Page 112 of Not Until I Found You

Zane

This past week has been one of the best of my life. The job site has stayed busy, but Ryland finally hired enough extra hands to keep us from working until dark every night. Most evenings, I’m home before dinner’s finished, just in time to find Maxinne humming in the kitchen while she stirs whatever she’s making. I usually sneak up behind her, wrap my arms around her waist, and steal a kiss before she laughs and tells me I’m being a distraction.

I can’t stop thinking about how I could do this forever, and for once, that thought doesn’t scare me.

We eat together every evening, sometimes at the table or sprawled on the couch with plates balanced on our knees while Sven patiently waits for someone to ’accidentally’ drop him a bite. Between shared meals, evening walks, and talking before bed, Maxinne has quietly become part of my everyday life.

I still can’t believe I get to call her mine.

It’s snuck up on me, how fast everything has happened. A few months ago, that would’ve been enough to send me running in the opposite direction. Now, I find myself thanking God for every second I get with her.

Maxinne is curled up beside me on the couch, her legs draped across my lap as I press my thumbs into the arch of her foot. She hisses, jerking away when I find a sore spot, then dissolves into laughter. Sven shoots to his feet with an offended bark, convinced I’m attacking his favorite person. He watches me suspiciously until Maxinne reaches down to scratch behind his ears. Only then does he settle back onto the rug with a dramatic sigh.

I smile at her, loving that this is how I get to spend my evenings. A quiet voice presses in at the edge of that thought. For now. I know better than to believe that things will stay this easy. This time, I don’t let it take root. I silently thank God for this moment and choose to trust Him with whatever tomorrow brings.

“This past week has felt like an answered prayer,” I say, pressing my thumb into the arch of her foot.

“I know what you mean.”

I watch as she gathers all her hair in her hands and twists it over her shoulder, her fingers working gracefully as she tugs her strands into a braid. I’m mesmerized by the practiced movement. It’s probably something she does every day, and yet I can’t look away. It’s another small thing that she does that has me falling for her.

She squints at me. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

I shrug nonchalantly. “Like what?”

She tilts her head, studying me. “I’m not sure…”

“As if you’re the only woman that I want in the entire world?” I smile at her.

“Is that really what you’re thinking about over there?” She nudges me with her foot.

“Absolutely.”

Her face relaxes, eyes softening, and her smile curls at the edge of her pale-pink lips. “I only want you too.”

I beam at her words and at the promise we’re making to each other. Then, an idea hits me as I reach for my wallet. I pull out the folded piece of paper that’s worn soft from years of being tucked behind my driver’s license.

Her brow furrows. “What’s that?”

I turn it over in my fingers. “A list.”

“A list of what?” She sits up straighter.

I hand it over to her and watch as she unfolds the paper carefully.

“What I want in a woman,” she reads aloud.

Heat immediately travels to the tips of my ears as she begins to read it out loud.

“Has a relationship with God. Willing to grow alongside me.”

I watch her eyes move down the page, and a tiny crease appears between her brows as she continues to read.

“Has a clear idea of what she wants out of life. Believes marriage is forever. Must live in Covewood and want to stay.”

The room falls quiet, and her gaze slowly lifts to mine.

“You’ve just been carrying this around?”