Begin Again (Again #1)(84)

I wasn’t disappointed.

My rushed scrabbling into the box grew slower: I brushed the Styrofoam packing peanuts aside.

Picture frames. All sorts of different colors and sizes, some with bright patterns and made of different material. But it wasn’t the frames that held my gaze. It was the photos.

Some of the smaller frames held selfies I’d made with Dawn and pictures of me with Scott and Dawn. One glance was enough to make me laugh.

Then there were three medium-sized frames. The first held a black and white photograph of Kaden, Spencer, and me, taken by Monica.

The second image was of Kaden and me. Whoever took it had snapped the shutter at just the right moment: I was sticking out my tongue and Kaden was laughing. I traced my finger across the picture. Those laugh lines made my heart beat fast.

In the third frame was the photo I’d taken of Kaden and me in Portland. Each of us held up an album cover to make it look like the face on the cover was our own. We’d laughed so hard that day, I remember my stomach hurting. It was one of the best days of my life.

And then I dug out the largest frame from the box. It was huge and heavy on my lap. Turning it over, I caught my breath.

It was me. When did he snap this? I sat on the viewing platform looking down into the valley, leaning back on my arms. My hair was wild and windblown; the sky was a mix of red, purple, and orange.

Directly above me was a word in curvy letters.

Freedom.

In one image, Kaden had captured the feeling I had each time we were on the mountain. And I hadn’t noticed. He must have known how much it meant to me.

My eyes were burning with tears, but I was smiling. What a beautiful gift. Attentive, thoughtful, fantastic. I stroked the frames and wished I could hang them all up right now.

But first I had to call Kaden. I grabbed my phone and typed in his number.

“Bubbles.” Somehow the idiotic nickname didn’t bother me anymore.

“Thanks for the pictures.” I paused. My voice betrayed my emotions. Captivated. Excited. Happy. “I don’t even know what to say. They’re wonderful.”

“You’re crying,” Kaden said, with what sounded like a grin. “I actually wanted to make you smile. Is this a good sign or a bad sign?”

Now I had to laugh. “One hundred percent good. But you can’t dump all those frames on me and expect me to hang them up all by myself. Well?”

There was noise in the background, and Kaden cursed. “I stood up so fast that I tripped.”

Laughing, I dabbed at the corners of my eyes.

“I injure myself, and all you can do is laugh,” Kaden grumbled, though he was clearly happy about my call. “I’ll be there in ten minutes?”

It sounded like a question, and I nodded back before remembering that he couldn’t see me.

“Sounds good,” I said, my heart full.

When the doorbell rang, it was all I could do not to run to open it. Still, I was breathless when I saw him standing there.

Kaden gave me his crooked smile and lifted up his toolbox. He walked past me into the living room and pivoted to face me. “So,” he began. “Where do you want the photo wall?”

I followed him into the room, unable to focus on the photos. I wanted to pounce on him, drag him into my bedroom, and smother him with kisses.

“Bubbles?” His deep voice brought me back to this world, and I looked up at him, flushed.

“Yeah?”

“You weren’t paying attention.”

“Sorry.”

“How about here?” he asked, waving his hand toward the wall behind the sofa.

“I don’t know,” I hesitated. “Maybe in the bedroom?”

“You don’t want to hang them in the bedroom, so I’m not even going to take them in there,” Kaden said confidently.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I know you,” he murmured, taking a folding yardstick out of his toolbox. He turned and looked at me. “I’d suggest we raise them up higher. Otherwise if you lean your head back, you’ll hit them. What do you think?”

I nodded. It made sense.

“In what order should we hang them?”

Looking at the photos, I tried out a few options in my head. “Kind of random, not in a row.”

Kaden nodded. “Why don’t you arrange them while I look for the right nails.”

Laying the photos on the floor, I shifted them around until I found a cute arrangement.

“What do you think?” I asked Kaden. He stepped behind me and looked over my shoulder. My heartbeat sped up.

“Looks good. Maybe a little more distance between them?” he mused. “The wall is pretty wide, and we don’t want them to look squished together.”

“I trust you.” I tilted my head back and looked up at him.

For a second he seemed confused, but then smiled, content. Then he got to work. He climbed on the couch and started hammering nails into the wall, while I handed him the frames. After checking with a level to see that the second frame was straight, Kaden asked me to hold the hammer while he took off his sweater. As he pulled it over his head, his shirtsleeve inched up his arm.

“Wait.”

The word burst out of my mouth. I stared at Kaden’s raised arm. His shoulders tightened, and he tried to lower his arm, but I grabbed him and turned him so I could see the inside of his bicep. It was fresh, black lettering.