Taking Heart (28 page)

“Are you moving in together then?” Jordan, who had been quietly eating
pie in the corner up until now, asked.

Eric shook his head as he bit his lower lip in amusement. “Wow, this is
not going like I planned.”

“Well just tell us already, you big drama queen,” Jolene said.

Eric sat beside Ren and pressed the metal object into her hand. “I wanted
to give you a key to my apartment. Here. In Chicago.”

Ren's eyes grew wide as understanding dawned on her. “You're moving
here?” Now this was a surprise she had no qualms about.

He nodded and barely contained a grin. “The moving company will be
delivering my stuff in a few weeks. I have to wrap up a few more things in
L.A., then I'll be back here in thirteen days.”

“You’ve kept it a secret all this time?” Lisa asked.

He grinned. “Hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

“No more flying and back and forth across the country? How will I ever
live without the security gates, the crying babies, and the extra fees for
every little thing?” Ren asked theatrically.

Eric wiggled his eyebrows. “Don’t worry, I promise to conduct random
pat-downs whenever necessary.”

Ren studied Eric’s face, his expression so full of excitement, and she
knew then that the time was right. “Come with me,” she said, standing up and
pulling on his hand.

“Where are we going?” Eric asked, allowing Ren to lead him away from the
group.

She kept silent and just pulled him out of the living room, through the
long hallway, and into the dark garage.

“You bought me a car?” he teased.

She flipped on the lights, illuminating the wonderfully cluttered garage.

Eric walked onto the stained concrete floor and looked around. “Is it in
here?”

“Yes. It’s everything,” she said, beaming. “My dad’s tools.”

Eric’s jaw dropped.

“Paul wasn’t ever going to use them, so they’re yours now,” she said,
surprised to find that she was wringing the ends of her sweater sleeves.
“Well?”

“This is generous,” he breathed, his eyes darting around the room.

“Jolene said you could keep them here until you moved them to L.A., but I
guess now you won’t have to.”

He walked over and ran a hand along the dusty lathe. He turned back to
Ren, his eyebrows knitted. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” As she took her place beside the man she loved, his warm
hand grasped tightly in hers, she knew she had never been more certain in her
life.

~
the
end ~

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wilette Youkey is a daydreamer who was born in
the Philippines, raised in Australia, and now calls the United States home. At
the age of ten she penned a short story inspired by a Judy Blume novel and has
been unable to stop writing since.

She has lived on four different continents and
most recently inhabited a 240-year-old castle in rural Germany owned by a Graf.
She now resides in California with her husband, two daughters, and a mini
schnauzer.

Her stories are drawn from dreams, fantasies,
music, and trips through airports. Apart from her lifelong affair with words,
she also loves graphic design, singing in the shower, Dunkin Donuts, and
working out.

If she were a comic book character, she would be
called Shorty Smalls and would have the uncanny ability to grow several inches
on command.

Wilette also writes under the pseudonym
June Gray
.