Page 132 of After We Fall

“That’s fine.” Luke holds his gift out of my reach. “Would you rather go back to staring at the walls?”

“Never mind. Hand me the package.” I stand on my tiptoes and reach for the box.

“I could also arrange for you to watch some paint dry.”

I jump up, but he turns and uses his body to deflect my effort.

“I’m sure Dr. Ridding could come up with more treatment plans.”

Placing a hand on his chest, I slowly lean in, yank the toothpick out of his mouth, and press my lips to his. He wraps an arm around me and returns the kiss.

I pull back. “I’ve been wanting to do that since that first day in the chapel.”

“Which part? Yank a toothpick out of my mouth or kiss me?”

“Both. So it’s a total bonus that I got to combine them for the same purpose today.”

He grins. “You’re such an overachiever.”

“Efficiency is my—”

“Love language. And in this case, I’m very grateful it is,” he says right before a short kiss.

“Does that mean I get my present now?”

He hands the gift to me, and I unwrap the box. Shining at me from a bed of tissue paper is a colorful new clipboard with three lines of engraving on the silver clip at the top.

Penelope Reid, Program Director, Twelve Bluebells Ranch

The vibrant tones of the plastic clipboard gel together in a stunning, abstract mess of vivid greens, blues, reds, and oranges, whispering reminders of the past and present and framing them in a mesh of beauty.

A shattered stained glass window.

A foster home and a trailer park.

Neurofeedback maps.

New wounds healing old wounds.

East versus west.

All the pieces.

All the numbers.

All the love.

After we fall.

I run my hand over the glossy finish. “Oh, Luke. When did you do this?”

“The day you told me you wanted the job.”

“But that was—” I stop to think through the events of our relationship. “That was before . . . that was before everything happened.”

That Sunday at the Christmas tree lighting. Finley had already left, but the incident with Marcus was yet to come.

Luke takes the clipboard from my hands and sets it down on the counter. He draws me into his arms and kisses me tenderly on the lips. “I think you were mine before either of us knew that you were mine.”