Hank was just putting the last bite in his mouth when he raised his head and took in Arissa sitting across the table from him. Her hair was up in a messy bun, one of his shirts the only covering she had on. He liked the look. A lot. Too much. Hank thought about her question, tilted his head before he said, “Never really thought about it. What about you?”
Arissa had been following the line of Hank’s arm, and how the cotton hugged the muscles of his bicep. Her gaze drifted back to his face. “I was really never one for vacations, I guess because of my work and going to so many locations, but now…” She held his stare, reached across the table and touched his hand, creating little circles with her finger. “Anywhere with you, alone, with no interruptions sounds like heaven.” She liked the heat that moved into his eyes, chasing away the shadow. “I know of a little cabin, tucked in the mountains of Colorado, anytime you want to go…just say the word.”
“The word,” Hank said, and chuckled. But very soon him and Arissa would be in that cabin because the thought of them alone, rodents of Summerville thousands of miles away was fucking heaven. Hank looked at their hands, knowing he was going to be testing the waters. But hoping more that her answer matched his when he asked lowly, “We both have no siblings, what are your thoughts on having kids?”
Warmth moved through Arissa at the thought of kids with Hank. “I never really gave them any thought to be honest, but I’ve thought about it more than a few times lately. Thinking of kids running around that backyard, your kids, I love that thought. What about you?”
He didn’t answer her direct question but asked his own. “You say kids, estimate?” Then he tossed a whole sausage link into his mouth.
His kids, shit, was there even a limit? “No less than three.”
Hank’s lips slowly tipped up, his eyes drifted down getting as much of a view of Arissa as he could. “When do you wanna start?” He chuckled before lifting the glass of orange juice, draining the last of it. But only doing it to hide the honesty behind that question.
Arissa didn’t answer at first, enjoying this lighter side of Hank and really fucking enjoying the topic. She then glanced at her wrist, even though she wasn’t wearing a watch, and said, “I’m free now.” She grinned but grew serious seeing the look that swept Hank’s face. “We fell into this pretty fast,” she whispered. “But I’m all in, Hank. All the way fucking in.”
Hank rose, walked around the table to her, bent and kissed her, his tongue gliding into hers, the taste of syrup lingering on her tongue. When he was done, he moved his head an inch back and whispered, “So am I.” Then he moved to the kitchen where he grabbed his holster belt. As he put it on, he told her. “Gonna marry you, so get ready, Sweetheart.”
Arissa had started standing, but at those words she dropped back down in her chair.
Hank saw that Arissa had lost her words; he winked then informed her. “Go to your place today, grab more of your things, yeah?”
Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. She was hearing the words, but not entirely believing them. “Yeah,” she said, still looking like a deer in the headlights, but as the thought settled, that warmth grew stronger. A smile spread over her face. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”
Hank gave her a grin, grabbed his travel mug filled with coffee that Arissa had ready for him and walked to the door. Turning, still seeing Arissa sitting at his table, he told her. “Love you…deep, Baby.” Not waiting for her reply, he moved over the threshold and walked to his truck, driving to work with a smile on his face the whole time.
* * *
After Hank had left earlier, Arissa had sat in that chair for a while, replaying the last few minutes of their conversation. And when she did finally move, she cleaned up Hank’s kitchen in record time because she had to pack up some of her shit to move it into his place. The idea of it had a smile on her face all morning.
At her house, she had a few boxes in the living room that she was filling with her things. A part of her wanted to move completely in, put her place up for sale even only owning it for two months. Upside, at least that damn water valve was fixed for the next owner. She grinned at the thought. She didn’t pack everything now, though, just the essentials. As she worked, she thought how far they’d come in not too long a time. They were moving fast, but when you knew you knew. Her thoughts drifted to the spread she wanted to do. She hadn’t put the time into it, not with his mother’s shit, it just didn’t seem like the right time. And it was that thought which had her stopping the packing. Catherine would have something to say learning that Arissa was moving shit into Hank’s. It wasn’t avoidable because the town talked, Hank being one of their favorite topics. It pissed her off that Catherine was making it so difficult, particularly not understanding why she was.
They weren’t changing their lives for her, though. Arissa intended to do the spread, it was going to be amazing, and she absolutely intended to move in with Hank, marry Hank and have his kids. Catherine needed to get on board or fuck off.
It was thinking of Catherine that had Arissa pulling
