Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
“I don’t know. Maybe my mom serves lima beans, or I piss you off like I used to.”
“First of all,” she starts, watching Beck run around a few feet away from us. “Who hates lima beans? I love them.”
“Unexpected. And second?”
“Second . . .” She picks up like she was never interrupted. “Don’t piss me off then.”
Bursting out in laughter, I joke, “Easier said than done.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” She eyes Beck as if she’s his guardian angel sent to look after him. “I think I’ll take my chances.”
When I tap the front of her hat, the brim lifts just enough for me to see her face again. I’m not disappointed. She’s not the same pipsqueak anymore. She adds, “Don’t make me regret it.”
“I’ll make sure you don’t.” I check my watch. “What time do you get off?”
The question seems to give her pause, and she quickly looks away as if it’s taking her a second to digest. Then she grins. “I’ll probably be done in an hour, but I’d love to freshen up after with a shower.”
“Of course. Beck and I have plenty to do if you don’t mind us roaming around.”
Not wasting a minute, she’s already backing away toward the barn, but I can still see that smile brightening her face. “You still know your way around the property?”
“Sure do.”
“Then make yourself at home.” She turns, giving me a good view of her backside and that walk that commands attention. And is owning mine right now.
The belt loop of my pants is tugged. “Can we go see the cows?”
I bring Beck to my side and pat his back. “Yeah, buddy, let’s go see the cows.” I look over at Christine once more before she disappears into the barn, wondering if it was saving her ass at the sundries shop that made me start to see her differently or when she teased me on the porch. Something has changed, though, for both of us.
An hour later, Beck and I have exhausted ourselves and head for the front porch where we find homemade lemonade waiting for us. I assume she’s already upstairs, so we make ourselves comfortable in the rocking chairs, prepared to wait a while.
“We don’t get the long days yet,” Mr. Greene says, coming around from the side of the house. He plants his large hand on the top of the railing and pulls himself up the two steps onto the porch. “Chrissy told me you were out visiting.”
I stand to move closer, not wanting him to have to travel the distance to shake hands. He’s a larger man, always was, but age has grown on him as it should. “Good to see you, Mr. Greene.”
“Mr. Greene? We’re still doing that? Aren’t you Baylor’s age?”
“I am.”
“Thomas will do then, Tagger.” He looks at Beck, then at me again. “Spitting image. What’s your name?”
“Beckett, but I like Beck best.”
“Beck, it is.” He looks ahead again. “You know, Tagger, I can still see you and Baylor out in that field right there messing around on the tractor, though you were told to stay off it.”
I move aside so he can sit down. He starts rocking, eyeing me and the field as if the memories are being created right now instead of twenty-four years ago. “Your mom would drop you off at sunrise before heading back to tend to those horses.” Leaning left toward Beck, he waits until he has his attention, then adds, “Your dad used to run around in his skivvies covered in a day’s worth of play. Your grandmother would hose him off before letting him into her car.”
“Grammy would?” You can see the mischievous plans forming in Beck’s eyes. That’s what I wanted, not him acting out, but him living life to the fullest instead of always being stuck in a suit and tie like his private school requires. And Anna when they go out to dinner. Glancing at me, he laughs. “She’d spray you with a hose?”
“She would. The dirt comes right off, then you’re as clean as a whistle and ready for the next day’s adventures.”
Thomas says, “That’s before he and my son Baylor became big shots in New York City.”
“What’s a big shot?” Beck sits back in the chair again as if he has no plans on leaving anytime soon.
I’m trying to figure out the best way to explain it, but Thomas doesn’t hesitate. “It means your dad does very important work. He’s worked hard and been rewarded for it.”
Success came fast. So did burnout. I could never work a day again, and I’d still be set for life. I have more money than I know what to do with, and that gives me a different outlook on how I should spend those hours.
My son matters. I plan to make up for the time I lost with Beck because of work to show him that life isn’t only a concrete jungle. I want to broaden his horizons so he can chase his happiness when money isn’t a concern.