Chapter 7

Jared

She giggles when I input the code for the door then says, "Our graduation year, good one!"

"Well, the construction crew has a code and once I'm notified by the app that they've left for the day, I'm able to set the alarm," I advise as I open the door and motion for her to proceed me.

"Not a bad idea, will you remove them once all the work is finished?" she asks.

"Yeah, after I do the final walk-through and they fix anything on the punch sheet, I'll delete their code from the system."

"Will I have a different code?" she questions as she looks around the foyer.

Part of the house is an open-floor concept, but in deference to all the things she always said she wanted, I adjusted the original blueprints. Right now, I'm grateful that money was no object because what she doesn't know yet is we aren't going to have a mortgage, and there's money set aside for several years' worth of property taxes.

"We have a library!" she exclaims walking into the room. "And a chaise lounge too?"

"Yeah, Cass. Like I told you, I remember everything."

If not for the pure excitement on her face, I'd probably be embarrassed about sounding like such a sap, except I watch her lovingly touch various things throughout the room, which was one I had finished and furnished as soon as possible. Mark, the construction foreman, thought I was insane, but he blocked off the room while the rest of the hallway was being finished so nothing got ruined.

"Yeah, you did," she softly replies, smiling at me.

Room after room, she explores, noticing every little detail I put into this place.

For her.

After she checks out the primary suite, which I adjusted to put on the ground floor, along with a smaller room that can be used for a nursery, I take her by the hand once again and walk her to the French doors and out onto the back deck.

"I remember you were worried about your parents getting older," I say, as I direct her to the back corner of the property. "Now that it's just your mom, I thought maybe a tiny house would be the way to go."

"Jared, she's going to love it," Cassidy replies. "Can we go look at it?"

"Absolutely. What do you think about the deck?" I ask.

"This is like a small oasis, Jared. Our own paradise, no less. And I love that you thought of my mom in all this."

"It was more of a hope, Cass," I murmur, my nerves showing in my tone. "Up until I saw you at the office, all of this was a wishful dream. I wasn't even sure you'd speak to me again after…"

She interrupts me, placing her finger over my lips while shaking her head. "Nope, not bringing that man into our space," she decrees, grinning up at me. "I realize he'll be around and of course, part of our lives, but in reality, we can keep that exposure to a minimum as far as I'm concerned, don't you think?"

I burst out laughing while drawing her closer to me. "You make an excellent point, honey."

Before she can say anything else, I kiss her, pouring everything I'm feeling into the act, since I know it's far too soon to show my hand.

But soon. Soon, I'll tell her that she's always been the one and she'll always be the one.

Cassidy

We walk along a covered pathway toward a tiny home that I can see my mom living in, especially since it has everything she could need to be independent yet close enough should an emergency arise.

"These steps are kind of different, aren't they?" I ask.

They're wide and somewhat shallow as far as stepping up goes, which may not be the easiest thing to explain to someone who hasn't seen them, but it's almost as though… "Wait, they're like this in case Mom ever has any kind of mobility issues, right?"

In fact, looking at the ‘tiny home' which is about the size of the trailer we currently live in, I note the doors are wider and there's not a normal lip that I associate with stepping into or out of a doorway.

"Yeah, sweetheart. I know she's still young, but life is full of uncertainties, so I figured it was better to be ready and never need it than to be unprepared and have to cause her any kind of upheaval as it's renovated."

"You really have thought of everything," I murmur as we step into what will eventually be her mom's home.

He nods as once again, I explore every little nook and cranny, my excited chatter making him smile as I enthusiastically notice all the upgrades Jared had installed.

"Every counter is slightly lower, which works whether she's ever in a wheelchair or not," he points out.

"This is true since she's barely five feet tall," I tease, giggling.

"You're not all that much taller, honey," he reminds me, smirking.

"Also true," I muse, looking up at him. "But seeing all of this, I have to ask again, who did you do this for?"

I feel like I'm about to explode, especially when I see him take a deep breath. While I thought I was in love with Cade, the years that have passed have shown me that what I felt we had wasn't reality at all. There was a shallowness in our relationship; we did what he wanted to do, hung out with his friends, and there were no in-depth talks about anything beyond us getting married when I graduated.

Jared, however, I shared every little thing with him, from the stupid fights I had with my parents when they lowered my curfew after seeing I planned to continue dating Cade, to his opinion on whether or not I should cut my hair. There wasn't a topic that was off limits between us, and I fondly remember us sitting in his dad's boat fishing every chance we could get.

"You."

His voice is barely above a whisper when he finally replies, but his eyes never waver from my own searching gaze.

"Me? But… but you haven't sought me out since I came back to town, Jared. The first time I saw you was in your office, for heaven's sake!"

He clears his throat but maintains his distance, as if he senses what he's about to tell me is about to turn my whole world upside down.

"Cassidy, the times we hung out when we were in high school were some of the best times of my life. You were my best friend in the world, and my only regret is that I didn't ask you out first. You know pretty much all of my secrets, except what I haven't shared during the time we've been apart, and because you're you, I think you're one of the most loyal, caring, kindhearted people I know."

"Jared."

His name comes out as a whisper while everything we did when we were in school flashes through my mind like a movie. The only thing missing is a soundtrack, although if I think about it long enough, I could probably add one of those too based on the music we listened to, sometimes on repeat.