Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 137310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Tears healed. Rest healed. Talking healed. And with their response to finding where their daughter was, I was hoping seeing her family would assist in healing too.
This reminded me Hugger needed to do the same. His nap hadn’t even lasted an hour.
We’d wait for Big Petey to get back from the Apple store for that.
Funny how Madison and I had been going it alone for a while, and now, even after only a few days, it didn’t feel right not having the guys around.
But the simple matter of it was, it didn’t.
“I’ll come out later, all right?” she asked.
“Anything you need, honey,” I answered. “Before I go, can I hug you?”
She looked surprised at the question then she nodded and pitched toward me.
I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a careful, but tight squeeze.
I was about to let her go when she said into my ear, “I’m glad I trusted you too.”
Of course, this meant I gave her another tight squeeze.
I let her go, got off the bed and was halfway to the door when she called, “Di?”
I turned. “Right here.”
She hesitated before she shared, “There’s more I haven’t told you.”
I knew there was, and she might be a tiny thing, but she was strong. She was a total warrior.
But enough was enough for one day. I suspected even Alexander the Great took chill time.
That wasn’t my choice, however.
“Do you want to do that now?” I offered.
“I don’t think…” There was a long pause before she finished, “Today has been a lot.”
“It has, and I’ll take this opportunity to share that what you have is yours to give. There’s no rush. Since it’s yours, you can give it when you want.”
She sagged with relief. “Thanks, Di.”
I smiled at her. “Rest. Anything special you want for dinner?”
“Are the guys coming over again?”
“Do you want them to?”
“I feel…safe when they’re here. And things seem normal.”
So she felt the same as me.
Her head jerked. “Not that I didn’t feel safe when it was just us two.”
I laughed. “Gotta say, babe, I feel a lot safer with a bunch of bikers stomping around in their motorcycle boots too.”
That bought me a kinda smile, I returned it with a not-kinda smile.
“Can we have pizza?” she asked.
“We can have whatever you want. What’s your favorite kind?”
“Pepperoni.”
“You want homemade, or someone else to make it for us and deliver it?”
“I like cooking with you.”
I was going to have to send Big Petey to the store again.
I didn’t figure he’d mind.
“I’ll get on that. You get on dozing.”
“Okay, Di.”
I smiled at her again and left her room.
When I got to the living room, Hugger pulled his big, tall frame out of the couch.
I liked that frame. I liked the intent look in his brown eyes as they watched me walk into the room, as if he could check the state of my mental health through vision. I liked the wild of his hair and the wild of his beard.
Okay, official, I just liked him.
I went to him and was about to hug him when I remembered he said he wasn’t affectionate and didn’t like touch.
I hadn’t had the time to turn that over in my head, especially because, since yesterday at the tennis courts, he’d been touching me a lot. But now that I was turning it over in my head, it didn’t make me happy.
I’d never thought about that when it came to me, and I guessed I wasn’t touchy either. At least not over the top.
But I did like physical touch with my guy when I had one, and not just the sexual kind. And I couldn’t say I shied away from it with other people, I just wasn’t overly demonstrative.
But if Hugger didn’t like it, then I’d have to deal with it.
Somehow.
So I just got close and shared, “She’s not ready to talk to her parents. She wants to rest after letting out all that emotion, and I don’t blame her. She also wants the guys to come over for pepperoni pizza tonight.”
“She wants the guys to come over?” Hugger asked, not hiding his surprise.
“She says she feels safer around them.”
His lips in his beard thinned before he said, “Probably shouldn’t be surprised about that.”
“And she likes that life feels ‘normal’ when they’re around.”
“Then I’ll make a call and get their asses here,” Hugger stated.
Jeez, this guy was so awesome.
“I’m going to have to send someone out for more groceries,” I muttered.
“Make a list. I’ll take off when Pete gets back.”
Hmm.
This was another thing with Hugger.
When we were cleaning yesterday, he commandeered the vacuum and had at it, and he didn’t even have to be asked to take out the trash. No hiding on the balcony or pretending to fiddle with a faucet that wasn’t actually leaking to get out of doing housework.
I hadn’t thought about that at the time, either.