The words cascaded around him. Through him. Settling in.
“So...you think we can always remember those we’ve lost, but forgive ourselves?” He had to ask.
“I do.”
“You up for sharing this place with a feral, no-named cat, who you probably won’t ever see?” Made sense that they’d live at her place, not his. Hers was ten times as nice.
And gated. Didn’t mean harm couldn’t come to her there...but there was less chance of it.
“The way I picture it, the cat’s going to have a name as soon as I see it and figure out if it’s male or female. And, within a month, he or she will be sleeping on the end of our bed.”
Yeah, she would see it that way.
And she’d probably be right.
“You think you’ll be up for sharing this place with a baby we might make at some point?” she countered.
It would take him some time. He didn’t kid himself about that. But for her...and for the child he so badly wanted to have with her...
“You think you can figure a way to get that cat out from under my bed and over here?”
“You going to help me?”
He’d said he didn’t want to spend another night in his home with her in hers, so... “Of course.”
“Then yes, I can get the cat out.”
“And I can share this space with whatever family we make together, canine, feline, human...who knows...maybe even some more fish.”
He wasn’t thinking it would be easy. Wasn’t sure how good he’d actually be at it, but he’d do it. And give it his all.
Because one thing Jayden knew about himself that just didn’t change...
He was a man of his word.
* * *