Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79509 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79509 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
He kissed my neck again, giving me affection, telling me he loved me wordlessly. “It’s a beautiful day.”
I moved into him, my head resting on his shoulder, his hand moving to my stomach as I tilted toward him. “Yes…it really is.”
We made s’mores in front of the fire, Derek using two pieces of chocolate instead of one. I did the same, because his improvement really was so much better. Deacon didn’t have any because he was lame, but Derek and I made a few.
“Do you think you’ll name my brother Tarantula?” Derek asked, chocolate all over his face.
I sat beside Deacon in one of the chairs while Derek sat on the blanket on the ground, right in front of the fire so he could stick the marshmallows inside and combine them with the graham crackers and chocolate. “No, I think that’s too intense. I’m afraid other kids will be scared of him.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true. What if you name him after a galaxy in the universe? Like Andromeda?”
“That sounds more like a girl’s name.”
“Oh yeah. You’re right.”
“I was thinking something simpler…like Dex.”
“Because Dad and I both have D’s in our names?” Derek asked.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, that is pretty cool.”
“I like it.” Deacon’s voice came from his chair. He hadn’t participated in the conversation for the last few minutes, just drinking his beer and staring at the fire.
“You do?” I asked, thinking that was too easy.
“Dex Hamilton.” He nodded. “It’s good.”
“Is that my little brother’s name, then?” Derek asked. “Dex?”
Deacon moved his hand to mine and held it. “Yeah…I think so.”
We went on a long hike then had lunch afterward.
I was an active person, so I didn’t expect pregnancy to slow me down, but I did notice subtle changes, like earlier signs of fatigue. But since I had a doctor with me, I was never afraid to go too far from the cabin. That was another perk about his success. I always had someone to talk to if something just didn’t feel right, even if his specialty was not obstetrics.
Deacon made lunch, and we ate at the table inside. We had sandwiches and chips, along with sliced bananas and almond butter.
Derek was quiet, worn-out from the hike that took us four hours. He smeared his bananas into the almond butter lazily, like he was too tired to eat but did it anyway.
Deacon watched him, smirking slightly. “I think we should all take a nap.”
Derek rested his chin on his hand, his elbow on the table. “Not tired…”
I chuckled because it was so untrue.
“We’ll take a nap, and then we’ll sit by the lake and have dinner.”
The sun went down much earlier than it did in the summer, so by the time we woke up, it probably would be dark.
Deacon continued to watch his son. “I’m gonna get him in the bath then put him to bed.”
“I wish someone would give me a bath and put me to bed…” I was exhausted, wanting to fall asleep on the couch. But I was sweaty. I at least wanted to rinse off first.
Deacon smiled at me before he picked up his son. “I’ll meet you upstairs.”
After rinsing off, I lay beside him in bed, the windows open and revealing the lake outside. I was in just my panties because it’d been such a warm day. Neither one of us seemed interested in sex because we were both so tired. I knocked out pretty quickly.
When I woke up, it was dark outside, only a little bit of light remaining on the horizon.
I reached for my phone on the nightstand and saw it was a little past five.
Deacon wasn’t there, so he’d probably gone downstairs to get dinner ready.
I walked into the bathroom and fixed my hair and makeup before I pulled on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved blouse. It’d been warm during the day, but with the sun gone, it probably would be chilly.
I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen, but Deacon wasn’t cooking. Maybe he hadn’t started yet. Or maybe he would celebrate our last night here by ordering a pizza like Derek and I wanted.
I moved to the back door, and that was when I noticed lit white candles on the patio. There were dozens of them, spread out on different surfaces, and the fireplace had a large fire inside. It took me a second to process what I was looking at. I didn’t know he had so many candles here, and if he hadn’t, he must have packed them, but I didn’t know that either.
I opened the door and stepped outside.
The air was definitely cooler than it had been earlier, and I was immediately surrounded by the sounds of wildlife, the crickets in the grass, the bullfrogs by the water, the fire in the hearth. It felt like summer, even though that was months away.