Honey Pie (Cupcake Club)

Epilogue


Honey tipped her face up to the sun and enjoyed the warm breeze as it rushed over her skin. She couldn’t believe summer was almost over. They’d gotten the sailboat in the water a few weeks ago, and already it was pretty much her favorite place in the world. Even more than her still half unpacked jumble of a studio, although that was a close second. But out on the water, it was just her, and Dylan, and the rhythms of the sea. She felt completely and utterly free. It was the one place, outside of Dylan’s arms, where she could let her guard down completely.

She looked at Dylan manning the wheel, and smiled all the way down to her toes. Figuring things out hadn’t been easy, and she was still unsure how she was going to balance the different parts of her life, but they were slowly learning each other’s moods and their own rhythms, while blending their daily routines and opening up to each other even when it was hard, maybe especially then. But he’d been absolutely and utterly right about one thing . . . figuring it out together beat the hell out of spending a moment trying to do it alone.

She’d had the vision again this morning when he’d taken her hand in his while still asleep. He did that often, and it charmed her, touched her every single time. It had been a while since she’d had the sailboat vision, and she’d thought maybe she wouldn’t have it again, so she’d been happy to sink into it. Now that she’d been on the boat for real and experienced part of that vision, she embraced it more fully. Maybe that was why she’d gotten another piece of it.

Her smile spread to a wide grin, even as her stomach did a few little cartwheels and flip-flops. She’d finally seen the child. He’d turned and looked right at her. Her child . . . with eyes of pure, clear green. They’d shared a smile, mother and son, a secret smile. Honey knew then that she had no choice but to keep figuring out how to balance her gift while living in the real world. She was going to have to if she was going to guide her son down that same path . . . because no way was he going to be a hider. She wouldn’t let him.

She was very sure his daddy wouldn’t, either.

She let the butterflies dance, but at her core, felt nothing but contentment. She continued to watch Dylan, so confident, so happy . . . and to her absolute and utter relief... also sublimely content, and wondered if she should tell him.

Her laughter danced to him over the breeze and he turned and smiled. “Come here, sugar.” He winked at her. “Time for you to learn to steer this thing.”

She stood up and walked over to him on her steadily improving sea legs. He tucked her easily between his body and the wheel and she reveled, as she always did, in how good and right it felt to be in the circle of his arms. She knew she’d always fit right there, no matter what. The strength she drew from that absolute knowledge was immeasurable and made the decision on tackling the rest, as he’d said, a no brainer.

He placed her hands on the wheel. “Kind of like a car. Ten o’clock, two o’clock. But you have to get a feel for it, because this road is ever changing and it’s never the same twice. Figuring it out, though, is the best part.”

She smiled, thinking that was pretty much the story of her life . . . her new life.

He covered her hands with his, leaned down, and kissed the side of her neck. “Got it, sugar?”

Yes, she thought, looking up into his eyes. I really think I do.