Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“Would you like me to go to the party with you, Gideon?” she asked quietly, all the outrage of just a few moments ago completely gone from her voice.
He swallowed and then nodded. “Like I said before, I can’t think of anything I’d like more.”
“Then I’ll go with you.”
His arm settled around her shoulder again as he shifted to stand beside her, and he tugged her to his side. He dropped a sweet kiss to the top of her head, and his muted thank you ruffled her hair.
They could hear the boys’ excited raised voices coming from inside the house and Beth grimaced, hoping the poor spider wasn’t being terrorized. But her fears were unfounded. When the two kids emerged from her house, Finn was holding that plastic box as if it contained a priceless treasure.
“She was really easy to catch,” Grady said with a slight lisp. “She’s very fat, I think she’s going to lay some eggs soon.”
And didn’t that fact just make Beth feel a little queasy? What if Mama Spider had decided that Beth’s bathroom was a great place to settle down and have her babies?
Grady continued happily, “We’ll put her in the peach tree and she can build a nice nest. Then we can watch her babies being born.”
“Rain spiders have the coolest nests,” Finn enthused. And Grady nodded in agreement.
“I’ll walk these two home,” Gideon said with a grin.
Beth nodded. “Thank you so much, boys. Next time I make cupcakes, I’ll set a whole tray aside for you.”
“Awesome! Thanks Miss Finch,” Grady said, and his brother made a happy sound of agreement.
“I’ll be right back,” Gideon promised, and Beth watched them walk away. The boys were so excited, they were practically bouncing.
Gideon would be right back? So he wasn’t going home?
Beth wasn’t sure what to make of that. Maybe he wanted to talk about the engagement party or something.
She glanced up at her house, did a double take, and backed away to get a clearer view.
“No,” she whispered in horror, before backing all the way across the road, coming to a halt in front of Gideon’s gate. Her house was elevated, so she couldn’t see directly into her living room window from the street, but she could see enough to know that, with the lights on, every detail of the upper half of the living room and kitchen was visible through the lacy curtains.
She opened Gideon’s gate and took the four steps up to his porch where she had watched him work out so many mornings. A half-empty beer bottle sat on the round table next to the rocking chair. She touched the bottle. Still cold.
She sat on the chair and stared directly into her living room and kitchen. She could see everything. The couch she lounged on while watching tv every evening, the kitchen, and to the left, separate from her living area, the darkened window of her office.
Her hand went to her mouth as she somewhat bewilderedly registered that he must have been sitting right here when she’d texted him earlier. Right here and—she cast her eyes about desperately—there wasn’t a book or sketchpad in sight. Unless he’d been texting somebody—a very likely scenario—he had nothing else to do out here but stare directly into her home. Where she’d naively left the curtains open.
Where she left them open every night until she was ready to head to bed.
She remembered the day she’d nervously stood on this porch looking over at her house to see if he could possibly spot her sitting at her desk spying on him while he worked out, and it hadn’t even registered that he could see into her home as soon as it was dark enough.
She heard whistling and her eyes tracked down the street to where Gideon strode back toward her house—his step jaunty—looking like a man without a care in the world. Hands shoved into sweatpants pockets, half-whistling, half-singing an unfamiliar tune.
“You can see right into my house from here,” she called when he finally reached her gate.
Chapter Fifteen
Beth watched Gideon’s back stiffen as he slowly turned to face her.
She knew that he probably couldn’t see her on his dark porch. Of course, he couldn’t. That was the point, wasn’t it? That was why he’d kept the light off, so that he could skulk in the dark and remain unseen while he watched her.
“But I’m sure you weren’t sitting out here, enjoying a cold beer, while watching me all evening, were you, Gideon? You have better things to do with your time, right?”
The streetlight just outside her gate spotlighted his very guilty expression and Beth’s eyebrows flew to her hairline as she comprehended that—against all logic—that was exactly what he’d been doing.
He crossed the road and joined her on the porch mere moments later. He sat down on the half-wall of his porch, facing her. She couldn’t see him very clearly and knew he likely couldn’t see her very well either.