Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 48550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
“Sorry. I didn’t mean for you to have to carry me,” she apologized.
“Little girls need to learn that Daddies have their own way of caring for those they love. You also have to trust me,” he stressed, taking the blanket back from her.
“I’m not used to someone being in my life... You know, with that big of a presence,” she tried to explain.
“Is it unpleasant?” he probed, watching her expressions.
Amber paused to think for a fraction of a second. “No. It feels good. It just isn’t what I’m used to,” she explained.
“Time will take care of that,” he said and smiled at her. Rio reached out a hand to gently tuck a few strands of hair from her face. “Damn, I’m glad we have another chance together now. Let’s make the most of it.”
Nodding, Amber stepped forward to hug him tightly. “I think that’s a very good idea.”
“Let’s go up and look from your spot,” he suggested, kissing the top of her head as he squeezed her to his hard frame.
“I bet it’s unbelievable there,” she predicted.
Every few minutes, she turned around to look down the hill to check if they were in the best spot yet. Just below the highest point of the rise, Amber knew she had found the place.
“Here, Rio. I think this is best.”
“Let’s try it out,” he suggested and spread out the blanket.
“Oh, I know this pattern. My grandmother had one on her bed. It’s a wedding ring quilt. How did you get this?”
“A neighbor gave it to me a few years ago. Her kids didn’t want it and she couldn’t stand for it to go to a landfill or be torn apart for rags. Tessa made the quilt for her wedding and used it every day for seventy years until her husband passed away.”
“Oh, we shouldn’t put it on the ground then. It’s a collector’s item,” Amber said, leaning down to pick it up.
Rio stopped her by capturing her hands and holding them. He looked deep in her eyes and said, “It’s okay, baby. Tessa would only give it to me if I promised to use it. She knew it wouldn’t last forever and wanted someone else to have happy memories because of it.”
“Oh,” Amber said and felt tears well into her eyes.
“Tessa is gone now?” she guessed. Even after all these years of being a nurse, she felt the passing of others.
“She is. Died in her sleep the next night. She didn’t have to go to the nursing home that was the next step for her. Tessa already told me she was ready to rejoin her husband whenever her time came,” Rio shared before squeezing Amber’s hands to comfort her.
“So, we use the quilt. We enjoy it and if it’s still around when our adventures are done and still has more life in the fabric, we pass it on,” he stated firmly.
Without another word, Amber toed off her shoes and stepped onto the soft material. Sitting, she leaned over to unlace Rio’s boots in a wordless request.
“Okay, Ella. We’ll do it your way,” he allowed, leaving his boots on the grass and stepping onto the material in his bright crimson socks.
“Red?” she asked, feeling herself smirk. He didn’t seem like a man who would wear red socks.
“All my socks are red.”
“Really? Just your personal flair?”
“A subtle reminder to myself of what I was missing,” he answered, reaching down to tug on her still vibrant auburn hair.
She stared at him without knowing what to say as her heart skipped a beat inside her chest. Amber clasped her hands together and pressed them against her breastbone as her emotions whirled inside her. Surely that couldn’t be true, yet somehow, she knew it was.
As she thought about his revelation, Rio settled behind her and effortlessly lifted Amber to sit with her back against his chest within the circle of his legs. He pressed a kiss against her hair before wrapping his arms around her torso to hold her close.
“What do you think?” he asked, waving a hand across the vista before them.
Staring off into the beauty that unfurled in front of their gaze, Amber leaned back against the rock-hard strength that supported her. “Oh, Rio. It’s gorgeous. I’d give up coffee to see this view every morning. No, that’s a lie. I’d want a cup of coffee to enjoy as I sit and devour this view.”
Rio laughed softly against her ear. The deep sound sent shivers down her spine. Is there anything about him that isn’t pure male hotness?
His arms hugged her tight before relaxing slightly. “I thought I’d searched every inch of this property looking for the perfect site to build my house, but this is a better location than anything I’ve discovered. Leave it to you to find it for us.”
“For us?” Amber picked up on that last statement and twisted in his arms to look at him.