I squeezed him into an unexpected hug, and he stopped our movement to hug me back. Here we were in the center of town, hugging like it was nothing. I wondered if it bothered him to have the rumor mill seeing this. “This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time. Thank you,” I said. He stiffened in my arms and made a soft sound of understanding. He didn’t need to speak, he just needed to know that I was thankful for his kindness.
