Chapter 59

• They’d left the hill behind ‘em, the oak tree still hummin’ with half the town’s gossip floatin’ off into the dusk while her brothers loaded up leftover pie and her daddy whispered she’s yours now like Beau didn’t already know that deep in his ribs. They’d laughed all the way up the slope — Sadie’s bare feet kickin’ dust off the new steps Beau had scrubbed down that morning just so her white dress wouldn’t catch a single mark.
• Inside, the hush was sweeter than the hush outside — warm wood, fresh paint, candles flickerin’ off walls he’d braced twice to make sure nothin’ creaked that shouldn’t. He’d patched the roof three times just so he’d never wake up to a leak drip-drip-drippin’ on her soft hair while she curled into him at dawn.
• The bed sat right in the middle — big, wide, the headboard a thick slab of pine he’d sanded himself. No fancy frills — just strong enough to hold the weight of Sadie ridin’ him into the floor if she felt mean enough.