Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
What on earth was happening? Reacting instinctively, I flipped around, pressing both palms firmly on Beau’s chest, catching him off guard enough to shove him back several feet. My thoughts raced as I blurted, “Close your eyes.”
The sudden spark flickered in his amber gaze, causing a mischievous smile to tug at one corner of his lips. A look I typically found quite endearing, often leading to sexy time. “Seriously, I forgot something to give to you.”
“You gave me enough, Dash. We can’t spend all this extra money,” he lectured, but closed his eyes as I’d requested. I took his hand and walked carefully through the entry into our side of the penthouse. I quickly glanced around and didn’t see anything out of place and let go of a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.
“Oh wait, I decided to give that to you for Christmas.”
Beau instantly stopped and popped his eyelids open, looking around. “Are you lying? Am I missing something?”
I left him standing there and started for the stairs. “Of course not. I just forgot. I was lost in all your sexy cologne.” I prattled on until we were up the stairs, in the bedroom, with the door shut behind us. Even then I still continued to talk. Beau would tune me out eventually, he always did.
13: The Surprise
Beau/Dash
Beau
December 2006
“I’m so cold,” my mom said, giving a full body shiver for the third time in a matter of minutes. I flipped the heater on the highest option then adjusted all the vents in my truck in her direction. She had worn her normal, Alabama type cold weather clothes with a fleece jacket as her outerwear. I’d tried to explain the low temperatures and how the wind blowing off the lake made it brutally cold. These people in Chicago wore their cold weather clothes virtually year-round. Dash and I had purchased new clothing, because we were ill-prepared for the elements when moving here. Apparently, the thin zip-up was her way to embrace the cold weather.
“Mom, put my coat on properly.” I’d said the same words many times since picking her up inside the airport, then through the parking garage, until right now as she sat with her hands close to the vent, her body tilted forward to get closer to the warmth.
She was unnecessarily hardheaded, refusing to take my coat until we were outside, with snow on the ground, and I finally shrugged off my Carhartt and placed it over her shoulders. Still she fought me, trying to give it back, then purposefully wearing it draped over her shoulders refusing to commit to using it fully. Mothers were a different breed. They were weird about their children no matter the age. She still put me before everything else.
“I thought the leggings might be an extra barrier against the cold. Instead, they make me colder.” Her last word came with another solid shiver. “I’ve got to go shopping.”
“Yeah, I’ll take you tomorrow. The weatherman says it will get colder for the next week or so, then it chills out and we’ll be in the seventies. They’re forecasting a chance of snow for the holidays,” I said and started the slow descent out of the airport parking garage.
“They know that already?” she asked, amazed. “We still have weeks to go.”
“Yeah, I guess.” The way I drove was different these days, driving my personal vehicle with the same assertiveness I did my FedEx truck. I could edge my truck into traffic when there was little room to do so. The frustrated honks ensued when I did that now. Chaos was the only way to describe the exit out of O’Hare airport. “You’re gonna have to babysit Dash. He’s in freak-out mode, trying to get everything finished to graduate in a few weeks. Then he goes straight into preparing for the bar. He’s working for a law firm on weekends, and some nights… You know that I’m slammed at work.” I gave her a little sideways glance to make sure she was paying attention to me. “So take care of him.”
“I know, and I will. He and I text all the time. I can read the stress even without his voice,” she said, humor in her tone. “It’s why I’m here so early. I gotta help my boys. Don’t stress about it. He’s just as worried about your workload. It’s sweet how you look out for each other.”
Her words relieved some of my worries. Dash and I had been going in different directions for the last few weeks. No amount of preparation had us ready for the holiday rush, and we still had weeks before the final push, the busy days leading up to the actual holiday. Between the overwhelming number of packages to be delivered and the weather conditions outside, Dash and I only saw each other in bed. And that wasn’t for long. My day started at three in the morning, while his lasted until ten, or eleven, or even later some nights.