“Let’s carve some pumpkins then,” he agrees.
Before we do, he serves me the breakfast he made. Besides his perfectly cooked bacon and eggs, he made waffles. With pecans and a sweet syrup, they are divine. Together we clean up, kissing and teasing between dishes. So domestic and trivial, but I love every moment.
We take a ride to the small pumpkin patch and apple orchard, holding hands and laughing about Boomhauer’s excitement. Once there, the handholding continues as we walk through the fields making our choices. Finally deciding on three—one for each of us and one for Boom—he hauls them behind us with a cart.
We spend some time kicking through the amber and gold leaves as we pick apples. Boomhauer runs with some other dogs, barking in joy. Keegan tells me how much he likes it here, and how that surprises him. When I ask why, he sobers a little, turning to circle a tree slowly.
“Growing up, life was never bad or rough. We weren’t rich or poor. We had good parents and never went hungry or had the lights turned off. Still, it was chaotic. They ran a masonry firm, so days were long and time together short. It always felt like the job came first, it was the most important thing. I guess it fed us and put a roof over our heads, but they were always going. Always busy, always working, always tired,” he sighs as he plucks an apple and tosses it absently.
“I belonged with them, but I never really knew where or how. Not like I didn’t matter but....as if I wasn’t important. They loved me and I always had Boom and Oliver but...it was as if I had no purpose. Until we came here. We built stuff all over the country to survive, but here we’re building stuff that matters,” he says as he catches the apple.
In the warm October sunlight, he flashes an endearing smile full of pride and it is stunning. I am awed by him. By his beauty and his heart and how much I believe he means every word he says. He wants to do something important—and for him, making Harmony Hollow better is damn important.
Gazing at him, I see a man I can fall in love with.
A man I may already be in love with.