Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
My hands moved to his, and I gripped them.
He gripped me back, squeezing me tight. “Cleo…thank you so much.”
My eyes continued to fill with tears, until they spilled over and traveled down my cheeks. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say that…”
He released another deep breath before he bowed his head.
“Happy birthday, Deacon.”
He lifted his head again and looked at me, his tears steadied. His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked into my face, like he hadn’t made the correlation until this moment.
“I’ve got a fun weekend planned for you. I’ll take him back on Monday morning.”
“How? How did you make this happen?”
I smiled as I wiped the moisture away from the bottom of my eyes. “I told you I could do anything, Deacon. I meant it.” I would do anything and everything for my clients.
His hands moved to hips, and he released a quiet breath, as if he didn’t know what to say, where to start. He dropped his hands and moved into me, his arms hooking around my body and pulling me into his chest. His chin rested on my head, and he squeezed me.
I didn’t know what to do at first, didn’t understand what was happening. Deacon had barely touched me, had barely shaken my hand, only touched me when he had to. But now he gave me the hardest hug I’d ever received, the strongest, the most affectionate. His powerful arms were like steel bars of a cage, keeping me safe inside and keeping the danger outside his protection. His fingertips dug into my flesh, and he breathed hard as he held me, a slight tremor to his extremities.
My arms circled his waist, and I rested my forehead against his chest, closing my eyes because it felt so good, so right. I smelled his natural scent, his body soap, his cologne, his masculinity. He was so hard, like a brick wall underneath that warm skin. I could feel his soul when I was this close to him, feel how gentle he was, how kind he was. The proximity made me feel like I knew him better, knew him in a way no one else ever could.
He held me that way for a long time, as if he wanted to hug me as much as his son, as if I was just as important to him, as if I was his family too. His hands were so large on my small frame, powerful enough to break me in half.
Now that I felt this, I never wanted to pull away. I was exhausted from my long day, emotionally drained from making this moment happen. But now, I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay against his chest forever.
Twenty-One
Deacon
It’d been a long time since I’d been able to be a father in person, do father-like things.
But I picked it up like no time had passed.
I had him brush his teeth before bed, change into his pajamas, and get into bed beside me.
I could put him in a spare bedroom, but he wanted to sleep with me, and I didn’t want to spend a moment away from him—not when I had to return him on Monday. I lay beside him and stared at his peaceful face, cherished the sight because I’d missed it so much. It’d been almost four months since the last time I saw him—and he’d gotten bigger.
I couldn’t believe I’d missed four months of his life.
He was right beside me, but I still missed him.
I wanted to see him every morning, get him ready for school, drop him off, and then pick him up again. I wanted to take him to museums, ball games, the planetarium. I wanted to be a father—all the time.
Derek went to sleep instantly, exhausted from the long day he’d had.
When Cleo told me she was traveling to California, I was worried about her, a beautiful woman traveling on her own. I had no idea this was her plan, that she took time out of her life to give me the best birthday gift ever.
How did she talk Valerie into it? I couldn’t get her to stop screaming at me for thirty seconds.
My phone vibrated with a text message, so I rolled over to look at it.
It was Cleo. The car will pick you up at 8.
Where are we going?
The cabin, of course.
I smiled at her words, unable to believe she’d made such a difficult time in my life amazing. Thank you.
Wow, I’m not used to you saying this.
Well, get used to it. Because I owe you for the rest of my life.
The next morning, he was up before I was, his small voice whispering to me. “Dad.”
I kept my eyes closed, exhausted from the day before.
“Dad…”
It must be much earlier than I was used to waking up because my eyes didn’t want to cooperate. In a dreamlike state, I thought I was making the whole thing up, that I dreamed Derek was there with me.