Page 91 of The Other Side

Brant jerks his chin. “Go ahead. Open it,” he says.

I swallow thickly as my fingers land on the satin ribbon. Tints of the light reflect across the pink material, and I slide the silk off the rectangular box with ease.

Once the ribbon is discarded, I remove the lid. My hands rummage through the blush tissue paper, only for my breath to be kidnapped in the next second.

It’s a pair of cowboy boots.

Pink ones.

My gaze is still trained ahead, popping over the dusty path between the hill we’re on and the barn. I absently shake my head. My eyes roam the rustic beams and worn, wooden walls on the inside. “I want a smile as big as theirs one day,” I declare. “And a pair of cowboy boots.”

Cowboy hats bob in the distance. Leather boots tap the polished wood. Every pastel color is represented within the sea of people, but their feelings are a single shade.

Happiness.

Brant’s chuckle reaches my ear. “I bet you’d get pink ones.”

“With rhinestones,” I add, stretching a tiny smile.

Chapter 28

Callie Rae

My stare traces the stitched paisley patterns in the leather. They sweep across the boot with the embedded pink rhinestones.

I drag my fingers across the pointed toe and sturdy heel, grazing the authentic leather. This had to have cost him a fortune, but the sentiment puts the numeric value to shame.

Tears puncture the corners of my eyes, ready to descend when he inches a step closer. My chin angles up as my lips part in awe. Then I’m hiking my shoulders through my tangled breath.

“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper. “They’re beautiful.”

His mouth curves up when his palm frames the side of my neck. My eyes shut, and his lips rest on top of my head.

“Happy Birthday, Dove.”

Dove.

The rough pads of his fingers brush my low bun. He catalyzes a warm shiver that sinks me into him. Those strong arms cuddle me, and my cheek finds that familiar nest against his steel torso.

I’m already breathing my next words. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Once upon a time, I promised you I could give you everything you want.” His murmured response brushes my scalp. Strengthening those goosebumps as his cologne colors all my senses. “I made the promise but couldn’t back it up at the time. I’ve been living in Hell, just wondering if my word was good enough to last us these ten years.” He wags his head, his stubbled mouth tickling my hair with the motion. “Do you have to question me now?”

I shake my head, wringing out a tear through crumpled eyes. “I never did. Not once,” I manage.

His palms cuddle the back of my head, and his chin rests on top. “I probably should’ve given you the smaller gift first. That was stupid,” he teases.

I chuckle against him. Then he strips away, backpedaling to the corner of the counter space. I hug myself, my palms clutching the fabric of my cardigan around my upper arms.

When he closes the distance between us, he’s flipping the top of an ivory carton up. My head dips to peek at the contents, and my smile falls with wonder.

I count ten Italian rainbow cookies assorted on top of the doily.

Ten.

Ten birthdays.

Nine for each birthday he missed.