“You sure?”
I looked around the kitchen at the half-unpacked boxes, the pictures of Dakoda waiting to be hung, and Lyrius, and all I could see was the life we’d somehow built after all the chaos.
“Yeah,” I said again. “I’m good. That was the last box, and your G-Wagon gets delivered tomorrow.”
“So, me and Dakoda are officially moved in, huh?” Lyrius turned in my arms.
“Yeah.” I kissed her neck again. “Y’all officially moved in.” The smile on her face softened. She looked around the kitchen, then around the house, like she couldn’t believe it either.
My hand slid up her neck as I stared at her. Something had caught my attention. I frowned and brushed my thumb against the small gold hoop hanging from her ear.
“Wait.” Lyrius’s eyes lifted to mine. “How’d you get this?”
“I found it at the training facility.” Her hand came up, covering mine. For a second, she looked almost shy. I stared at her.
“The one you threw away.” A laugh escaped me. “You dug an earring out of the trash?”
“When you say it like that, it sounds a little crazy.”
“A little?” She rolled her eyes. I shook my head, still smiling, then reached into my pocket. “Guess it’s a good thing I already had a replacement.” I pulled out a little black box.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
The second she did, her eyes widened. Inside was a pair of hoops identical to the ones I’d given her years ago.
“Dakota . . .” She gasped. “They’re beautiful.”
I took one of the earrings from the box and put it in her ear.
“Now I have three.” Her fingers lifted to both earrings.
“Good. Now you got a backup.”
She laughed and shook her head. The crazy part was that when I’d ordered those earrings, I had no idea she’d somehow ended up with one of the original hoops. I’d thought I’d successfully thrown it away. I bought them because five years ago, they were the first thing I ever gave her, and starting over with Lyrius felt like the kind of thing that deserved a first gift all over again.
“I think we’ve unpacked enough for one day.” I slid my hands under her thighs and lifted her before she could protest.
“Dakota, put me down.” A surprised laugh escaped her mouth the same way it always did whenever I picked her up, as if she hadn’t yet figured out that carrying her was one of my favorite things to do.
“Nah.”
“KO.”
“I gotta welcome my pussy home.” I tightened my hold on her as I headed to our bedroom.
“You’re crazy.” Her laugh got louder.
“About you.” I kissed her forehead.
“I love you, Dakota Knox.”
“Yeah, I know.”
She smacked my shoulder, and we both laughed.
“I love you too, Bad.” I headed up the stairs, my hand already finding its way into her wetness. After everything life had thrown at us, after every hit, every setback, every damn knockout, onething was finally clear. The storm was never the end of our story; it was what finally brought my family home.