Once I’m back home, I check for any notes or messages from Courtney on the fridge. I open the freezer and see she’s added another three bags of muffins, which means she’s been stress baking again.
As I get Buddy off the bed and climb in next to Courtney, she starts mumbling in her sleep. I try to coax her out of it, but she’s stirring in her sleep, and now I know something’s on her mind.
“Courtney…” I whisper. “Babe, wake up.”
“Get away from me,” she hisses and shifts her body away from me.
“Sweetheart,” I say, louder. “It’s me. Wake up.” I shake her shoulders, getting more concerned.
“Drew?” She startles. “What happened?”
“You were dreaming, babe. Everything’s fine,” I tell her calmly. “Are you feeling okay?” She looks flushed and I don’t know how much longer I can hold it in that I know. I want her to let me take care of her.
“Yeah, I think so. It was just one of those dreams that felt really real.” She rubs her eyes and sits up.
“Anything you want to talk about?” I kindly urge. “Or anything that’s on your mind you want to discuss?”
She sighs and blinks a few times. “It was about Mia.”
“Wait, what?” I ask confused.
“The dream. I’ve been having dreams every few nights about her and it’s making me a little anxious.”
“When did this start?” I ask.
“A couple of weeks ago. At first, it was nothing, but then they continued and became more real. I guess it just feels like we’re in limbo right now and it’s creating some anxiety in my sleep.”
“That makes sense, but at least I have some good news, then. Logan told me tonight they found the bartender and once they show him all the evidence against him, they’re pretty confident he’ll talk.”
“Really?” Her eyes light up. “That’s great! I’ll be so relieved when it’s all over.”
“I know, sweetheart. Me, too.”
She lies back down and rests her head on my shoulder, closing her eyes. I can see the exhaustion written all over her face as the anxiety starts to melt away, so I don’t push her to tell me the news right now. I know she’ll tell me; I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.
Pretending I don’t know is a struggle as the week progresses. I keep wanting to message her and ask how she’s feeling and if she’s eating and getting enough rest, but I know it’ll send a red flag, so I resist the urge to do so. I’ll wait if she wants to plan something special, but I’ve already planned everything out that I want to say to her. I want her to know I’m in this for the long run and that she’s the only person I want to be having babies with and grow old with and that no matter what happens, I’ll always be right by her side.
COURTNEY
Friday is finally here and we’ve both been waiting for this very moment. At eleven, we’ll sign the closing documents for the house and it’ll officially be ours. The word ours puts a smile on my face. I’m so damn excited about it that I can barely concentrate on anything at work. I’ve had an extra peppy bounce to my step all day, and I’m sure I annoyed Travis so much, he gave me a half-day just so he could focus. I can’t help that I was going ninety to nothing all morning and I’m sure the pot of coffee I drank in two hours didn’t make it any better.
Once I leave work, I drive home and pick up Drew so we can go to the office, sign our autographs, and get the keys. As soon as he sits in the Jeep, I lean over and kiss him. He smells like fresh soap and coffee and his hazel eyes match the shirt he’s wearing today.
“Hey, beautiful.” Drew’s voice is rough and sexy and he looks at me like he has more to say, but doesn’t. I offer him a smile and back out of the driveway. During the drive across town, I can’t stop talking about the house, our lives, and the new neighborhood.
“I was thinking I’d bake all the neighbors blueberry muffins and we could go door to door together and introduce ourselves.”
He lets out a hearty chuckle. “Is that what people do in Texas?”
I lift an eyebrow and glance at him. “Neighbors?” I laugh. “The only time I ever really saw my neighbors was if they got stuck on their property somewhere and needed a tow, their cows got loose, or we were at a church function. Trick or treating didn’t really exist when I was a kid. We did harvest festivals with hayrides and photo booths. That’s another reason why I’m excited to be in our new neighborhood. Trick or treaters!” I squeal.