Titus: Book Two of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Thirty-Four

Finally finished with scrubbing away all the food particles from the white plates, Anna handed the last one over to Titus, watching as he rinsed it before bending over with slightly stiff movements and placing the ceramic into the old dishwasher. When he rose back up again, his face was caught in a wince, his hands moving to rub at the lower part of his back.

“Do you want some ibuprofen?” she asked quietly, already standing on her tip toes to dig the large bottle from its place within the medicine cupboard.

“Yes, please.” He held out his hand, and she popped three pills into the warm palm before he threw them back as if they were candy.

“That bad?”

“Should be better in a few,” he said, smiling that megawatt smile that she would never get sick of seeing.

As if about to say something else, he opened his mouth but was cut short when loud stomping came from the front door and into the kitchen. Two bodies came around the corner, one taller and more muscled, the other a little short and very skinny. It was Thrane and Evan, both with large grins on faces that hardly saw any type of that action.

“Got the fire started.” Thrane clapped his hands together loudly, a devilish gleam in his eyes. “You got any Christmas lights? Ya know, the ones that aren't already up?”

“Back by the shed.” Titus motioned to the very back of the house where a small shed right next to the garden was barely visible by the overhead moonlight.

Still grinning, Thrane and Evan sprinted outside, slamming the sliding glass patio door behind them and leaving her and Titus in silence. He walked past her, digging around in the coat closet at the very beginning of the hallway before coming up with a large navy blue sweatshirt with Eagles in red lettering.

“Here.” He handed it to her. “It's a little cold outside.”

She accepted the heavy, soft material and put it on over her head, trying to – as much as possible – avoid messing up her side braid that her sister, Kalie, had put up in a neat side braid. It felt loose around her frame but comforting all the same, and, just like how she had been doing now more than ever, Anna buried her nose in the aged fabric and took a good, heavy whiff.

Her eyes almost rolled back into her head at just how good this old piece of Titus apparel smelled. She took one more good inhale before following him outside, hand in hand, to where everybody was sitting around the fire. On the ground a few feet away from the blazing warmth were a few thick blankets and some lawn chairs, the chairs being taken up by the old parents and the blankets being left for them.

She followed Titus onto a soft, plaid rectangle of padding and sat down next to him, hand feeling secure in his as they stared into the fire where a few dying marshmallows were still burning up on the blackened logs. The soft chatter of the two kids and the rest of their families filled the silence of the night air, introducing an inner warmth into the cold, night air.

Toying around with the beautifully simple necklace had given her, Anna's ears turned into her parents' conversation and then Callie's and Ashton's before focusing on one noise that seemed louder than all the others. It was the sound of Titus's quiet breaths. In and out they went through his nose, and in and out they captured her mind until all she could focus on was him.

The heat from the fire soon disappeared from her thoughts, and everybody disappeared. It was as if they were in their own little world. She didn't ever want to leave this place. Even with the wind that somehow managed to invade the thick fabric of Titus's sweatshirt, it just felt right. It felt comfortable being here with him and having her fingers interlaced within his.