“He just left with Savannah for the weekend,” I say. “I’m sitting out on my porch, and all I can think about is you.” Looking up at the sun shining in the sky, I say, “We need to finish our talk.”

“Yeah,” she says softly. “We were interrupted.”

“If you want, I can pick you up,” I say, and I’m so anxious I just want to tell her I’ll be there in ten minutes.

“No, don’t come all this way. I’ll just take my mother’s car,” she tells me. “I just don’t know your address.”

I give her the address, and she tells me she’ll be over soon. I want to ask her what soon means. Does it mean an hour, or does it mean ten minutes? Getting up, I walk to my bedroom, taking off my clothes and stepping into the shower. The hot water runs over my stiff neck muscles. My eyes burn from being up all night, so I turn the water to cold and stick my face under it.

Getting out, I grab one of the white towels and dry myself off, slipping on my boxers and shorts. I’m towel-drying my hair when I hear the doorbell. I drop the towel on the bed and walk to the front door. I see Kallie right away through the glass in the doors. Her hair is loose and falls over her shoulders. She looks down and then looks to the side, and her beauty takes my breath away. She looks in the house and sees me, and a small smile fills her face.

“Hey,” I say, opening the door. “Sorry, I was just getting out of the shower.” I see that she is wearing another pair of shorts, this time jeans, and the blue loose short-sleeved shirt she has on is tucked into them. Her hair hides one side of the shirt that goes off her shoulder.

Her eyes almost pop out of her head when she sees me, and I want to laugh since she’s seen me naked many, many times. Maybe not in a while but I’m still the same guy. “Um,” she says, trying not to blush, and her eyes go to the tattoo on my left pec. This is brand new. I got it when my father died. It’s a cross with a ribbon around it with the date he died and the date Ethan was born. Under the cross is the scripture “For those I love I sacrifice.”

“I’m sorry. I should have.”

I grab her face in my hands and lean down to kiss her lips. “I’m happy you’re here.” Turning, I pull her into the house with me. “Do you want something to drink? Some sweet tea, some coffee, some water, whiskey?”