But the farther I got away from Afghanistan, the more peaceful I became. A notion grew inside me that one phase of my life was over and a new one was beginning.
The feeling was similar with Lexi in my arms.
That I’m moving toward the next phase of my life, and it’s peaceful and warm and soft. All the things I craved while in the desert.
Is it wrong to feel this way? To have found the woman I want beside me in life? Is it wrong to feel so hopeful when we’ve just met?
But in the dark night, with her breathing softly by my side, I didn’t care about right and wrong. I didn’t care about the short time frame. I knew we belonged together. Lexi was mine.
But I can’t force her to stay. She has to come to that realization on her own.
The car door slams as Lexi exits the car, and it brings me back to the present. The place looks how we left it last night, with a black pit of charred furniture legs in the front yard.
Lexi holds up the property survey map the lawyers gave her with the key.
“It looks like the boundary extends into the woods.” She frowns at the line of dark trees behind the house. “Want to check it out?”
We walk carefully in the long grass, not sure what we might find in the undergrowth. There could be animals living here or discarded tools. From what Lexi told me about the inside of the house, it seems like the place was abandoned unexpectedly. Her father didn’t leave everything in a tidy order.
As we skirt around the fallen tree, I decide to return with a chainsaw as soon as I can to tidy it up and make it safe for her.
Ferns and ivy battle for space on the forest floor, making the path difficult to find. We push our way through the woods until we reach a small stream and pause while Lexi consults her drawing.
“The stream is the boundary on the north side, and the road is the boundary on the west.”
I peer over her shoulder at the drawing. “If we follow the stream, we should come to the boundary line to the east.”
We move off, and the ground is wet near the stream. Lexi’s white sneakers squelch in the mud. They’ll be ruined after this, but she doesn’t complain. I’ll take her shopping tomorrow and buy her a good pair of boots and some proper mountain clothes. Make sure she’s all set for the colder months.
The steam keeps pretty steady, and we follow it until Lexi spies a wooden stake painted white with a red top, the boundary marker.
She rests her hand on the top of it. “This must be the northeast corner.”
She peers across the boundary. It’s more woods, and through the trees, I glimpse another homestead.
“Who owns the land on the other side?” she asks.
Her map shows that the east side of her property borders several lots. I squint at the house through the trees. “I think that’s the Baxter place. Four sisters live there. They own Sweet & Strong, the bakery in town.”
“Oh.” She goes quiet.
“They do the best cream doughnuts and honey cakes. I’ll take you there this afternoon.”
“Have you tried their honey cakes?” She raises an eyebrow and folds her arms across her chest.
I chuckle. “You’re jealous.”
She squints at me. “Am not.”
I place my hands on her shoulders and pull her toward me. “You’ve got nothing to be jealous of, firefly. I’m wild about you.”
She remains stiff in my arms. “You’re right. I have no right to be jealous of the women you’ve slept with. You don’t owe me anything.”
I lean back to look at her because she needs to hear this.
“I haven’t slept with any of the Baxter sisters. I can’t even remember which one’s which when I go to the bakery. I haven’t slept with anyone since I arrived in Hope.”
She peers at me. “Is that true?”