very bland for a man with such a huge personality.
“Interesting,
what would you have seen?”
“I’m not
sure. Something smaller, more homey for sure? I like
your house.”
Kansas
snorted. “Next to this place what I have is a shanty. You could fit my entire
house into your garage.”
“You’re
exaggerating. Plus, your home really feels like you. I see your touches
everywhere, and the minute I step inside the door the outside world fades
away.”
“And you said Dex Kimber had all the
lines.”
“ Hmph .” The smile that twitched the corner of his mouth
upward belied his amusement.
“It’s your
place now, so you can do whatever you want with it.”
He took her
hand and led her over to the couch where they collapsed. “It’s ours.”
She squirmed
in her seat.
“You aren’t
reneging on your promise, are you?” he asked.
“No,
Crowley.”
“What?”
“Just
a deal-maker from another sitcom.”
“Did you just
compare me to a demon?”
“No … maybe.”
He snickered.
“Labels make
me …. rashy .”
“Why?”
“Because
they always seem to cause problems. Dad said he and Mom
were happy until they got married, and I’ve seen the phenomenon happen a
million times. Friends who’ve dated forever get married, and a few years later,
the big D.”
“There could
be a million different reasons. They grew apart, never really knew each other
to begin with, or maybe they just didn’t make time for one another.”
“How can you
be so confident in the success of marriage when we live in a world that has
more broken homes, step-families, and single parents than ever before. ”
“Because I
was taught anything is possible if you’re willing to work hard enough. I mean
look at me. I started out doing local commercials, and now I have a lead role
on Paranormal Investigation . If I
could do that, I refuse to believe I can’t make a marriage work with the woman
I love.”
“You love me
now, but what if I change?”
“Change is
inevitable. The key is to do it in tandem,” said Jett. “Your eyes say you think
I’m full of shit.”
“No, I think
you’re incredibly optimistic.”
“The nice way
of saying naïve, you think we’re doomed.”
“No,
not necessarily.” She sighed. “I’m just … cautious.”
“I can’t
blame you with your parents, but it makes me sad. I want you to see the beauty
committing yourself to one person and sticking with them through thick and thin
can be. I’m not saying it’s easy. My parents have had some knock-down, drag-out
fights, not seen eye to eye, and gone through periods where they loved each
other but weren’t madly in love the way they had been before.”
“What’s their
secret? How did they get through everything?”
“They took
their vows seriously, worked through each obstacle in the road, and in their
words came out stronger for it.”
She shook her
head. What would it have been like to
grow up with them for an example?
“You know,
after everything with Lis I’d begun to think my ship
had wrecked on the reef, and there was no coming back. I thought maybe it was
the price I’d pay for being so successful.”
“Really? You always
seem so upbeat and positive.”
“Yeah, after
I met you.” He glanced up and met her eyes, taking her hand. “Before that day I
was a wreck. Skirting the edge of clinical depression, I wasn’t eating enough,
sleeping enough, every day I got up and found myself sucker-punched with the
fact that I was on my own. Everyone thought it was a broken heart, but it was
more than that. I had to figure out who I was without her.”
“How do you
mean?”
“When all
this insanity started to happen she was there for me. An anchor to my old life,
and the person I was raised to be. With her gone I got excessive, drank too
much, dated too much, got wild. After too many times
waking up feeling like dog shit scraped off the bottom of someone’s shoe I knew
it wasn’t what I wanted for myself. Which left me
“Interesting,
what would you have seen?”
“I’m not
sure. Something smaller, more homey for sure? I like
your house.”
Kansas
snorted. “Next to this place what I have is a shanty. You could fit my entire
house into your garage.”
“You’re
exaggerating. Plus, your home really feels like you. I see your touches
everywhere, and the minute I step inside the door the outside world fades
away.”
“And you said Dex Kimber had all the
lines.”
“ Hmph .” The smile that twitched the corner of his mouth
upward belied his amusement.
“It’s your
place now, so you can do whatever you want with it.”
He took her
hand and led her over to the couch where they collapsed. “It’s ours.”
She squirmed
in her seat.
“You aren’t
reneging on your promise, are you?” he asked.
“No,
Crowley.”
“What?”
“Just
a deal-maker from another sitcom.”
“Did you just
compare me to a demon?”
“No … maybe.”
He snickered.
“Labels make
me …. rashy .”
“Why?”
“Because
they always seem to cause problems. Dad said he and Mom
were happy until they got married, and I’ve seen the phenomenon happen a
million times. Friends who’ve dated forever get married, and a few years later,
the big D.”
“There could
be a million different reasons. They grew apart, never really knew each other
to begin with, or maybe they just didn’t make time for one another.”
“How can you
be so confident in the success of marriage when we live in a world that has
more broken homes, step-families, and single parents than ever before. ”
“Because I
was taught anything is possible if you’re willing to work hard enough. I mean
look at me. I started out doing local commercials, and now I have a lead role
on Paranormal Investigation . If I
could do that, I refuse to believe I can’t make a marriage work with the woman
I love.”
“You love me
now, but what if I change?”
“Change is
inevitable. The key is to do it in tandem,” said Jett. “Your eyes say you think
I’m full of shit.”
“No, I think
you’re incredibly optimistic.”
“The nice way
of saying naïve, you think we’re doomed.”
“No,
not necessarily.” She sighed. “I’m just … cautious.”
“I can’t
blame you with your parents, but it makes me sad. I want you to see the beauty
committing yourself to one person and sticking with them through thick and thin
can be. I’m not saying it’s easy. My parents have had some knock-down, drag-out
fights, not seen eye to eye, and gone through periods where they loved each
other but weren’t madly in love the way they had been before.”
“What’s their
secret? How did they get through everything?”
“They took
their vows seriously, worked through each obstacle in the road, and in their
words came out stronger for it.”
She shook her
head. What would it have been like to
grow up with them for an example?
“You know,
after everything with Lis I’d begun to think my ship
had wrecked on the reef, and there was no coming back. I thought maybe it was
the price I’d pay for being so successful.”
“Really? You always
seem so upbeat and positive.”
“Yeah, after
I met you.” He glanced up and met her eyes, taking her hand. “Before that day I
was a wreck. Skirting the edge of clinical depression, I wasn’t eating enough,
sleeping enough, every day I got up and found myself sucker-punched with the
fact that I was on my own. Everyone thought it was a broken heart, but it was
more than that. I had to figure out who I was without her.”
“How do you
mean?”
“When all
this insanity started to happen she was there for me. An anchor to my old life,
and the person I was raised to be. With her gone I got excessive, drank too
much, dated too much, got wild. After too many times
waking up feeling like dog shit scraped off the bottom of someone’s shoe I knew
it wasn’t what I wanted for myself. Which left me