by Fredrick, MJ
A suite would be perfect. They could talk, and each have their own space. “Can I use points on it?”
“Let me look it up. What’s your member ID?”
He passed over the card, and she scanned it, then looked up at him with wide eyes. “Yes, sir. I don't think I’ve ever seen anyone with this many points, to be honest. There’s a small fee, but—“
“That’s fine. Two keys, if you don't mind.”
“Of course.”
“I’m glad you handled that,” Lacey said when they walked away from the desk. “I don't think I would have known what to do. Nothing like coming to San Antonio to make me feel like a hick.”
“You would have done fine. Think that I do this almost every week of my life. More often, if we’re between events. I couldn’t, I don't know, draw blood or take someone’s blood pressure, or any of the other stuff you do every day.”
“Maybe. Maybe I’m just feeling like an idiot right now anyway.”
This time he didn't stop himself from reaching over and taking her hand.
She folded her fingers around his for a moment, reflexively, before she stilled and looked at him. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles before releasing her as they stepped into the elevator.
“Can I ask you something?”
“I guess,” she said, gathering her bag closer to her side, creating a barrier between them.
“What were you laughing about when you walked out to the truck?”
She blinked, then stared straight ahead. “Totally not what I thought you’d ask. No, I met this lady there, she was at the hospitality desk or whatever, and when I walked in I made the mistake of telling her I was there to meet Jesse, and when I walked back down, without Jesse, she kind of noticed, and she sat me down and helped me catch my breath. I let her know you were coming. When I walked out, she was watching, and she...said something. It caught me off guard and made me laugh.”
The thought made her smile. Damn, he liked her smile.
But she didn't elaborate on what the woman had said.
The elevator opened and he led the way down the hall to the room, slid the key card into the lock, and opened it to a bright room with a long, low couch, a couple of wing-backed chairs and a wide window looking out, thankfully not on the construction of the highway, but on the rolling green hills of the Hill Country.
Lacey dropped her bag on the couch, and walked toward the window. “This is incredible. So green. I mean, look at those colors.”
“That’s what happens when you live in a desert.”
“I mean, the desert can be pretty, too, but this just looks so lush. And with all the trees. Like you can reach out and pet it, you know?” She turned to look at him. “I guess this is nothing to you. You go all around the country, you see seasons and mountains and valleys and snow.”
“To be honest, I don't pay attention too much. I guess maybe I should, huh?”
“Maybe you should.” She turned back to the window, moved closer and looked down below them, where trees lined the winding path of the lazy river. “That does look nice.”
“Go see if you have something you can wear, or we can go down to the gift shop and get something.”
He hadn’t even looked around the room yet. He crossed to the door to the right of the window, and opened it to see a king-sized bed inside, and another large window with the same view.
The door off that room led to the bathroom, which had a tub with jets he bet Lacey would enjoy. Another door to the bathroom led back to the living area, and he crossed that to open another door, which was a closet, and another louvered door, which was a wet bar.
No more doors.
No other bedroom.
“I thought the clerk said this was a suite?” he asked Lacey over his shoulder.
She turned from where she was looking down on the lazy river. “What?”
He gestured toward the one bedroom. “One bed.”
“Beck, I’m not really in the mood to joke around.”
“No, I get it. But that’s the bedroom.” He pointed. “That’s the bathroom.” He pointed again. “That’s the closet, and that’s the bar and refrigerator.”
“One bed? I thought a suite was more than one bedroom. I mean, in the movies, that’s what it is.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve never stayed in one before but I thought the same.” He eyeballed the couch. “It doesn't matter. I’ll stay out here on the couch.”
“You won’t. You’re paying for the room. I’ll stay on the couch.”
“Are you kidding me? I am not letting a pregnant woman sleep on the couch. Can you just hear what my mother would say?”
“I can. But I’m smaller, it would be more comfortable for me. And you’re using your points.”
“I’ll call down, see if I can’t get a rollaway bed. It shouldn’t be a problem.” He picked up the phone, but before he dialed, he pointed to the bedroom door. “You’ll have more privacy in there. Take it, and don't argue.”
She hesitated. “I’m just going to go in there to change.”
“That’s fine.” Once he got her in there, he was pretty sure he could talk her into staying. And he knew she was in a hurry to get down to the water. He dialed the front desk as she closed the door behind her.
Chapter Thirteen
LACEY WAS SHAKING AS she set her bag on the end of the bed and unzipped it. She didn't think she had anything suitable for going down to the pool. She hadn’t anticipated swimming when she packed. She had anticipated sightseeing, and maybe a barbecue, and nights in Jesse’s arms, because he’d be just so glad to see her.
She felt hurt, and embarrassed, but she couldn't put her finger on why she wasn't devastated by his rejection.
Okay, maybe because he’d rejected her before this, though not in such a dramatic fashion. Maybe because she’d accepted this.
Maybe because she’d been more excited about the actual trip than about seeing Jesse. He made her nervous, and that also should have been a red flag. She was always worried about saying or doing the wrong thing around him.
Beck made her nervous, too, but in a different way. She felt much more relaxed around him, more like she could be herself.
Not quit relaxed enough that she could cry in front of him, though, and she really just wanted to sit down and have a good cry. Was that too much to ask? She just couldn't release the tension building up in her.
She pulled out a pair of shorts, and a t-shirt that should be okay with a bra underneath. She just wanted to cool off in the water downstairs.
She changed, and zipped up her bag, carrying it back into the living room because she didn't want to claim the bedroom, despite Beck’s insistence. She just didn't think it was fair.
“They’re sending up an extra bed,” he told her when she set her bag on the end of the couch. “You ready to go down?”
She blinked a minute. “Are you coming too?” She motioned to his jeans and t-shirt.
“I’ll grab some trunks at the gift shop and change down there.”
“Oh. Okay.” Interesting that he was willing to spend the money, when he didn't have a job. And she knew the gift shop couldn't be cheap. And that he didn't feel like he needed to wait for the bed to be delivered, to tell the hotel workers where to put it. But he knew about these things better than she did, so she shrugged it off and headed toward the door.
Ten minutes later, she was on her back on an inflated inner tube, her butt and her feet in the cool, clear water, trees sheltering her from the sun overhead. Beck was on the tube behind her.
She craned her head toward him. “I’m never leaving. You can cancel that extra bed. I’m just going to sleep out here.”
He grinned. “It is very peaceful.”
Well, mostly. Kids played nearby, yelling at each other, but the breeze rustling in the trees carried the noise off. She let her eyes drift closed, her head loll back against the rubber of the tube as the water carried her down the winding waterway.
Her child was going
to grow up knowing he or she was loved. Her child was going to have experiences like these children here, no matter what she had to do to make it happen. Her child was never going to feel “less than” because of an absent father. She was going to guarantee that.
Maybe she’d have to move to a city to make enough money. Maybe she would have to move because of gossip in the town, though, to be honest, if people were going to talk, they were already talking. She didn't even care if they were talking about her, but she would not allow them to talk about her child.
“Hey,” Beck said, floating up beside her and covering her clenched fist with his hand. “You’re supposed to be relaxing.”
“I know. It’s just not as easy as all that.”
“Yeah, I get it, but try to live in the moment, not in the past. Just for a little while.” He released her hand as his tube bumped hers as they floated around a bend. “Think about what you want for dinner instead.”
She laughed. “Those burgers at the patio restaurant smell good.”
“If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll get. They have a sit-down restaurant, too, or we can order room service and watch a movie.”
That last part sounded best, really. Ridiculous, because she could eat and watch a movie back home, and here she had choices, but that was the one that sounded best to her. She needed to be in her comfort zone after the day she’d had.
Once she got out of the water. Which she never wanted to do.
She was surprised, actually, that Beck was willing to go along with her choice of room service and a movie. She insisted on paying for the room service instead of adding it to his bill, though. She was going to contribute to this trip one way or another.
They went back and forth about the movie, between action or drama or comedy, finally settling on an older movie they’d both seen but both enjoyed.
Again, Lacey thought about how that same discussion would have played out with Jesse. They would be watching the movie he wanted to watch, because if she hadn’t given in, he would sulk, and so she found it just easier to let him have his way.
Which, now that she thought on it, was ridiculous. Of course if she rewarded his bad behavior, he would continue to act the same. He was used to getting his way. And those thoughts led to thoughts about his mother, and how she had raised him, and how she was treating Lacey because of it.
Her stomach started to knot, but she forced herself to relax, to push the thought aside. If his mother wanted to deny the child, fine. That meant Lacey didn't have to worry about sharing her child with people who wouldn't treat him right.
She picked up her burger, which Beck had chided her for ordering when the menu had so many choices, as the familiar music of the movie played, and she started relaxing again. She would lose herself in the familiarity of the film, let it ease the tensions of the day.
“Tomorrow I need to make a few stops before we head back,” Beck said, cutting into her thoughts. “Is there anything you need?”
She had thought of so many things she’d like to do, now they were in town, and she had planned to stay longer. But he hadn’t. He’d planned to go back tomorrow.
“I need to get my phone fixed, and you had said something about getting your mom a chair for the porch. This would be a good place to do that.”
“Right.” He looked at her. “I’d forgotten about the chair. Thanks for remembering.”
“And I’d like to, if we have time, to go to a grocery store.”
“A grocery store?” he echoed, leaning forward to turn and look at her.
“Yeah. You know, the store in Broken Wheel doesn’t have a lot of selection, and I’d like to see, you know, a grocery store that has different brands and different foods.” She shook her head, smiling. “We don't have to. It was just something I’d thought about when I planned to come here, and you know, spend time.”
“You’re an odd one,” he said, sitting back against the couch again.
“Gee thanks.”
“I mean, most women would want to go shopping for, you know, clothes, something like that, something you can’t really get online. And you want to go to a grocery store.”
“I think it would be fun. But I would want to go down every aisle, you know. Even the cold aisles. And maybe we’d have to get an ice chest to go back home, but yeah. That’s what I want to do.”
He reached over and stroked a length of her hair, free from its ponytail. “You bet. We’ll hit the biggest grocery store in town before we leave.”
She settled back against the couch, a little closer to him than she had been, feeling the heat of his body, taking comfort in it.
Oh man, did she miss this, taking comfort in a man. Taking comfort in a man who was gentle and generous and...
No. She couldn't think of him that way. He’d saved her once, but she wasn't going to make him save her again.
She was going to save herself.
But she was going to make him take her grocery shopping first.
THE GROCERY STORE WAS even better than she expected. Even more exciting than the mall. And Beck was so nice as she looked down each aisle, the summer stuff, the makeup, the ice cream.
So much ice cream.
He had to talk her out of that. No way would ice cream last the whole drive back to Broken Wheel, not even with ice and a cooler.
She did stock up on cookies and chips and cereal. She didn't buy as much as she expected, despite the variety. She still filled up two big grocery bags and carried them with delight to the truck.
“Just think of how bad I would have been if I wasn't pregnant. All those sodas and coffees and beer and wine. So many options. I’ll have to come back after the baby is born.”
He shook his head. But he made space for her bags in the back of the truck as she climbed in the front, ready to go home.
All the errands they’d run delayed their departure, so now they’d get home well after dark. But her phone was fixed, and they found a chair for his mom that was both sturdy enough and easy for her to sit in for the front porch.
They’d risen early, and she had to admit, sharing a bathroom with someone was weird. Even in the small house she and her father shared, they didn't have to share a bathroom. But Beck was very accommodating of her privacy, even though that fold away bed couldn't have been all that comfortable.
“What ever happened to Debra?” she asked after they stopped to pick up dinner on the highway, an hour or so out of the city.
“Debra?”
“Wasn’t that her name? The girlfriend you had in high school?” Lacey had to admit she hadn’t paid much attention to boys before the accident, but since Beck had been the one to pull her to safety, well, she paid him a lot more attention. She vaguely remembered the dark-haired curvy girl who had moved away almost as soon as he had.
“You mean Diana?”
“Yeah, I guess. Hadn’t you dated all through high school?”
“Yeah, but then I went into the military, and she went to college in El Paso. We tried to see each other, since I was stationed near there, but it got too hard, she was taking like eighteen hours at once so she could get through faster, and we just didn't have time for each other, so we broke off. I heard from a friend that she’s teaching in El Paso now. Bilingual, I think. She always was really smart.” His tone grew nostalgic. “I hadn’t thought of her in a while. Funny you should bring her up.”
“I was thinking about you. You’re like this really nice guy, you’re cute, you have a good job, but you don't have a girlfriend.”
“Had a good job.”
“Well, yeah, but you’ve only been out of it for a couple of weeks. Have you had a girlfriend? I mean?” Maybe he had and of course she didn't know about it because she hadn’t exactly kept up with his life while he was gone. But he knew way too much about her private life and she didn't know much about his.
“I did have a good job. And I’ve had a few girlfriends, but nothing too special. Mostly they didn't like me being away all the time.
I mean, I was on the road a lot. I didn't even rent an apartment. I had a post office box for my mail in Tallahassee, I had a friend who let me use his address when I needed a physical address. Not really the best way to run a relationship.”
“I guess. I can’t imagine having no place to call home.”
“It was pretty liberating, you know, after growing up in Broken Wheel. I was born there, so I’d never really seen anything until I joined the army, and then went to college, then worked with Riley. We never even went on vacations when I was a kid, just a couple of day trips to Mexico, you know until you had to have a passport to go. My parents didn't want to go to the trouble or expense of those for the family, so we stopped. When we went, we stopped on the other side of the border, so even that was no big deal. So yeah, it was exciting to see new things, fly in a plane for the first time, see the ocean. We never even went to the Gulf when I was growing up. Never stayed in a hotel. Only ever spent the night at my grandparents’ house in El Paso.”
“Wow. I guess I didn't appreciate all that we did when I was growing up. We traveled a lot, lived in different places. It’s only been the past twelve years that I’ve been kind of locked into one place, therefore I act like an idiot when I get to the city.”
“You don't act like an idiot. It’s charming.”
“Right.” She shoved a French fry into her mouth. “But I tell you, if we could find a way to have that lazy river thing back in Broken Wheel, I’d never work again.”
“I know. I could barely get you out of it to go eat dinner.”
“It was the most relaxing thing ever.”
“Maybe we can make a trip over to Balmorhea State Park in a few weeks. I haven’t been there since I was a kid.”
“They closed the swimming hole for a while, but I’ve never been. I’ve heard people talking about it a lot, though.”
“I remember going as a kid, and I was pretty rambunctious, so I couldn't tell you if it’s relaxing or not, but it might be fun.”
“Fort Clark Springs might be easier to get to. And it’s really pretty, as I recall.”