Just Like That (The Kings)

The beach was dark as waves crashed ashore. The sky was a riot of navy and indigo as pinpoints of starlight scattered as far as the eye could see. My wild and restless spirit loved how insignificant the expanse of Lake Michigan could make me feel.

A small fire crackled beside me as I shuffled my tarot deck. The breeze had a biting chill in it, and I pulled my sweater tighter across my chest.

Footsteps drew my attention and I smiled as JP, with his pants cuffed and feet bare, walked toward me.

“Hey, handsome.” I grinned at him as he drew closer.

“Gorgeous.”

My skin heated, not from the fire, but from how special he always made me feel. “He’s out cold up there, but did request a good night kiss when you’re done.”

I smiled and nodded. Having a partner was gloriously unexpected, and JP carried the weight of caretaking seriously. Tuck-ins had become a very big deal in the King–Adams household.

I exhaled a contented sigh and continued shuffling, trying to focus my attention on the deck.

The sound of a picture being taken had me looking up. Shyness crept over me as my cheeks heated. “What are you doing?”

JP shrugged and slipped his phone into the pocket of his pants. “Remembering this moment.”

I looked around. We spent every evening together, some at the house and others, like tonight, at the beach, savoring it before it got too cold to enjoy.

“Why?” I teased.

He paused, considering, before offering a simple shrug. “I don’t know. I guess thirty years from now I want to look back and think, God, we were so young. I want to watch your hair go from copper to silver. I want to watch your laugh lines deepen, knowing I put a few of them there. I want to capture every second, and when you look back at the pictures, I want you to recognize that the love I had for you then is the same unrelenting love I have for you right now.”

I struggled to find any words—to even breathe.

JP sat behind me, plopping a kiss into my hair and wrapping his arms around me. “You okay?” he asked.

I nodded, fighting tears. “Just really happy, that’s all.”

“Good.” He kissed my neck. “So what question are we asking the universe tonight?”

I laughed lightly as my hands split and rearranged the deck. I sighed, “I don’t know. It’s always the same—who am I? What do I need to learn?”

He hummed. “You don’t need those cards to tell you who you are.”

I smirked. “And who am I?”

His arms squeezed as his rough voice tickled my neck. “You’re just a romantic, slightly witchy optimist who always believes people can be better. What you may not realize is that people are better because of you. That’s really what your gift is.”

His chin rested on my shoulder as his words warmed me. “We’re just lucky enough to be in your glow.”

JP eased back on the bench and gripped my hips, moving me so I could turn and face him. I draped my legs over his and scooted forward, wrapping my arms around his neck.

His stormy eyes were dark and intense in the dim lighting. My skin hummed at every point of contact.

“Did your cards see this coming?” JP smirked before fishing something out of his pocket and holding it up.

My breath caught. Between his fingers, JP held a slim gold band. Perched on top was an obscenely large hexagon-shaped stone. The center stone was a deep and moody peacock blue, and each side had a cluster of three diamonds.

“JP,” I whispered in utter shock.

His jaw flexed as he reined in his emotions. “Hazel Adams, be my wife.”

“That’s not a question.” I laughed through the tears that tightened my throat.

JP smirked as he grabbed my left hand. “That’s because I’m not asking.” He slipped the ring onto my finger—a perfect fit. “Be my wife.” His forehead dropped to mine. “Walk this life by my side. Make me earn your love and respect every day. I promise you, I will. Let me show you how much I love you and Teddy with every breath. Be my wife. I’m not asking, I’m begging.”

My arms clung to him as a sob broke free. “Yes. Yes!” I giggled as shock and emotion took over. “You said you don’t make promises if you can’t deliver, right?”

He grinned. “That’s right. But I promise you right now, you will never regret becoming my wife.”

I leaned back, pressing a hand to my mouth and finally looking at the ring. JP was grinning as he took my hand and looked at the engagement ring himself. “It’s alexandrite—symbolizing fortune, luck, and embracing change. It’s considered a mystical stone because under incandescent light, it completely transforms. So it’s like me, when I’m near you. The king who fell from the tower, only to realize you were the exact change I needed.”

“It couldn’t be more perfect.” I peppered his face with kisses as he laughed and stood, taking me with him. He spun, kicking up sand as we twirled and laughed like lovestruck teenagers. He set me on my feet and an uptick of giddiness zipped through me.

One black eyebrow on his forehead arched higher as a mischievous grin eased across my lips.

He knew exactly what I was up to.

Suppressing a smile, he lowered his voice. “Run.”

With a contented smile, I had dug my sister’s ashes out of the cabinet in the skoolie. Together we laid her to rest on the beautiful hillside at Sullivan Farms, where Teddy could always visit her. Duke and Sylvie were kind enough to allow Teddy to choose the location, and he’d opted for a sunny area close to a soaring oak tree.

Both Kings and Sullivans were present. When I asked JP about it, he shrugged and said, “I guess we’re all family now.”

I knew he still thought it was odd, but I loved that my little family had expanded from only Teddy and me to JP, his siblings, and all the Sullivans. They were a large, rowdy group, but no one could say they didn’t show up when people they loved needed it.

I’d never seen JP hugged so many times, and it made me laugh to think about how much he probably hated it.

I found it all to be very endearing.

Many tears were shed, and after I’d given a heartfelt, though rambling, eulogy, Teddy had asked to talk with his mom alone.

Choked with emotion, I nodded and gave him space.

His cheeks were splotchy when he walked down from the hill, but in a way, his shoulders seemed lighter—a little less burdened somehow.

JP and I had decided that finding a child and family therapist would help us all navigate our grief, and we were looking forward to our first family session next week.

Sylvie had used the opportunity to open her home for an extended family dinner. Their simple farmhouse was bursting at the seams, but the fire made it cozy, and I listened as conversations folded over one another.

When JP walked up to Duke Sullivan, curiosity got the best of me and I scooted closer to eavesdrop on their conversation.

JP crossed his arms. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the blueberry farming industry.”

Duke’s skeptical eyebrows shot up. “Thinking of trading in that suit for some dirty jeans?”

“Fuck no.” JP scoffed but immediately looked around to see if any of the kids had heard him. He shook his head. “I’m thinking about a producer-owned, berry-growing-and-marketing cooperative.”

Duke’s head tilted. “A co-op?”

“Of sorts.” JP grinned. “I’ve been watching the numbers, and the local growers are cannibalizing sales. You’re all fighting for the same consumers, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Michigan is unlike anywhere else in the world. You have what people need.”

Duke’s lips formed a stern line, and I smiled at how good JP was at his job.

“I’m listening,” Duke said.

“So here’s what I’m thinking,” JP continued. “A producer-owned company, under a unified brand. Marketing is streamlined, profits are consolidated. A bad crop for one family is no longer as devastating because another farm is picking up the slack. I’m talking diversity in varieties, a plant-breeding program, expansion into the frozen-food market. With enough leverage, this could be a massive win for the farmers of Western Michigan.”

Duke nodded along, and an excited shiver danced through me. JP and Veda had worked tirelessly on the pitch. They were equally confident that the new business venture would not only be wildly successful, but truly beneficial to the dying art of family farming.

I was so proud of him. He was a good man, trying to do incredible things for people he cared about.

I walked around, making small talk and observing the loud, blended family before me. For so long I had wandered—searching for something I couldn’t quite name. I felt at ease, knowing my wandering days were behind me. I had even had a little pitch of my own up my sleeve.

I had learned that the little shop downtown that had once held Annie’s pottery studio was still empty. JP didn’t know it yet, but our visit to Conca dei Marini and learning about the Janare witches had gotten my wheels turning.

Luna was right—there was a need in Outtatowner for a little witchy magic, and the idea of my own apothecary boutique had already taken root.

I smiled as I watched Teddy wrap his arms around JP, and they mirrored each other with stern nods and animated frowns as they spoke.

My heart squeezed.

After Teddy dropped into my life, I was more determined than ever to get things right.

Then JP came along, and just like that, we were home.