Ethan strutted over to me after the bidding ended. His long strides and oiled body were something from a dream as he wrapped an arm around my back and brought his lips down to mine without hesitation. I warmed in his arms until he pulled away and left me with weak knees. “I was hoping you’d win,” he whispered, smiling broadly down at me.
“You’re paying.”
He smiled. “Once you get started on our rentals, you’ll have more than enough to pay me back.”
I stared up at him in shock. “Wait, I got the contract?”
“After everything you did to my house for under a thousand dollars, I don’t think I could hire anyone better for the job.” He swept down and left another small kiss on the corner of my lips.
A throat cleared from behind us and I stiffened. For the first time in my life, I had no qualms about hitting someone. “I don’t think that was a fair bid,” Taylor said as she placed her hands on her hips. “What about that coffee, Ethan?”
I saw her ploy for what it was. She wanted to plant seeds of doubt in my mind by using his generosity. “Actually, Taylor, I don’t think so,” Ethan said. His tone was kind, but his expression was hard and unmoving. “You can’t leave people when it’s convenient for you and then expect them to come back to you with open arms.”
“We agreed that I could come back when I was ready.”
“You agreed,” Ethan said. “I never did. So leave my girlfriend out of your drama, and leave me out of it, too.”
She clenched her jaw but plastered a smile onto her glossed lips. “I don’t need damaged goods, anyways.”
I lunged, but Ethan held me back by the arms. Every ounce of me wanted to hurt her in the same way she hurt him. Sylvia, on the other hand, had nobody to hold her back. She threw her fist into Taylor’s nose and knocked her backward a step. Almost as if nothing happened, Sylvia reclaiming her seat. Taylor examined the crowd around us and huffed before rushing away. I bit my lip to withhold a grin.
I turned to Ethan. “Girlfriend?” I asked.
He nodded and kissed my forehead gently. Derrick, who noticed Sylvia’s punch, rushed to her excitedly. “You’re a superhero, too?” I smiled back at Ethan and placed a small kiss on his lips.
Chapter Seventeen
Derrick sat on Ethan’s back as we walked through the stifling heat and down the groomed pathways of the cemetery. I held onto Ethan’s hand as he supported Derrick with his other. The lawn keepers were carefully grooming around a few headstones, and the sound of a lawnmower distantly revved to life. Derrick guided Ethan as we made our way to the headstone we’d both grown to love.
Finally, when Derrick saw it at the end of the path, he wiggled around Ethan’s shoulders until Ethan finally dropped down and helped Derrick to the ground. Derrick took off. I knew Bruce looked down at his grave every time Derrick visited. I felt it. Derrick finally reached the grave and sat in front of it. He talked to it like he talked to a friend in school, occasionally brushing his hand against the cool stone.
I clutched the baby’s breath in my hands as I grew closer. Anxiety wrapped around me as I considered what I was doing. Ethan and I had been an official couple for less than a year, but it still felt wrong bringing someone foreign to Bruce’s grave. We’d waited a while, but Ethan wanted to visit with me. He was insistent, and I knew it was time. He’d healed, so I needed to finish healing, too.
As we cut through the grass and stood above Bruce, Derrick’s voice lowered as if he was telling his father a secret. I laid my hand on his shoulder and handed him the flowers. He sat them on the ground as he removed the old ones from the grave. “Mommy thinks that big boys like us want flowers, so here you go. I won’t tell her the truth,” Derrick whispered to the headstone. I chuckled and placed my favorite worn photo of Bruce on the headstone. I planned to move on, and with that photo sitting on my bedside table, I wouldn’t be able to. I took a step back beside Ethan.
“This is Bruce,” I said, refraining from talking to him like I always had in the past.
Ethan squinted as he read the words ingrained onto the stone. “Don’t you want to say anything?”
I nodded. “I’m not used to… other people hearing.”
Ethan nodded. “I can take a walk for a few minutes,” he proposed, squeezing my hand.
“No, I want you here. I need you to be here for this.”
I released his hand and walked to the other side of the grave, sitting back to back with all that remained of my husband—a memory in the shape of a stone. I leaned my head against it and wove my fingers through the grass. “Hi, Bruce,” I whispered. My voice was soft, but I knew Ethan was listening. “We miss you just as much as always.”
Derrick quieted as I spoke, and I closed my eyes. The warmth on my face soothed my worries. “I brought Ethan with me today. You know I talk about him like every time I visit, but I thought it was time for you to see the man behind the stories.” I sighed. “I think it’s time I move on.” A breeze brushed my hair into my face, but I let the strands go where they please. “He’s gentle and kind, just like you were. And most importantly, he’s the superhero your son needs in his life. Derrick and I will never forget you, but you have
