Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 85157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
He frowned again, dimples deepening in his face. “Yeah.”
“Well, when I said no to you…I lied. Beau is…” My boyfriend, my lover. None of them carried enough meat to them. They didn’t feel strong enough. “We’re together, and I love him.”
“Okay… That makes me happy. I want you and Beau to be together. I want you for a brother. But I don’t understand why you would lie about it.”
No, he wouldn’t, because he was so open, so honest. I could learn a lot from him. “It’s tough to explain. Things aren’t always simple.”
“But you love him. Why can’t that be simple?”
I ran a hand over my face, unsure of how to answer. “It should be. I wish it was. But this is new for me, and I’m still trying to work through it.”
“But you love Beau and he loves you?” Kenny asked.
“Yeah, I think so. I know how I feel.” Beau had said he felt the same.
“Then I still don’t understand why it’s not that simple.”
A million different replies ran through my head, but they were all excuses. In the end, all I could give him was the truth. “I don’t either, K-man. But I’m trying, and until then, I need you to do me a favor and keep it a secret. I didn’t want to lie to you about it anymore. It’s not fair to you or Beau, but I’m not…I’m not ready for anyone else to know.”
“When will you be?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Okay.” Kenny grinned. “I can keep a secret. And I have a new brother!” His joy radiated from him, blinding me. I tried to keep up, but I couldn’t. If somehow we could contain Kenny’s passion for the world, everything would be okay.
Right then, everything felt better than okay—it felt perfect.
“Can you keep one more secret for me? I had a meeting today I want to tell you about,” I asked him, and when he nodded, I leaned forward and told him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Beau
Beau is in love! ~ Love, Kenny
My hands tightened on the steering wheel. My stomach rolled over and over, and for a moment, I thought I might have to pull over and vomit.
I’d just finished my shower after work when I’d gotten the call, and since then it felt as if I lived in some sort of parallel dimension. Like I was floating, flying, dizzy, and yeah, strangely sick too.
I was going to fucking kill him.
Jesus, I fucking loved him.
I hardly had the truck parked in his driveway before I jumped out, engine off but keys inside. I never knocked anymore, and he never locked the door, so after skipping stairs to get onto the porch, I shoved the door open and stepped inside.
Ash sat on the gray couch, his hair wet as though he’d just gotten out of the shower, wearing a pair of jeans and a tee and my damn hat backward on his head. His legs were spread, the television remote on his lap. He looked up at me, his blue eyes snagging on mine…and grinned.
“You bought a fucking football field for me, Ash.”
“Who says it was me? From what I heard, it was an anonymous sale.”
I took a step closer, then another and another. “You bought a football field for me, Ash.” My heart pounded in my ears, making everything sound like an echo.
“So? I also came out to Kenny and your mom today too. They know you’re head over heels for me.”
I knew he expected me to make some kind of comment about him being the one who was crazy about me, but I didn’t. I couldn’t because what he said was true. Not because he’d bought the field, but because he was Ash…my Ash, and he probably always had been. “You’re right…I am. You really told them?”
Another step, then another and another.
“I did.” He nodded. “And it wasn’t so hard. They were okay with it. That may sound stupid, because they love you and I know they’re not bigots, but—”
“It doesn’t sound stupid. It sounds human.” Whether we wanted to admit it or not, we all wanted to be accepted, to be loved for who we were. And everyone was scared of not being just that.
Suddenly, I could breathe. It was as if I was caught up in a whirlwind of Ash…this beautiful fucking man who seemed to have all the confidence in the world, but was sweet and vulnerable. And yeah, sexy as hell, but what really got me was his heart. “Why would you do that? It wasn’t cheap. I can pay you back, but—”
“Shut up, Campbell. I don’t want your money.”
“What do you want?” He didn’t speak until I stood right in front of him, between his spread thighs.
“You.”
“You had me before this. You’ve always had me, you fucker. From the moment you kissed me on that dock, you’ve had me.”