Page 60 of Sunrises & Salvation
FOUR YEARS LATER
“ L ove, we’re going to be late,” I call up the stairs to Adam.
I can hear him rustling around in our cats’ bedroom.
A full bedroom in our house that he had redesigned after we found the kittens in my parents’ backyard.
Our house has turned into a zoo, with the four cats running rampant.
But I wouldn’t change a minute of it, and neither would Adam.
He was worried about me getting too attached in the early days, but now, when he gets a free moment, he peeks his head in their room to check on them.
Watching them chase each other across the planks he hung on the walls is entertaining, and we could watch them for hours.
And sometimes we do, the two of us sitting with our backs against the closed door.
I hear the jingle of a bell on a collar.
Seraphina, the momma cat, peeks her head out above the top step.
Her white coats shine bright against the dark, polished wood of the stairs.
When we make eye contact, she meows loudly.
I make a small psps noise to try to get her to come down the stairs to me.
Instead, she meows louder until I give in and walk up the stairs to scratch her head.
Her purrs are loud enough to wake the dead and attract all three of her children from their bedroom.
They swarm around my feet, barricading me from moving. I bend over at the waist, trying my best to keep steady and give them all the same amount of attention. If I don’t, I’ll be hearing about it. Very loudly. Through the walls of their room, because if they’re not happy, no one is happy.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Adam makes his appearance, leaving the door open behind him so they can get back inside whenever they want. We let them have free rein of the house, but they prefer their space more than anywhere else.
When his eyes catch mine, my heart stops in my chest. He isn’t the nineteen-year-old boy I fell in love with. He’s the thirty-year-old man who makes my world spin, even after all these years together and apart. I don’t remember what life was like before Adam.
His beard is thick and dark, lining his jawline and his perfect pink lips. His dark hair is longer now, gracing the tops of his ears and curling into artful pieces that dance around his face like small flickers of flame. And I’m a moth drawn to them, using them to guide me.
His body has filled out, stretching the tan button-down shirt he’s wearing. The black shorts hug his tree trunk thighs, and I want to plant myself on them and keep him to myself all day, every day.
We can’t do that today, though.
“Are you ready, Collins?” Adam asks me, and I still get butterflies.
“Did you already put the gift in the car?” He grabs my hand and walks me down the stairs, leading the way to the bottom like he’s my prince charming.
“Yes, I did, and I called the bakery to make sure the cake was ready. Did Kian ask you to do anything else?” I thumb through my mental notes, making check marks as I go through the list of everything we needed to do for today. It’s a big day, so there was a lot of pressure to get it right.
“No,” I say confidently, and then add, “but I’ll call him on the way just to double-check.”
Adam opens the passenger door for me, kissing my top lip and shutting me securely inside. I buckle my seatbelt as he rounds the car, getting in.
On the way to Trent and Kian’s house, we stop and get the four-layer luxurious cake. Adam stares at me as I buckle it into the back seat and make sure it won’t move around. Their house is only a ten-minute drive from the bakery, but a lot can happen in ten minutes.
“Do you need anything else?” I ask as soon as Kian answers the phone, not bothering with pleasantries. I hear two kids screaming in the background and Trent offering them a scoop of ice cream if they’ll calm down.
“A lobotomy? I think that’s the only thing that will fix my problems at this point,” Kian remarks lightly, and I hear Trent’s affronted gasp in the background.
I can practically hear Kian’s eyes roll through the phone when he says, “Obviously, I’m kidding.
Who wouldn’t want to have a birthday party for two children who won’t even remember this day, or the amount of stress I’m being put through?
I have a pimple, a pimple, on my face, Hunter.
I haven’t had acne in years, but these two angels have brought wrath down upon me.
They’re sending bad juju my way, I can feel it.
It’s probably because I accidentally bought cherry instead of strawberry bubble bath the other day.
And don’t get me started on Mitch, he makes it seem like we neglect our children.
I can’t have them being raised with no manners —” Kian’s rambling is cut off by a cooing noise from him, and a small groan.
“You wanna go to Uncle Hunt’s house later? You can play with the kittens.” I hear the four-year-old’s excited words being screamed into the phone. A small scream and another huff. “You can go, too, your uncles love you both sooo much and want to spend time with you.”
I look at Adam, and he’s smiling widely.
He loves watching Trent and Kian’s kids.
The twins came to the couple when they were young, they needed a home full of love, comfort, and acceptance.
Who better than them? Those kids haven’t wanted for a thing, and they have a whole village behind them ready to wait on them hand and foot.
My parents are also coming to the birthday party today, the twins are turning four, and my mom helped Kian bake all of the homemade cookies; the cake was the one thing he would not budge on. He wanted it to be perfect for his kids, and I can’t hold that against him.
“We’ll watch them, but make sure they run and play so they’ll be tired.
I’m going to bed early tonight, and we’ll have to drop them off early tomorrow because Hunter and I are flying to California,” Adam says.
We’re celebrating his birthday by the ocean, even though he said multiple times he didn’t want to do anything.
I won’t let that slide; he should know better.
I’ve been trying to think of the perfect gift, and I think I’ve found it.
It’s been hard to hide the secret, but I don’t think he knows at all.
I feel like Tom Cruise when he did the Mission: Impossible movies, a true spy flying undetected.
“Deal.” Kian raises his voice to tell his husband that they have a babysitter for the night.
I laugh because I know exactly what they’re thinking.
The same thing that Kian said last time he stopped by the bookstore.
He let the twins play with their blocks on the floor while we sipped iced coffees, and he told me his…
needs. Way too in-depth for me, but if exhibitionism is what they’re into, I’m not going to judge.
We hang up the phone, and Adam reaches his hand out to palm my thigh the rest of the way to Trent and Kian’s house.
“Uncle Dum!” Oliver yells, the little boy running on two stubby legs full speed at Adam as soon as he shuts his door. Harley, his sister, is right behind him, walking much calmer in a pair of pink princess heels and a purse on her arm. Every bit of Kian, that much is obvious.
“Ah!” Adam says loudly, capturing Oliver and tossing him into the air. His long, curly hair flows in the wind and whips around his face.
Harley comes up to me while I’m unbuckling her cake in the backseat.
“Uncle Hunt,” she says primly. I squat down to her height, and she raises her arms. I hoist her up and prop her on my hip.
“I like your dress, it’s so pretty.” She preens under my compliment and shuffles her body until I set her down on the cement. She does a twirl for me and then a curtsy. I clap loudly for her, and her smile is wide, her baby cheeks on full display.
Adam comes up with Oliver on his hip, and Harley does the same technique that she did for me. He hoots and hollers for her, and Oliver joins in. His loud, joy-filled, childish laugh attracts his parents to come outside.
Trent claps Adam on the back, and Kian comes up to me and wraps me in a hug with one of his arms.
“Help me get the cake?” Kian asks, and I agree, letting Adam and Trent talk with the children while Kian and I go inside. No one is here yet besides us.
When Kian gets the cake situated in the exact spot he wants, he whirls around on me, his hair is shorter now, but his curls are still there.
“You haven’t slipped yet, have you?” I look around to make sure Adam hasn’t come in yet.
“No! Keep your voice down, I’ve been working so hard to keep this secret, and you’re not going to ruin it for him now,” I hiss, feeling my blood pressure rise.
The ring is in my safe box at the bookstore, safe and sound away from prying eyes, and to keep Adam from accidentally finding it.
For a month, I thought I lost it. I just misplaced it, but I had Kian over every day, scouring my house for that thing.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure.” I start to say something else, but Adam and Trent walk in.
Adam walks up and gives me a kiss while the twins run into the backyard to play.
We stay like that through the whole party, holding onto each other and soaking in the love around us.