“Hey,” Samantha greeted him, and Elijah looked up to see her standing in the doorway.
“Hey.”
“What are you doing?” she asked, moving farther into the room.
“I was…” Elijah glanced down at the box, then back up at her. “I don’t want to leave them in the box.”
Sam reached down, pulling open one of the flaps to peer inside. She squatted down on her haunches beside the box and looked up at him.
Elijah had a difficult time looking at her at the moment.
“These are your pictures of Beth.”
Yeah, they were. And they’d been sitting in that box for the last week, ever since he had moved. Well, technically, they had moved. It wasn’t long after their night together at Devotion when they’d checked out that swing for the second time that they had decided to take their relationship to the next level. And that meant moving in together.
But, apparently, somewhere along the way, Sam had found a house. Well, more like Sierra had found them a house, dangerously close to her own. After a lot of discussion, Logan had finally told them he was ready to move. He was quite impressed with the house they’d looked at and he liked the concept of it becoming their house.
The three of them.
Not Logan’s. Not Sam’s. Not Elijah’s.
Logan had felt it best to start anew.
So, they’d bought the house. Granted, the deed was in Logan’s and Sam’s names, but there was a contract that reflected Elijah’s partial ownership.
And now they had a house. With two complete master bedrooms. Sam and Logan were in one, Elijah in the other, although there were plenty of nights when Sam would join him in his bed. Sometimes just for a little while, sometimes all night.
And of course, there was a third room which they’d turned into a playroom. Fully equipped with yes, another king sized bed. That way, they could all sleep in the same room if they chose to. Oh, and a swing. They couldn’t forget the swing.
So yes, this new house – new to them anyway – was the perfect setup. At least it had been for the last week, since they officially moved in.
Hence, the reason Elijah was still unpacking.
“I was thinking…” Sam said, bringing Elijah’s attention back to her. “We kind of set aside a place for these pictures. If you don’t want them there, that’s fine, but I thought you’d want to show them off. Beth’s a part of you; therefore, she’s a part of us.”
Elijah just stared back at Sam, unsure what to say.
“Come here,” she told him as she rose to her feet after taking one of the pictures from the box. When she took his hand, he relented and pushed to his feet.
He followed her into the living room where Logan was sitting on the couch watching television. When they walked in, he grabbed the remote and shut it off. Sam led Elijah over to the set of floor to ceiling bookshelves that lined one wall while Logan came to his feet. The bookshelf was already filled with books, but there were several shelves that had been decorated with vases and trinkets, and yes, picture frames.
There were pictures of Logan and Sam’s wedding, some of Sam’s parents, Logan’s parents, Logan’s grandfather and pictures of Luke, Sierra, Cole and Hannah. He noticed a recent one of the three of them, taken by Sierra when they’d come to look at the house for the very first time. There were also several empty spaces, and Sam set Beth’s picture in one of the spots.
“I made room for all of them,” she told him now.
Elijah didn’t know what to say. Sam must’ve realized he was a little choked up because she walked right up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Elijah buried his face in her neck, holding onto her just as tightly.
Logan’s hand rested on his shoulder again. Elijah had learned that was Logan’s way of showing his support. Just a show of solidarity, letting him know that he was there.
“Thank you, Sam,” he whispered long minutes later.
“I’m not sure what you’re thanking me for, but you’re welcome.”
Elijah smiled at that, lifting his head and cupping her face in his hands. “Thank you for loving me. For knowing just what I need.”
Sam smiled too as she glanced between the two of them. “Sometimes it takes more than one person to complete us. I’ve realized that now. The people who come into our lives affect us; they mold us into who we will become. Logan taught me what love is. And I’m grateful to Beth. Through her, you learned what love is. And because of them, we get to share a little bit of that love with each other.”
Elijah stared into Sam’s eyes; the emotion he saw there stole his breath. “It’s more than a little, Sam. Definitely more than a little.”