Page 133 of Beyond the Blue Horizon
Didn’t the man have a job to do?
It seemed like there was plenty of work at this place to keep him busy, but honestly, I wasn’t surprised considering the man was about as overbearing as they came.
So, I bounded downstairs, refusing the nerves that zapped beneath my flesh.
Too bad they went haywire when I hit the bottom landing and saw Nelly and Theo at the table. Finn sat on Theo’s lap as he scribbled something in a coloring book.
My mind fried into a complete short circuit.
“Wookit,Feo. I got abwuepuppy!” Finn pointed at what he was coloring on the page.
Theo ran a tender hand over his head, and his mouth dropped to his temple, his words a gentle rumble. “Coolest dog I’ve ever seen.”
“Youwikepuppies?” Finn peeped.
“Oh yeah. A couple of my brothers have dogs, and they’re the best.”
“I go see?” Finn tilted his head back so he could look up at Theo.
He dropped a kiss to the middle of my son’s forehead. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”
Crap, crap, crap.
How was I supposed to handle this?
Nelly whistled low when she saw me loitering off to the side. “My, my, prettiest girl in the whole town.”
Theo’s attention jerked toward me, and those eyes slowly dragged over my body.
Black coals leapt into a blazing fire.
“That’s right. Prettiest girl in the whole damn town,” he rumbled.
I forced a roll of my eyes. “Charm will get you nowhere.”
Okay, it would get him everywhere because that’s where I wanted him.
On me and in me and consuming me in every way.
Then I was rolling my eyes at myself because I clearly needed to get a grip.
Inhaling, I took a step deeper into the living room. “Come and give Mommy a kiss, Finn. I need to call a ride and get in to work.”
Emery had to be dragging after all her celebrating last night.
Ivy Threads opened in a little over an hour, and I wanted to make sure I could be the best help to her that I could be.
Finn scrambled off Theo’s lap and came scampering my way. “Mommy go work, and I staywif Newwy Bewwy?”
I knelt down and gripped his precious face, peppering a bunch of kisses to his cheeks. “Yep. Mommy is going to work for a little bit, and then when I get home, maybe we can decorate that Christmas tree?”
Hope glowed inside me.
I could give my son this.
This holiday.
His face lit up like lights on a tree, his smile stretching wide as he showed me his tiny, gapped teeth. “Mommy come home soon!”
