kyle shrugged. “Just for us.”

I nodded eagerly. “We could build a lot of things.”

“Yeah.”

A moment passed — a moment of peaceful silence telling us both everything would be alright. Still, we had to talk about it. I had to clear the air.

“Listen,” I said. “I—I’m not mad. Not anymore.”

He shook his head. “You had every reason to be mad. Still do. What I did was sneaky. Underhanded. I should’ve been more honest about it.”

I took his face in my hand. The warmth of his skin was reassuring. “Kyle, stop. Let me finish.”

I drew a deep breath. The fragrant scent of the pines was incredible. Somewhere off in the distance, I could hear a bird singing.

“The more I look at it,” I said, “the more I can see why you wouldn’t tell me. Actually, you probably couldn’t tell me. Not without scaring me away.”

He nodded but didn’t talk. Thankfully.

“I guess I was just a little shocked, that’s all,” I said. “I thought our meeting was organic. That our connection was organic.”

“It was,” he said quickly. “Sammara, I’ve never felt that connected to someone that quickly. Trust me, I couldn’t make that up! Not even if I wanted to.”

I nodded. “I know.”