Page 124 of Chasing Forever
Lottie
Brooks and I have fallen into a routine. I’ve pretty much moved in with him, but every morning, he still comes into The Harvest Depot for a morning coffee.
I do my pottery in my shed, and I’ve started selling it at the store, plus online. Mostly, I throw whatever I have inspiration to create up for sale. Maybe one day I’ll make it into more of a business, but I’m pretty in love with my life right now.
As if my body knows he’s coming, right before we open, it buzzes with excitement until I hear the door chime ring.
Brooks comes in looking all sexy in his sheriff uniform. Although I just saw him an hour ago and had him early this morning, I want him again. I’ll take whatever he offers.
“Hey,” he says, casual and carefree, strolling across the room to me.
I prepare his coffee, writing a name for him on the cup, but he doesn’t immediately look at it, tugging me into him as if he needs me as badly as I need him. “I think we should both just quit our jobs. What do you say? Spending all day naked in bed sounds really good to me.”
I hug him tightly, and we stay in an embrace for I have no idea how long.
My parents come into the store.
“Of course they’re here and all over each other,” my mom says.
“You’re lucky I like you,” my dad adds.
We break apart, but Brooks still tucks me in at his side.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Saylor, you good to watch the store for a bit?” my mom calls.
“Sure thing,” she says from the back.
“You have a little bit of time, right?” Mom asks Brooks.
He presses a button on his radio and gives them some code.
“Perfect, come on.”
Mom and Dad walk out the back door of the store. Brooks picks up his coffee, and we follow, sharing a look because we don’t know what’s going on. My parents get into the front seats of their UTV, and we file into the back.
“You’re not taking us up to Daisy Hill, are you?” I ask. “Brooks isn’t ready for a talk.”
Brooks looks at me and puts his coffee in the holder between us. I’m not sure he’s even looked to see what I wrote on his cup yet. It would be weird not to get a reaction if he has.
“If you’re lucky, you never get taken up to Daisy Hill,” my dad says over his shoulder.
“Why are you acting as if it’s a bad thing, Lottie? It got you out of your own way.” Mom sips her coffee that she must have brought from home.
Brooks’s fingers graze along my neck, and when I look at him, he’s staring at me, a crooked grin on his face. I’ll never get enough of the way he looks at me.
“Are you going to tell us where we’re going?” I ask. “Brooks has to work.”
“I’m all right.” His fingers roam under my hair, along my neck, in a light massage.
“Stop rushing. We’ve been looking forward to this,” Dad says.
“Now, I’m scared.” I widen my eyes at Brooks.
Neither of my parents say anything as we pass other buildings on the property—all of our houses, their house, and The Getaway Lodge—until we’re on the back part of the property on open land. Dad stops the UTV, and I glance at Brooks in confusion. He shrugs, and we both get out.
“Nice of you to tear us away from work to bring us to a field,” I say, bending down and picking up a dandelion. “Look, babe, a field of dandelions.”
