“So Will and I are headed to Marmot Falls to meet up with some friends for a swim. You wanna come?” Tony asked.
Lucky’s eyes shifted to me. “Um…”
I gave him a quick nod, more as encouragement than to grant him permission.
“Yeah, I’d love to,” he said, his body relaxing marginally.
“Cool dog,” Will said as he bent down to pet Bear. “You can bring him along.”
“Yeah, sure,” Lucky said. There were a few more moments of awkward tension as the three said their goodbyes to us and headed off. As Lucky passed Xander, they bumped fists in a way the two other boys wouldn’t notice.
“Thanks for that,” I said to Gary as I motioned in the direction the boys had disappeared in.
“No problem. I remember that age,” he said. He sat down in the chair next to Lolly and continued chatting with the older woman while I went to mingle with the other guests.
Until I spied the one guest I’d been waiting all morning for.
“Hey,” I said as I met Aiden halfway across the yard and walked right into his arms. I was surprised when he held me a little longer than expected.
“Hey, B,” he said softly.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I am now,” was all he said before pulling back. “You look good,” he said. “Got you some this morning, did you?”
I punched him in the shoulder. “Pig,” I said with a snort. “Come meet people, but behave yourself. A lot of them work for us now, and the last thing Xander and I need are sexual harassment claims,” I joked.
“Fair enough,” Aiden said. The answer was so un-Aiden.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” he said, forcing a smile to his lips. “Where’s the kid?”
“Off making friends,” I said with a grin.
Aiden nodded. “Good for him. I was hoping to steal him away from you guys tonight for a movie and dinner… tacos preferably, if this hick town even knows what Mexican food is.”
I chuckled. Aiden and Lucky had grown close over the past year, and I’d wondered which of them benefited more from the relationship. “I was actually going to ask you if you wouldn’t mind hanging out with him tonight. Xander and I are going camping.”
He raised his eyebrows at me. “Is that code for getting your slutty ass fucked up against a tree again?”
“Jesus, Aid.” I shook my head at him. “But yeah, I fucking hope so. Are you going to take him or not?”
“Yeah, I’ll take him… time to show him a few things.”
“Don’t even think about it,” I warned.
“What?”
“Corrupting my kid. I bet you’ve already googled all the places in Denver that serve your two favorite things. Bourbon and go-go boys.”
“Married life has turned you into a prude,” Aiden said as he put his arm around my shoulders.
“Shut up,” I said. “Stop saying that.”
“What, the prude part?”
“No.”
“Ah… the married part. Don’t worry, B. It’ll happen.”
“I know,” I said.
It wasn’t the exact truth, but I didn’t want Aiden to know that. After Xander had mentioned marriage the one time last summer when we’d been talking to Lucky about adopting him, he’d never brought it up again. After my adoption of Lucky had been finalized, I’d been certain we’d revisit the topic, but when Xander had asked about starting the process of him adopting Lucky without mentioning anything about marriage, I’d started to wonder if it was something he just wasn’t ready for. I’d been hesitant to bring the subject up myself, since so many things in our lives had changed so quickly.
“You could ask him, you know,” Aiden said.
“I will… I just want to let things settle down a bit first.”
Aiden tugged me up against his side but didn’t say anything else.
Which was exactly what I needed.
Xander
It was after six o’clock by the time Bennett and I made it to my favorite spot on the trail. The Drummond Lake vista was laid out in front of us. The long trail cutting through the grass to the lake, the deep blue of the water sparkling in the late afternoon sun, the verdant greens of the trees stacked on the hills beyond the lake, and the giant snowy peaks of Woodland Rise shooting skyward in the distance.
This was the spot where we’d stood that first full day of the trip the summer before. The spot where I’d wanted to sneak my hand into his and just soak in the moment with him— my favorite mountains with my favorite person. It was as magical as I’d hoped it would be.
Bennett sighed as he took in the view. “So gorgeous,” he murmured.
I studied him. “Mm-hm. Absolutely stunning.”
I slipped off my pack and then reached around him to unbuckle his waist belt before pulling his pack off. He turned to look at me with furrowed brows.
“What are we doing?”
“Just taking a moment. This is my favorite spot,” I explained with a smile.