We finally had dinner, my parents getting to know Kai, Connor, and Juniper better as Isaac made stupid jokes, making all of us groan or roll our eyes. It was warm and welcoming, something I knew that Kai needed.

I was in the kitchen washing the dishes with Joanna as everyone else continued to set up for the wedding tomorrow when there was a tiny knock at the front door.

“Who could be here?” I looked at her confused.

“Go see,” she winked.

Drying my hands, I quickly went over and opened the door, a soft gasp escaping me.

“Charlie?” I smiled.

“Hi Uncle Shiloh!” my niece Charlotte waved quickly.

Charlotte was the daughter of my cousin Alder and his wife Cora. She was a beautiful little girl with bright blue eyes, blonde waves, and olive skin. I adored her, we were incredibly close until William stopped allowing me around my cousin Alder, due to the outrageous notion that I was attracted to my cousin. Our mothers were sisters and I had never understood where William got the idea that I could feel that way toward my own family.

“What in the world are you doing here? Where’s your dad?” I squatted down, hugging her tightly.

“I’m right here, dipshit,” Alder called from the driveway, hand in hand with Cora.

“Oh! Hi guys,” I jumped up, stumbling a bit.

“Jesus slow down. You act like we haven’t seen you,” Alder snorted, coming up the porch and hugging me tightly.

“I mean I haven’t seen you in like 2 years but sure,” I shrugged before looking at Cora, “hi babe.”

“Hey you,” she smiled, hugging me sideways, “sorry. Baby bump gets in the way.”

“What are you having?” I smiled, touching her stomach softly.

“Little girl again. Delilah.”

“Oh, I love that name!” I wiggled.

“Shiloh!” Kai called from the backdoor, “Shi, where’d ya go?”

“Front door!” I called back.

“Who in the world is that?” Alder smiled as Kai come up to us, fixing his ponytail.

“Alder, this is my boyfriend Kai. Kai, this is my cousin Alder, his wife Cora, and their daughter Charlotte. I call her Charlie. Oh and that,” I pointed to Cora’s baby belly, “is Delilah.”

“It’s lovely to meet you all,” Kai smiled, shaking Alder’s hand.

“Where ya from?” Alder tilted his head curiously.

“Boston,” Kai laughed softly, “but I’ve lived in Oregon for nearly 6 years now with my baby sister Juniper. She’s out back right now with her fiance Connor and Joanna.”

“Oh, I need to talk to them about vows for tomorrow. Perfect,” Alder clapped Kai on the shoulder and went into the house.

“Why the hell is he so tall?” Kai whispered.

Alder was nearly a foot taller than me at 6 foot 6, his shoulders broad, and his hair nearly white thanks to a gene that ran in my mother’s side of the family.

“His mom’s side is huge,” Cora laughed, “you had to have noticed that Joanna is tall for a woman. I think she’s…”

“5 foot 11,” I finished for her, “that’s why she’s taller than you, Kai. That side of my family is massive. Whoever the donor was for me and Isaac was short. Which is fine. We’re cute. You wouldn’t be able to carry me if I was taller than you after all.”

“Plus…” Cora started and I nodded, “Shiloh’s medical condition meant he would be smaller than he was supposed to be. No idea why Isaac is so tiny.”

“His pituitary gland doesn’t work right. We both stopped growing early,” I shrugged, “anyway. Charlie! Guess what!”

“What Uncle Shi?” Charlotte wiggled happily.

“I wrote you a book.”

“Really!”

“Mhm. I’ll give it to you later okay? Kai and I were just about to go somewhere, but I’ll give it to you, I promise.”

“Thank you thank you!” she hugged me tightly around the waist before taking off through the house.

“My Ma is in the kitchen if you want to get off your feet, Cora. Kai and I are gonna go see my house and Grandma’s shop,” I smiled.

“Are you finally taking over?” Cora patted the top of my head as Kai wrapped an arm around my waist.

“We both are,” smiling at Kai, I laughed when he kissed my cheek.

“Perfect. Well, I won’t keep you. Alder and I are staying in the guest room tonight. We didn’t want to rush down here tomorrow. We’re staying through Christmas after all.”

“Who is coming to the wedding from our family?”

“Uh. Us. Your family obviously. Grandma Kamilla. I think Oakley and his husband Sebastian might try and make it. If not for the wedding, at the very least they’ll be here for Christmas.”

“Who is Oakley?” Kai looked at me confused.

“Alder’s baby brother.”

“Ah. Got it. I’m sure Juni will be happy having so many people here. She keeps talking about how thrilled she is to be joining the family.”

“Well, she should be,” Cora laughed, “we’re a pretty large and loving family.”

“I can see that already,” Kai smiled and hugged her.

“Bye, Co. Oh! On the counter are those ginger cookies I know you need for your morning sickness,” I poked her nose softly.

“You’re so sweet. Thank you.”

Kai and I left hand in hand and loaded into my mother's car.

“Are you doing okay?” I whispered as I pulled out of the driveway.

“I am. Social battery is at an 8. Your family makes it easy by being so open and honest. I’m more nervous about seeing the house.”

“It’s a bit stark on the inside, I want to paint the interior, but it’s beautiful,” I smiled, turning down the road at the end of my parent’s street and into a driveway halfway down the road, “we’re here.”

“Shiloh,” he gasped softly, climbing out of the car.

“I know the front is kinda small but the back is massive. That’s why the gate is there,” I called, climbing out after him.

“It’s perfect,” he smiled at me over his shoulder, “oh I love it.”

“Wait until we’re inside to decide that,” I laughed and took his hand, pulling him up the porch and unlocking the front door.

“Holy fuck!” he yelled, looking around.

The living room had massive windows that poured natural light into the house, giving us an excellent view outside of the douglas-fir in the front yard. Every wall in the house was a bright white, making everything stark and driving me insane. All of the floors were gray hardwood, and as soon as you walked into the living room, you could see the dining room and kitchen. The kitchen was separated from the living room by a massive granite island that I could place barstools under for a breakfast area. There were black, round, hanging lights above the island, and above where the dining table would be was a modern, black, square chandelier with four round bulbs.

“Like I said, it’s stark, but it’s beautiful,” I poked him in the side, “down that hallway,” I pointed to my left, “is the master bedroom and one more room and bathroom. Down the other is the remaining 3 bedrooms and the garage door. Then,” pulling him into the kitchen, I opened the sliding door to the back patio, “there’s this.”

The back patio was made of cement, similar to the one Kai had in Oregon, but it was four times the size, leading to a fence that separated the backyard from the rest of the land I owned.

“What in the world do you put in pens like that?” Kai pointed off to the metal gating.

“Cows. Horses. That little building close to the gate for the backyard is a chicken coop. You missed a key thing back here though.”

“What?” he looked at me confused.

“That,” spinning him to the right, he gasped softly when he realized what I was showing him.

“Does it work?” he rushed over.

“It does,” I laughed softly.

Kai quickly opened the doors to the gazebo I had shown him, smiling at the jacuzzi inside. There was an outdoor sofa to the right of it and to the left was an empty bar with seating that matched the sofa.

“We have a bit of work to do on the house. We need to repaint, get things set up how we like. I need to hire someone to come out and clear the acre behind the house and clean this as well as check the roof but… what do you think?” I nervously rubbed my neck as Kai came over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“I think… this is the best Christmas gift of my life,” he whispered softly before kissing me.

“No,” I laughed, “This isn’t a gift. This is our home, Kai. Just say yes and it’s ours. It’s already in my name. My parents did it a month ago. I own it. We only have to save 150 a month for the property tax. That’s it. No more struggle, no more wondering how we’ll pay for my leg or your insulin. We can plan a future for ourselves. I know… we’ve been together 5 months but I… I can’t imagine a life without you. We can move as soon as we’re ready. This is ours now Kai.”

“I have good news too,” he kissed me deeply, “I got the money from Haru. It’s plenty to fix up this house, pay off the rest of my debt, get the bookstore and cafe fixed, and still have a good amount in our savings. For our future.”

“How much?”

“Well… it was 3 million split 4 ways. I’m 400 thousand dollars in debt. Shh. Don’t say anything. I’m selling the cafe to Pauline and Maria for 450 thousand. That’ll cover my debt for the cafe and old credit cards and loans and crap like that. Then, the 50 thousand will go into paying off Juniper’s medical bills. That takes care of all of that. So… I’m getting 650 thousand from Haru after taxes. As is Juniper. She could never work a day in her life with Connor working. It’s… finally changing. Everything is finally getting better. I have you to thank for that. Without you… I would still be lost, praying this would happen for me.”

“I…” a tear rolled down my cheek, “oh Kai I’m so happy for you,” I hugged him tightly and he picked me up with ease.

“No. For us. I’m going to add you to my account. So if you need money, you have it. It’s ours now, Shiloh. All of it. I trust you not to steal from me.”

“I… thank you, Kai,” leaning back, I cupped his face and kissed him deeply, “you make me so happy.”

“You make me happy too,” he whispered, “plus I’m pretty sure we’ve drained your savings by now.”

“I still have 20 thousand after the wedding and other things. I did buy all of the outfits and helped my mom with the decorations.”

“Well… no more. Save that to publish your cookbook.”

“You know about that?” I whispered.

“Baby,” Kai laughed softly, setting me down, “I’m the one that carries you to bed when I find you asleep at your desk. I’ve been reading it. It’s really cute. Make more. Finish this one, write that cookbook for kids, and write your romance novel I see you charting out in a notebook. It’ll be amazing. Plus, we own a bookstore. Self-publish and sell it there. We’ll figure it all out.”

“We’ll figure it all out,” I repeated, “are you ready to meet my grandma?”

“Is she scary?”

“Terrifying,” I laughed as he set me down.

We locked up the house and climbed back into the car and I headed to the middle of town, Kai staring out of the window the entire time.

“Do you like it here?” I reached over and squeezed his thigh softly.

“This… this is all I ever wanted. Somewhere sleepy, not a lot of people around. Peaceful. I love it.”

“Good. The bookshop and cafe always did really well, so I’m not worried about us making money. Plus, my grandma is selling us both buildings. Only the property tax and basic bills. No different than the house.”

“That’s… amazing,” he whispered, “oh Shiloh… I…”

“If you tell me you don’t feel like you deserve this, I’m kicking you out of the car,” I laughed softly, pulling into the parking lot in front of the bookshop, “this is it.”

“Turn the Page? I love the name!” he laughed, climbing out and running around to open my door, “what was the cafe called?”

“Thaddeus’ Cakes and Coffee,” I laughed, “Papa was simple.”

“His name sounds like it came from a book.”

Kai followed me into the bookstore and I whistled a soft melody. The melody was returned and my grandmother Kamilla came from behind a shelf, a small smile on her face.

“Shiloh,” she came over slowly, still surprised to see me, “Végre itt vagy!”

“Végre itthon vagyok. Annyira hiányoztál, nagyi,” I hugged her tightly, softly kissing her cheek.

“Az ott Kai?”

“Ez,” I nodded in return and looked at Kai who was clearly confused, “sorry. Grandma is Hungarian. She gets excited when I speak it back. That’s all.”

“Ah. It’s okay,” Kai laughed, “it’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“You as well,” she patted Kai softly on the cheek, “you’re far more attractive than Shiloh explained. Definitely better suited for my favorite grandbaby than William ever was.”

“Nagyi!” I groaned, “don’t…”

“I never knew what William looked like,” Kai shrugged, “nor do I care to know. I have Shiloh and that’s what matters.”

“Very good. Did you see the house?”

“We did. Kai was so excited. We’re going to repaint and fix some stuff up. We’ll probably move in first before we start doing it though. The sooner we can get out of Eugene, the better for both of us."

“Yeah. Maybe March is too late. February might be better,” Kai gently kissed my cheek.

“Well, we have other things to worry about right now. The wedding is first. And,” reaching into my pocket, I grabbed my wallet and handed my grandmother a dollar, “purchasing the buildings.”

“I have the papers right under here,” she walked over to the counter and pulled out two large stacks of documents, “Shiloh, you sign next to your name, Kai you do the same, then trade. I have it so you’re both co-owners of both buildings. It didn’t make sense for it to just be Shiloh.”

“Thank you,” I kissed her cheek again before Kai and I started to fill out what we needed, “alright. I’m done.”

“Me too,” Kai sniffled, “Ma’am are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” my grandmother giggled, “welcome to the family, Kai.”

“Thank you,” he wiped his eyes and I hugged him tightly around the waist.

“Not just the family,” I whispered, looking up at him, “welcome home, Kai.”

“Home is wherever you are, Shiloh. I told you,” he kissed the top of my head, “you are my home.”

“As you are mine.”

We finished up with my grandmother, telling her when to come to the farm tomorrow, and quickly drove back to my parents, Kai bouncing happily the entire time.

The van was gone when we pulled up and we found my mother sitting on the front porch with Cora and Charlotte.

“Where is Pa or Juniper? Connor? Isaac?” I called as soon as I got close.

“They went to the house on Pine. Juniper desperately wanted to see it,” Joanna laughed, “Kai… did you like the house here?”

“I adore it. It’s amazing. But… why is it empty?”

“We bought it years ago for Shiloh and have been modernizing it as time passed. Isaac was always supposed to move to Boston, ironically enough, because of his skill as a hockey player. But… he can’t play anymore. His arm is destroyed. He doesn’t wear the sling because it’s healing. Isaac has no feeling from the elbow down anymore. So without it, his arm swings without him realizing it. The doctor is considering amputating it.”

“Well… we’ll be even more alike if they do,” I shrugged.

“Are you two ready for the wedding tomorrow?” Joanna smiled.

“Oh yes. I’m walking with Juni,” Kai smiled, taking a seat with me on the porch.

“I’ll just go down at some point before you two,” I laughed.

“No,” Joanna shook her head, “here,” she handed me a small envelope and I opened it with a sharp gasp.

“What… the fuck?”