Chapter 561

Olivia

The sound of power tools outside streamed in through the window while I folded the laundry, a distant backdrop to my swirling thoughts. I had grown used to the sound, and actually kind of enjoyed it. It was a reminder that life went on, that our family was growing.

It had been a couple of weeks since I had made the decision to take a temporary leave from work in order to really focus on my family—on rebuilding that long-severed bond with my mother—and I was glad I did. Somewhere downstairs, I could hear her murmuring softly to the twins.

Clarissa... Giselle.

My mind still stumbled over which name to call her, torn between honoring her lost past and accepting the new identity she had been forced to create. For her part, she had firmly stated her wish to continue going by Clarissa, at least for now.

The person she had become after the amnesia, she had said, was just as real and valid. Erasing that part of herself felt wrong.

I could understand her perspective, even if some tiny part of me still mourned the loss of getting my mother back wholly and completely as she had been before. This was our new normal, I supposed, and focusing on the present—on who she was now—seemed the wisest path forward.

A soft knock on the bedroom door pulled me out of my reverie. “Come in,” I called out, not looking up from my work.

The door creaked open and Nathan poked his head inside, his gaze falling on the pile of laundry in front of me. “You could have asked me to fold that with you.”

I shrugged. “It’s meditative. And besides, you were busy with the construction workers.”

He nodded and crossed the room, sitting on the edge of the bed with a contented sigh. “They’re just about done with the frame.”

“They’re making good progress, then,” I said. “How long do you think until it’s done?”

“Another month or so.” Nathan paused, watching me as I worked on folding a towel. We had had many late-night discussions about the cottage, waffling back and forth at first over whether to build something on the property, much like Clint’s cottage, or to buy my mother her own home in town.

Ultimately, we had landed on building something right here. We both wanted her close by, after all the years apart. And I think, in a way, Nathan enjoyed having her around; he had lost his own mother all too recently, after all. And he and Clarissa got along like two peas in a pod.

For a long moment, a comfortable silence fell between us, broken only by the soft sounds of the fabric as I folded the laundry. Then, almost abruptly, Nathan straightened up and inclined his head towards the hallway.

“Actually... I was wondering if you might want to get out of the house for a bit?” he said. “Just you and me?”

I blinked at him in surprise. “What did you have in mind?”

A faint smirk played across his lips. “Well, that would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it? But I promise, it’ll be worth the trip.” He extended a hand toward me. “The laundry can wait. And we can ask Clarissa to keep an eye on the twins for an hour or two.”

Despite my curiosity, I felt a flicker of reluctance to simply drop everything and go gallivanting off, even for a short while. After everything that had happened, I had found it difficult lately to leave the safety of my own home.

But our therapist, who we still visited once a week, had insisted that I not coop myself up. And I knew she was right.

“Okay,” I finally said, setting down the shirt that I was halfway through folding. “That sounds nice.”

…

The forest was teeming with sound, the birds and the insects and the small animals rushing about gleefully with the onset of spring. Nathan and I walked down a narrow path hand-in-hand, watching as the sunlight filtered through the trees and left dappled, warm spots across the ground.

“You know,” I said, glancing over at him with a smirk, “when you said you had a surprise planned for us, I wasn’t expecting a nature hike. Not that I’m complaining.

He shot me a sidelong grin, that boyish glint of mischief that I felt as if I hadn’t seen in forever sparkling in his eyes. “What, you thought I was going to whisk you away to Paris or Milan for a romantic weekend?” he teased.

“I prefer this, actually.”

“Good,” Nathan said, tugging me along behind him. “We’re almost there.”

It wasn’t long before I finally placed our surroundings—the lush ferns clustered along the path, the towering pines and oaks flanking the narrow path. This was the same trail that led to the quiet forest pond where, months ago, he had carried me after I had twisted my ankle.

And it was the place where I had begun to realize just how much I had truly loved him all my life.

My breath caught in my throat as the familiar clearing finally came into view, the sunlight glinting off the glassy surface of the small pond. It was just as serene and picturesque as I remembered, only now the green lily pads and croaking frogs created a picture of a warm, verdant spring.

“This place,” I murmured, looking up at him with a wistful smile. “I’ll admit I almost forgot about it.”

Turning towards me fully, he reached up to caress my cheek with his thumb, dipping his head to press a kiss against my cheek. “I thought I might jog your memory.”

“What made you want to come here?” I found myself asking.

He shrugged, then turned his head and gazed down at the pond. For a few moments, he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, but no words came. I could tell there was more he wanted to say, but I didn’t press him for it. Not now, at least.

Then, his only response was the warm, earnest look in his eyes—and then his lips were on mine, soft but insistent, conveying everything that words could not. I melted into his kiss, leaning up on my tiptoes for better access to his lips.

When we finally pulled apart, our fingers tangled in each other’s hair and our lungs utterly breathless, it was a few moments before either of us could even manage to speak.

“At the quarry,” Nathan blurted out, his eyes taking on a sadder tone, “I… I thought that was it. That we’d never get to see each other again. And now, every time I look at you, I’m just so grateful to have been given more time with you.”

“Nathan—”

“I don’t want to waste it,” he cut me off, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me flush against his firm body. “There’s not a single moment that goes by that I don’t want to make the most of. For you, for the twins, for everything and everyone.”

I didn’t know what to say. But maybe there was nothing that needed to be said. So, without a word, I leaned forward again and cupped his face in my hands. I pressed our lips together, this time even more fervently than before, and let myself melt into him.

There, in the clearing next to the pond, we collapsed to the soft forest floor. We spread out our jackets, and we didn’t care if anyone stumbled upon us when we took off our clothes. We made love right there, next to the lily pads, and we felt our wolves intertwine.