Caleb

Chapter Fifty Six

Her laughter danced around him in the evening air until she finally settled herself into his lap as she recovered from her laughing fit.

"My sides hurt." Lainey said breathlessly as she clutched at her abdomen with her head in his lap. 

"Glad my misfortune could provide you with some entertainment," Caleb joked with a smile looking down at the perfect woman as she laid her head in his lap, letting her hair drape over one of his legs. She was so beautiful and so perfect in that moment Caleb wished he could have captured it and saved it somewhere special. 

Jesus. Life is so fucking good.

He sat an admired her for a second or two before turning his gaze up to the sky and closing his eyes briefly. 

"What are you thinking about?" Lainey hummed as she laid her head in his lap and looked up at him.

"Nothin'" Caleb said with a smirk, running his hand through her dark hairline.

"Liar." she sassed with a smile that showed her perfect teeth.

God she's so damn beautiful.

"I was just thinkin' about how much I love this...how much I love you." he said honestly.

Lainey's smile grew even wider, causing her eyes to squint and her nose to wrinkle.

"I love you too, and I love it here." she said with a sigh, turning her head in his lap toward the pasture.

I love having you here Lainey girl.

"What do you love most about being here?" he asked, running his hand from her hairline, down through her long wavy locks. He could tell she liked his hands in her hair from her soft hums and the way her eyes would close slowly ever so often like she was completely at peace. Caleb kept the pace of his hand slow and rhythmic hoping to keep her in that state as long as possible.

"Everything. To be honest. I love how tranquil and serene it is here. There are jobs to be done, but they are straight forward and doable. Every task has a solution and at the end of the day everything just feels right, just feels peaceful." Lainey said with her eyes closed and a smile on her lips.

"Not to mention how much I love your family." Lainey added with her smile growing wider.

"They love you too Lainey girl. Maybe even more than they love me, so I gotta keep an eye on that." he chuckled.

"This place has always been my home, but it hasn't felt this much like home since...well since my mother was here." Caleb's words caused Lainey's eyes to open and her smile faded slightly with a look of concern.

She sat up and moved, causing Caleb to swivel his head to try and track her quick movement in an effort to figure out where she was going. Lainey had moved herself behind him and braced her back against a tree at the edge of their blanket. Patting the ground in front of her, as an unspoken invitation, she opened her arms out wide, inviting him to sit between her legs and lean back on her, sitting in the same comforting position that he had provided for her so many times before.

He couldn't help but smile at her invitation and scooted his large body back until his head was resting on her small shoulder. Using one elbow to secretly prop himself up, he leaned back against her, letting his elbow take most of his body weight.

She wrapped her arms around him from behind and squeezed him tight before she spoke.

"It's so obvious how much everyone here loves your mother Caleb. I never got to meet her, but even I can feel her here." Lainey said into his ear.