D is for Deacon (Men of ALPHAbet Mountain)

She cooed in her sleep, and I leaned over to kiss her shoulder. It took some effort with my neck not wanting to bend in certain directions, but I figured it out. I would always figure out a way to kiss her. No matter what.

My breathing began to match hers, and I felt the pull of sleep dragging me down. Part of me fought it, wanting to stay awake all through the night so I could be awake when her eyes first opened. I didn’t want to miss a second of telling her that I couldn’t wait anymore. That I loved her and would love her forever. And that I wanted her to be mine.

But I knew that wasn’t a good idea, not just because I’d be tired as hell and sleep all the next day, but because Dr. Tennant had been very clear about me getting enough sleep to ward off the side effects of my concussion.

So I curled up with her and let sleep overtake me, drifting off into dreams of the future we could have.

The future we would have.

EPILOGUE

DEACON

Winter had been long and was just beginning to thaw. Icicles still hung from the roof of the back porch every morning as the cold mountain air froze what moisture was in the air routinely. That was the thing about living in the mountains of Tennessee. Winter seemed to make a deal with spring, where every night after eight until every morning around ten, the winter would continue to reign. Then like clockwork at ten in the morning, spring would arrive and warm everything up until the sun went down and winter took over again.

It went on like that all through the traditional spring months until somewhere in May the sun would shine down hard on the peaks and melt what was left into creeks and little rivulets of water streaming down the crags until they reached bodies of water all over the mountains. Lakes and rivers would be full of ice cold water, raising the water level and making the mountain come alive with the growth and beauty of spring.

As winter began to thaw, I took to going out on the porch again, not needing eighty-seven layers of clothes and sixteen blankets in order to stay warm out there while I drank my coffee. Instead, I would bring a big, warm blanket and sit it on the cold chair and then curl up in another blanket that Rebecca had made with her own two hands. I would wrap it around me like I was a burrito and sit with my coffee to watch the sun rise.

We had started what Everett and I were calling “The Great Switcheroo” before the first heavy snowfall of winter. But as the winter shut everything down, we gained news that tossed all urgency into the situation and made Everett and I do a few treks in the snow between storms.

Rebecca was pregnant, and soon, I would have a son. That meant Everett’s room needed to be turned into the nursery and playroom that I always envisioned, and we needed to move anything Rebecca wanted from her old house into the cabin quickly. Similarly, Everett’s stuff needed to go to Rebecca’s parents’ house, where he had been delighted by the idea of moving to when Rebecca brought it up.

It was such a simple idea but perfect for everyone. She owned the house free and clear, and unless Everett wanted to buy it from her or buy or build his own place, he was free to live there rent-free, as long as he paid the yearly taxes. He was more than happy to take that deal and had moved the majority of his things into storage while we prepared his old room for the coming baby.

Instead of being upset or fussy with me, Everett had been a real champ about the move. He said that he had been thinking about moving out if we got serious anyway, not wanting to get in between us. Even though we both told him we would figure out a way that it could work if he wanted to stay, the idea of moving into Rebecca’s parents’ house was intriguing, and he liked the idea of having a place of his own. He had never lived by himself and always wanted to try but was too scared to take the leap. The military had come calling before he could, and then he and I were rooming together to keep each other sane if nothing else after.

Now, all that was left were Rebecca’s things that we had stuffed into storage so Everett could fully move into her parents’ house. Rebecca hadn’t left being with me since she came home from the hospital with me. Not one single night had been spent anywhere but with me, with the exception of a half of one where she was stuck at the tattoo parlor in a storm. I had remedied that by getting in the truck and going to get her myself.