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“Aw, son, there’s no plan when you marry a woman, at least not one you make alone. There’s just what the two of you decide to do together and that’s the part you never figured on. You never thought to ask her what it is she wants.”

Owen took that in.

“Okay, so say I ask her, and she stays. Will that erase her travel bug? I know that’s part of who Paige is, someone who wants to see the world.”

“You willing to go with her every now and then?”

“Hell yes.” In fact, Owen had been picturing getting on a plane with Paige to some exotic destination, hands entwined, nothing but swimsuits and smiles packed, since he’d first met her. As he’d gradually gotten to know her better, the daydream had morphed into a wish list, then a possibility, complete with destinations he’d previously only read about in books. That had crushed him the most, having to say goodbye to that dream.

“Let her know. I’m sure that’ll go a long way.”

“Okay. Will do. And thanks, Alan. I know most dads wouldn’t be so sympathetic to their daughter’s suitors.”

“Well, Owen, you know no matter what happens between you and Paige, you’re like another son to Marge and me. I don’t know many folks who’d do what you did for me while I was in the hospital. You need anything else, anything at all, you call me, you hear?” Owen nodded, biting back a burning in his throat that meant he was seconds away from losing his shit. He just had to hold back the tears for another minute. “Especially if that something is someone to take some of these ribs off your hands. Rum, too.”

“You want a plate for Marge?”

Alan nodded. “Yes, absolutely yes. I’ll tell you what, son. You do yourself a favor and never forget about the woman sitting home waiting for you. It’ll save you a lifetime of making up for it if you do.”

“I’ll try to remember that one,” Owen said, laughing. The truth was, he couldn’t imagine ever forgetting about Paige if he was lucky enough to be with her. He made a heaping plate of ribs and all the fixin’s, feeling good about feeding his family and feeding them well. He’d worried when he first moved to Banberry that it wouldn’t be enough for him, that he’d never find a family, but nothing could have been further from the truth. He not only had two wonderful folks he considered as parents, but a man he’d come to think of as a best friend and brother, and hopefully, if everything went well the next morning, a woman he could spend the rest of his life loving.

It was more than he’d ever expected but everything he’d ever hoped for.

He walked Alan to the door with his food and snuck him an extra shot of rum.

“You’re a saint, son.”

Owen mimed zipping his lips shut and throwing out the key. Then he got to work, cleaning the house like he’d never cleaned it before.

He had a mind to ask Paige over late tomorrow morning. He’d lay out his plan detailing his ideas on travel and the day-to-day, then ask her for her input.

It was a start. They’d build from there, but the idea was, they’d be together to do it. He didn’t care much what his future looked like as long as it included her in it.

When he glanced at his watch, somehow it was three in the morning and he was barely standing. He took a PT shower, hopped into bed, and his eyes grew heavy. The last thought he had was how everything was starting to come together for him. Only a couple hours stood between him and the rest of his life and he just wanted them to be over as quickly as possible.

With that, he was out, the nightmares at bay, peace on his horizon.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The Risk

Owen awoke sometimelater to a banging on his door that echoed in his head. He shook himself awake, painfully aware of the early hour and how he’d spent the last bit of time before he’d crashed. His back ached, and his fingertips burned from scouring the dishes and every other surface of his house. At least he’d stopped drinking when Alan left.

Still, who the hell thought it was okay to tear down his door when the sun was barely above the ridgeline?

He threw on boxers and yelled, “Jesus. Hold your frickin’ horses. I’m coming.” He finished off with mumbling under his breath that if what they came to tell him was anything less than an emergency he’d have their hides. Christ, he could barely keep his eyes open.

Throwing open the door ready to give hell, he was momentarily shocked into submission.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone? You idiot!” Owen scratched his head, trying to do the math equation that put Aurelie on his doorstep barely after dawn screaming at him.

“What the…”

“She’s gone, Ow-en,” Aurelie shouted, her hands waving wildly in the air.

“Who’s gone?” Somewhere in his clouded mind, though, his alarm registered.

“Paige, you idiot,” she repeated, like somehow that would make things any better. “Paige is gone.”