by Ashton Cade
He just arches a brow at me, looks back at the other guys. “What…?”
“Come on,” I say, pulling on his hand. I grab my coat and bundle up quick, but it’s just the two of us going. I guess everyone else has decided to let us just have this moment.
Best friends in the damn world, I tell you.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Hunter asks again once it’s just the two of us trudging through the snow. There’s a pretty clear path to the barn to follow, especially after all our marching all over it today, so it’s not too difficult, and I’m able to walk and talk without ending up short of breath.
“I could, but wouldn’t that ruin the surprise?”
“You and your surprises,” he mutters, pulling in closer to me, an arm around my waist, his head against my arm. “Wait… Did you plan the whole thing with Dane?”
“That was Tanner, but I asked for his help,” I admit.
“So I spent a whole day doing paperwork for nothing?”
“Not for nothing,” I say, gesturing at the barn.
It takes him a minute to see it, but then it all clicks. He steps closer, then walks inside. It’s not fully renovated or anything close to new, but we can stand inside without feeling like we could be buried alive at any moment now.
“Jared…” he whispers, looking around in awe. Up in the rafters a cat walks by, already prowling the safer, solid beams. “You did all this?”
“Well, the other guys did most of it. I drilled some things in between my breaks every five minutes.”
He gives me a lopsided smile, and it’s really the best reaction I could hope for.
“This is amazing,” he says. “I can’t believe it…”
“I know you really want to take a crack at this whole farming thing. I don’t think you can be a real farmer without a decent barn.”
He’s speechless, which makes me feel like I need to fill the silence. But that’s okay, because I have plenty I still want to say to him.
I step closer and wrap my arms around his middle, holding him to me.
“I love you so damn much, and I don’t say it near enough. But I mean it. This is where I belong. This is my home, and if it’s all right with you, I think I’d be pretty happy to spend my life here as long as you’re a part of it.”
He grins wide, then leans in for a kiss. “Sounds pretty perfect to me.”
Chapter 22
Hunter
“Good morning sleepy head,” Jared says, leaning over to kiss me awake. I squint at the sun that’s much brighter than it usually is when I get up.
Not setting an alarm today is my gift to myself. I don’t ever get to sleep in, but it’s my birthday. Birthdays are special.
“Morning,” I grumble, rubbing sleep out of my eyes to stretch.
What’s Jared doing waking me up on my sleeping-in day?
It’s your birthday, dummy. He probably made me breakfast in bed.
I sit up and look around, but there’s nothing. No tray of fruit or mug of coffee.
“Did you forget to set your alarm?”
I frown. “No.” Could he possibly not remember?
“There’s something on the table for you,” he says, heading out of the bedroom, Winnie close on his heels.
Maybe my special breakfast is waiting for me in the kitchen.
It’s not. The only thing on the table is a plain envelope. Not even a birthday card envelope. Just a normal letter from the DMV.
“My new registration stickers,” I mutter, leaving the envelope on the table to get a cup of coffee.
“I already ate, do you want me to make you some oatmeal or something?” Jared offers.
He really doesn’t remember, does he?
I know birthdays have never been important to him, and he doesn’t have a lot of good memories associated with them, but I thought he knew how important they are to me. I thought that would count for something. Not to brag or anything, but I did his birthday up right. I don’t think it’s a lot to ask for breakfast in bed or a card on the table.
“Think I’m just gonna go get started on the chores,” I answer, waiting for him to maybe offer to do them for me. I wouldn’t let him obviously, but it would be nice for him to offer on my birthday.
“Stay warm!” he says cheerfully.
My stomach twists.
After everything he’s done lately, I know I shouldn’t let this get to me. Valentine’s Day was amazing, the barn surprise was even better. Who cares about a silly birthday?
I do.
I hate that I do, but I do. Every other holiday is shared. This is the one day that’s just for me. And he forgot it.
My phone rings when I’m on the way to the chicken coop and I answer without looking.
“Happy birthday tooooo you,” Mom’s singing comes through the phone.
“Thanks Mom,” I laugh, stomping snow down.
“How are you, honey?”
“Good,” I lie.
It’s not really a lie in the general sense, it’s just a lie right now. Right now I’m annoyed and feeling like a bratty kid. Even knowing I’m being bratty isn’t enough to stop it though. I want my day, dang it.
“How are you guys?” I ask, trying to shift to a safer subject.
Mom and Dad moved down to the lower forty-eight a few years ago, traveling in an RV, stopping wherever they want for however long they want. As far as I can tell, they’re living life to the fullest, and Mom loves not being snowed in for six months.
“We’re good. In Florida! There’s this cute little local thing called the Strawberry Festival—”
“In March? Aren’t strawberries a summer fruit?”
“Not down here!” she says cheerfully. “They grow in the winter down here. Big business apparently. I’ll send you some jam. Is your brother still staying with you?”
“Yeah, I think he’s planning on leaving after the thaw, but he’s talking about joining the jumpers here. There might be an open spot if I get out.”
“Oh?” she asks, trying not to sound too hopeful, I’m sure. Mom’s never been a fan of our daredevil antics. When I was a kid it was snowboarding, skiing, bow hunting, camping, then when I got older I started adding things like jumping out of airplanes and fighting fires. I think she’d be the first person to encourage me to settle down into farm life even if it’s just as likely to break my body. At least my broken body wouldn’t be in the form of a pancake, the way she sees it.
“We’ll see. Probably not this season, but who knows.”
“What about things with your boyfriend?” she asks, and I nearly trip.
“What? How do you… Ryder.”
“He may have mentioned something about a man who’s living with you now, yes,” she says slyly, not at all judgmental other than maybe the little hint of a guilt trip for keeping her out of the loop.
I huff, rolling my eyes.
“He really needs to learn to mind his own business like I do.”
“Well?” Mom prompts.
“Things are… good. Fine. Great.”
“Uh-oh.”
“No, it’s nothing. I’m just being stupid. I’ll get over it,” I say, but I can’t bring myself to tell her what I’m upset about for fear that she’ll validate me and tell me it’s not stupid. It doesn’t feel dumb to me, but if it’s not, that means it’s serious. That means that my boyfriend forgetting my birthday means something and we’re going to have to fight about it.
I’d really rather avoid that, so I’m still trying to convince myself it’s no big deal.
“Well, you know if you want to talk about it you can call me any time. I can’t tell you what time zone we’ll be in, but you can call me.”
“Thanks, Mom. I know.”
“Martin, say happy birthday,” she says.
“Happy birthday,” Dad calls into the phone from far away, probably the driver seat.
“Do you have any plans?” she asks.
I sigh, leaning against a fencepost. “Nope.
Not this year.”
“Well, quiet nights can be nice too,” she says, always diplomatic. I don’t have the heart to tell her the truth.
“Mom, I hate to do this to you, but I’ve got to get going. Thanks for calling, it means a lot.” Especially since it seems like it might be the only acknowledgment my birthday gets.
“Don’t worry about it. We’re going to go stuff our faces with strawberry shortcake.”
“Bye!” Dad calls.
When I hang up I’m smiling, I feel a little better, but I’m still a little bitter as I head back to the house after doing all my chores.
“Do you know what today is?” Jared asks when I’m back inside. I stop short, narrowing my eyes.
“Do you know what today is?”
“It’s officially only one week until I’m back on duty!” he exclaims.
“Oh, congrats,” I mutter, grinding my teeth. For just a second I thought he might have realized. He’s looking at a calendar for Pete’s sake.
Guess I expected too much of him. He can’t nail every holiday. No one can. I need to cut him some slack.
“So I was noticing when we were at the barn yesterday that we should probably re-hang the doors with new hinges. I didn’t realize how bad the ones on the doors were until we fixed the whole frame.”
“Yeah, probably wouldn’t hurt.”
“I called the hardware store in town and they’ve got them in stock. If you want to go pick them up we could probably knock it out today,” he says, like he’s proud of the idea. He thinks he’s being helpful.
I feel like such an asshole for being so irritated, but what am I supposed to say? If I point out that it’s my birthday, I look like a prima donna. He’s not trying to be an inconsiderate jerk, but that doesn’t change how much it hurt to feel so utterly forgotten.
“You want me to go into town today?” I ask, trying to emphasize today. He doesn’t get it.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind?”
“No, of course not,” I snap, whirling toward the door. “Guess I’ll be back in a couple hours.”
He doesn’t try to stop me from storming out which somehow makes me angrier. He should care that I’m upset, even if he doesn’t know why.
It’s times like these that make me wonder about him. Sure, it doesn’t happen often, and it hasn’t really happened since his last trip to the hospital, but sometimes it’s painfully obvious that Jared doesn’t know how to be in a relationship. I don’t have a lot of experience with it either, but I at least have family members I like that I want to stay on good terms with. He’s really never had to maintain a relationship like this. He’s never had to do the work to make it last, and I don’t know if he knows how.
All that pressure on me isn’t great since I’m no expert either.
I really want this to work with him. He’s come so far, our relationship has grown so much, it would be really stupid to let a thing like my birthday derail it all.
I turn up the radio and try to drown out my thoughts. I stop at a coffee shop and splurge on one of their fancy drinks. Who needs other people to remember their birthday? I can treat myself. I’m a big boy. I don’t need a huge party and all my friends around.
Would be nice, but I don’t need it.
While I’m in town I also grab some wine and ice cream. If no one’s throwing me a party, I’m still going to celebrate. I grab the stupid hinges, mad that I’m annoyed about them since it’s still a part of the super sweet barn surprise, and then start the long drive home.
When I pull into the garage, I close the door behind me, cut off the engine, and just sit in my truck for a minute trying to prepare myself. I don’t want to lash out at Jared or make a big scene. To avoid that, I need to get my head on straight. I take a deep breath, grab my bags, and head inside.
The first weird thing is that Winnie doesn’t come running up to me.
The next weird thing is the darkness.
The whole house is dark and quiet and still. Angel cries “peekaboo” from the living room.
I walk to the foyer and flip the light switch.
“SURPRISE!”
I stagger back, almost drop my bags, and just stare.
There have got to be twenty people in my house between friends and co-workers. So many familiar faces, all beaming at me. But there’s one I hone in on right away.
Jared steps forward from the crowd grinning.
“You thought I forgot, didn’t you?”
“Yes! Did you do that on purpose?”
“Ryder’s idea,” he shrugs.
“You asshole,” I hiss at my brother. “You too,” I say to Jared. “That was mean. I was devastated. I got wine and ice cream.” I hold up the grocery bags for proof.
Jared’s still grinning, and he pulls me in for a kiss that lingers long enough to get some cheers from the crowd.
“I would never forget your birthday, you dork. I love you, and it’s a day all about you. It’s pretty much the best day.”
I shake my head, still in complete disbelief. While I was gone he must have worked overtime hanging streamers and other decorations.
“Where did everyone park? I didn’t see—”
He taps his nose, still smiling. “You figured out my last surprise by all the cars in the drive. I couldn’t do that again.”
I can’t stop shaking my head. This is insane. There’s hors d'oeuvres, there are drinks, there’s a cake.
“You didn’t forget at all…” This took some serious planning and coordination. No way he threw this together last minute.
“Nope. And there’s one more thing,” he says, reaching into his pocket. When he first pulls out the small box, I’m confused, but then he moves to open the clamshell hinge and it all hits me like a ton of bricks, my breath caught in my throat.
“Jared…”
He drops down to one knee and the room goes quiet.
“Hunter, you’ve always been there for me, and these past few months with you have just made the bond we always had so much stronger and deeper. Not a day goes by that I don’t wonder how I got lucky enough to have you in my life, and I don’t want there to ever be a day without you. Will you marry me?”
“Are you serious?” I blurt out. Our friends laugh, and Jared grins nervously, still waiting for his answer.
“Kinda why I got the ring and did the whole down on one knee thing, yeah. So?”
“Yes!” I say too loudly, dropping down to the floor with him, my arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him into a fierce kiss. “Absolutely, yes.”
He kisses me, smiling. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
Epilogue - Jared
I think my pacing is going to wear a path in the new barn flooring.
“Bro, you need to calm down,” Jack says, a hand on my shoulder.
“Easy for you to say,” I grumble. “You don’t have fifty people out there waiting to watch you get stood up at the altar.”
“He’s not going to stand you up,” Jack insists, rolling his eyes at me. But what does he know? He just flew in a couple days ago for the wedding. He barely knows Hunter. There’s too much of an age difference between us for him to have ever hung out with me and my friends.
“Yeah, well where is he, Jack? Where’s my fiance? Where’s his best man? Where’s half the wedding party?”
We’re supposed to start the ceremony in less than half an hour and I haven’t heard from any of them. We spent last night apart, Ryder and Tanner and some of the other firefighters wanted to throw him a bachelor party, but last I heard Hunter was lobbying for a relaxed night at Holly’s.
Who knows what they managed to talk him into. I’m living my own nightmare version of The Hangover.
I really hope he’s not stranded on a roof somewhere, or waking up to a tiger in his bathroom.
Jack falters at that, looking out at the gathered attendees already in their seats. Nothing like a few dozen of your closest friends and acquaintances to see you get utterly humiliated.
; “He’ll be here,” Jack insists. “He loves you.”
I shake my head. “That doesn’t mean he didn’t get cold feet.”
“He didn’t,” Jack promises.
“How do you know?”
“I have faith that you didn’t pick a total dickbag to marry,” he says, less gently. “Maybe you should try it.”
I take a deep breath, the air sweet with the smell of spring. It’s mid-June, but that’s really when things start to get colorful around here. The farm is blanketed in wildflowers save for the patches reserved for crops. We finally got the seedlings in the ground a few weeks ago, a later start than Hunter wanted, but we should still be able to participate in the farmer’s market later in the season. I know that’s his main goal.
Where’s he going to go? a voice in the back of my head asks. It’s not like he can just run away from all of this. He’d never want to.
Winnie nudges my hand, her nose wet and cold against my palm. She’s got a little flower string around her neck, something that Caleb’s daughter Nina insisted on if she was going to be flower girl. Nina got to be the flower girl at her dad’s wedding, so she has enough experience to make her an expert on the whole thing, even though she’s not old enough for kindergarten yet.
“If he’s not standing me up, then him not being here is even more concerning. There could have been an accident, they could have gotten trapped somewhere, there have been a lot of rockfalls this spring…”
Jack just shakes his head at me. He reaches into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulls out a flask, taking a long swig before he passes it to me.
I arch a brow.
He shrugs. “It’s a wedding, not a final. Have a damn drink.”
“How’s school going, by the way?” I’ve still been sending him money when I can, but I haven’t heard anything about his progress.
He nods. “Good. I just got a TA position, so that’ll take care of a big chunk of tuition. I appreciate all you’ve done to help me over the years, but I think it’s time for you to start re-investing that into your future. You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you here.”
“You don’t want my help anymore?”
