The Man Who Has No Sight (Soulless Book 4)

by Victoria Quinn

  I was in shorts and a t-shirt, wearing a hat even though I was already in the shade.

  Derek had on one of those floppy hats with bait hooks along the edges, making him look like an experienced fisherman in the midst of retirement.

  We enjoyed the silence together, the gentle rock of the boat, the sound of birds and frogs.

  It was interesting that Derek loved fishing so much since he didn’t keep the fish. And there was a lot of silence, a lot of doing nothing, but he seemed to be thoroughly entertained.

  Deacon sat beside me on the leather chairs, in running shorts and a t-shirt, his arm around me. He would occasionally kiss my neck, place his hand over my belly like he needed to remember how it felt, or whisper something to me.

  It was the happiest moment of my life. There was nothing special about it, the three of us on the boat when I didn’t even like to fish, but it was so serene, so peaceful, a moment I would treasure forever.

  Because it was everything I wanted.

  I wanted these quiet moments with Deacon for the rest of my life, growing our family, making time to take trips to the cabin and wherever else we wanted to go. It made me realize stepping down from work really wasn’t that hard, not when I got this instead. I never imagined I would end up with some brilliant billionaire who had no social skills, but now that he was mine, I couldn’t believe I’d lived so long without him.

  He kissed my neck again, giving me affection, telling me he loved me wordlessly. “It’s a beautiful day.”

  I moved into him, my head resting on his shoulder, his hand moving to my stomach as I tilted toward him. “Yes…it really is.”

  We made s’mores in front of the fire, Derek using two pieces of chocolate instead of one. I did the same, because his improvement really was so much better. Deacon didn’t have any because he was lame, but Derek and I made a few.

  “Do you think you’ll name my brother Tarantula?” Derek asked, chocolate all over his face.

  I sat beside Deacon in one of the chairs while Derek sat on the blanket on the ground, right in front of the fire so he could stick the marshmallows inside and combine them with the graham crackers and chocolate. “No, I think that’s too intense. I’m afraid other kids will be scared of him.”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s true. What if you name him after a galaxy in the universe? Like Andromeda?”

  “That sounds more like a girl’s name.”

  “Oh yeah. You’re right.”

  “I was thinking something simpler…like Dex.”

  “Because Dad and I both have D’s in our names?” Derek asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah, that is pretty cool.”

  “I like it.” Deacon’s voice came from his chair. He hadn’t participated in the conversation for the last few minutes, just drinking his beer and staring at the fire.

  “You do?” I asked, thinking that was too easy.

  “Dex Hamilton.” He nodded. “It’s good.”

  “Is that my little brother’s name, then?” Derek asked. “Dex?”

  Deacon moved his hand to mine and held it. “Yeah…I think so.”

  We went on a long hike then had lunch afterward.

  I was an active person, so I didn’t expect pregnancy to slow me down, but I did notice subtle changes, like earlier signs of fatigue. But since I had a doctor with me, I was never afraid to go too far from the cabin. That was another perk about his success. I always had someone to talk to if something just didn’t feel right, even if his specialty was not obstetrics.

  Deacon made lunch, and we ate at the table inside. We had sandwiches and chips, along with sliced bananas and almond butter.

  Derek was quiet, worn-out from the hike that took us four hours. He smeared his bananas into the almond butter lazily, like he was too tired to eat but did it anyway.

  Deacon watched him, smirking slightly. “I think we should all take a nap.”

  Derek rested his chin on his hand, his elbow on the table. “Not tired…”

  I chuckled because it was so untrue.

  “We’ll take a nap, and then we’ll sit by the lake and have dinner.”

  The sun went down much earlier than it did in the summer, so by the time we woke up, it probably would be dark.

  Deacon continued to watch his son. “I’m gonna get him in the bath then put him to bed.”

  “I wish someone would give me a bath and put me to bed…” I was exhausted, wanting to fall asleep on the couch. But I was sweaty. I at least wanted to rinse off first.

  Deacon smiled at me before he picked up his son. “I’ll meet you upstairs.”

  After rinsing off, I lay beside him in bed, the windows open and revealing the lake outside. I was in just my panties because it’d been such a warm day. Neither one of us seemed interested in sex because we were both so tired. I knocked out pretty quickly.

  When I woke up, it was dark outside, only a little bit of light remaining on the horizon.

  I reached for my phone on the nightstand and saw it was a little past five.

  Deacon wasn’t there, so he’d probably gone downstairs to get dinner ready.

  I walked into the bathroom and fixed my hair and makeup before I pulled on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved blouse. It’d been warm during the day, but with the sun gone, it probably would be chilly.

  I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen, but Deacon wasn’t cooking. Maybe he hadn’t started yet. Or maybe he would celebrate our last night here by ordering a pizza like Derek and I wanted.

  I moved to the back door, and that was when I noticed lit white candles on the patio. There were dozens of them, spread out on different surfaces, and the fireplace had a large fire inside. It took me a second to process what I was looking at. I didn’t know he had so many candles here, and if he hadn’t, he must have packed them, but I didn’t know that either.

  I opened the door and stepped outside.

  The air was definitely cooler than it had been earlier, and I was immediately surrounded by the sounds of wildlife, the crickets in the grass, the bullfrogs by the water, the fire in the hearth. It felt like summer, even though that was months away.

  Derek got out of his chair and walked to me, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, holding a small box in his hand.

  I narrowed my eyes.

  “My dad was too scared to ask, so he wanted me to do it…”

  Time suddenly moved differently because my brain needed to pause to absorb those words. The candles were odd, but I didn’t make any assumptions. But now, the box in his hand looked like a ring box, and there was only one question that could be asked when holding a box like that. It made me feel twenty things at once, excitement, anxiety, fear, joy…everything.

  My eyes lifted, and I saw Deacon step out of the darkness, wearing the same outfit, jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. His hands were in his pockets, and he stared at me, his expression subtle, but full of that intensity he always gave me when I walked through the door, like he was moved by my presence every single time.

  “I talk to girls for my friends all the time, so I’m not scared.”

  My eyes moved back down to Derek.

  “Dad said that he wants you to be part of our family, but if you want to marry him, you have to marry me too…”

  My hand moved over my lips, my eyes immediately watering once I knew this was real, that the unexpected was happening. I wanted to be his wife, but I wasn’t sure if he would ever ask me. I’d expected it to take years, but I would wait as long as he wanted me to. But it was happening…right now.

  “You make my dad happy, and you make me happy too. So…” He looked over his shoulder at his father.

  Deacon moved forward and stood beside his son, pulling his hands out of his pockets.

  Derek got on one knee and opened the box. “Will you marry me?”

  “Oh my god…” I kept my lips covered because they started to tremble.

  Deacon then lowered himself to one knee, looking up at me, his bro
wn eyes alive from all the lit candles around us. He’d just shaved, so his jaw was clean, the slight smile on his lips noticeable. His eyes were so soft but hard at the same time, looking at me just the way he did when we made love, when I said something that made him smile, when I told him I was pregnant. “And will you marry me?”

  I lowered myself to my knees because I didn’t want to stand anymore. I wanted to be level with the two people I loved more than anything in the world. I didn’t even look at the ring because I cared more about them. It was so sweet, so perfect, but there was doubt inside my chest. “Deacon…I want to say yes.”

  His expression slowly changed, becoming guarded.

  “But you don’t have to ask me just because I’m pregnant. That’s not how—”

  “I bought this ring six weeks ago, baby. That’s not why I’m asking.”

  He would never lie to me, so I didn’t need to check a receipt. I closed my eyes at his answer, knowing that he’d made the decision before he even went to Sweden. When I’d tried to move out and get my own place, he’d shut it down. Now, I understood why—because he didn’t want to ask me to move in. He wanted to ask me to be his wife; he just didn’t want to ask me then.

  “You’re gonna marry us, right?” Derek pushed the ring closer to me.

  I wiped the tears away from my cheeks and smiled, giving a quiet, tearful laugh. “Yes. I will marry you…both of you.”

  Deacon’s expression returned to how it had been a moment ago, like he loved me with all his heart. He took the box from his son’s hand, picked up the ring, and then slid it onto my left hand.

  It was the first time I’d looked at the ring. “Oh my god…” It was one hell of a rock. “It’s beautiful…” I wanted to say it was too much, way too expensive, but Deacon wanted me to have it…and I really loved it. I admired it on my hand, seeing the way it reflected the lights from the candles.

  Deacon turned to his son. “Derek.”

  “Got it.” He got up and moved to the phone dock that connected to the speakers. He opened the screen and hit a few buttons until the music came on. It was a slow ballad, an older song he knew I loved.

  Deacon got to his feet and extended his hand to me. “Dance with me.”

  I took his hand, let him pull me to my feet, and moved in close, my arms curling around his neck, our heads coming close together. I looked into his eyes as we swayed, my eyes permanently wet for the rest of the night.

  Derek opened the patio door then left, like Deacon had asked him to excuse himself once the music was on. He didn’t try to stay like he normally would, so a conversation must have taken place.

  Then it was just the two of us.

  He led, moving back and forth with me, dancing to the music, the sound of the crickets, the mountain breeze. His hand was tight against my back, and he held my other hand in his, his forehead pressed to mine.

  “I didn’t know you could dance…”

  “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “But you have a lifetime to learn it all.”

  “Deacon…I love you.” I really loved him, like take a bullet for him loved him, like would remain alone for the rest of my life if I ever lost him. “Like…I can’t live without you kind of love you.”

  “I know you do.” He moved his lips to mine and kissed me. “And that’s the way I love you. I’ve loved you that way…for a very long time. I’ve loved you that way since the beginning. I just didn’t know it then. You’re the only woman for me, my mate for life, a mother to all my children…the woman who gave me back my soul.”

  “Deacon…”

  “You were right when you said science could only explain so much. Because I can’t rationalize my feelings for you. I can’t tell you when I fell in love or why. I can’t tell you why my love is so deep when we have nothing in common. I can’t explain anything, but I know it’s real… I just know.”

  I never thought this beautiful man would love me for me, the way I loved him for him. I didn’t think something so good was just a short distance away, that I would get everything I was missing from one person. My world fell apart…and then he fixed everything.

  “And I know it’s going to last forever—even after we’re gone.”

  I stared into his eyes, knowing how significant those words were since he didn’t believe in anything.

  “Because the children we make…will live on after us—and keep our love alive.”

  Epilogue

  Deacon

  Derek stood at the edge of the dock with his pole in the water.

  Dex had a plastic version of the rod, but he didn’t seem to care that he didn’t have a line or hook. He was three years old, standing in jeans and a shirt, wearing a floppy hat to keep his face out of the sun. He kept looking at his brother, trying to make sure he was copying him exactly.

  I sat in a chair in the shade and kept an eye on them since Dex was so close to the water. He had dark hair and dark eyes the way I did, looking just like Derek did at that age. But he had a subtle softness to him that he’d inherited from his mother. He was advanced like I expected he would be, but he had other qualities, like his warmth, his smile, his laughter…that all came from Cleo.

  Cleo came outside, her stomach large in her summer dress. She waddled onto the deck, visibly uncomfortable in the heat because of her size. Her eyes immediately went to the two on the edge of the dock. “You think it’s safe having Dex so close to the water?”

  “I’m watching them, baby.”

  She rubbed her stomach as she watched them, like it was bothering her to see her three-year-old so close to the edge. “I’m gonna go—”

  “Baby, sit down.” I got to my feet and indicated the chair.

  “But I—”

  “Sit.”

  She did as I asked and took a drink of water.

  I grabbed a standing umbrella and carried it out to the dock before I grabbed a couple chairs.

  She smiled at me, like she appreciated what I was doing.

  “Come on.” I gave her my hand and helped her up.

  She walked next to me, eight months pregnant, having back pain, sleepless nights, and incredible mood swings.

  But she was entitled to it since she was giving me the gift of another child. I helped her into the chair before I sat beside her.

  She was much happier being close, being able to keep an eye on her boys. Her hand rested on her stomach, her hair in a ponytail, her face beautiful with that pregnant glow.

  My hand moved to hers, and I held onto the armrest. “You’re beautiful.”

  She turned to me, giving me a slight smile. “I’m huge, Deacon…”

  “You’re pregnant. And so beautiful.” I liked it when she had that belly. This was our last baby, so I was sad it was almost over. I liked making love to her like this, making her pregnant in the first place, but we’d agreed three was the perfect number and I would get snipped once our girl was born. We would have tried for another if we had another boy, but the doctor confirmed it was a she, so we decided to keep it at three.

  Her eyes softened. “I can’t wait for Daisy to get here. I’m done being pregnant.”

  “I’m gonna miss it.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re gonna miss making me pregnant is what you mean…”

  “No. I’m gonna miss both.” I watched Derek talk to Dex like we weren’t there, talking about the different kinds of fish in the lake and how deep the water probably was at the center. “Derek is already ten…time goes by so fast.”

  “They’ll always be our children, no matter how old they are.”

  “I know.” Dex said my name in a different way than Derek did, and I got attached to that quickly. And hearing a beautiful little girl call me Daddy…would probably kill me. If she looked like her mother, I wouldn’t be the disciplinarian like I was with the boys. It would just be too hard to say no, not to give her everything she wanted.

  Cleo turned back to the boys and watched them,
loving them equally like they were both her biological kids, like she’d carried Derek to term even though another woman had, a woman we hadn’t heard from in years. Distance made her move on, made her call less, made her start over with a new family…until she seemed to forget Derek entirely.

  But Derek was fine—because he had Cleo.

  She was a better mother than Valerie had ever been.

  The first time he called her mom, she cried.

  She turned back to me. “Should we head back in the morning? I’m sure there’s a lot sitting on your desk right now.”

  I was just as dedicated to my work as usual, but my priorities were definitely different. Being a father to three and a husband to one made me realize my happiness was just as important as the data sheets on my computer. “Let’s stay another day.”

  “Yeah?” she asked, smiling.

  “Yeah.” Derek was out of school for the summer, and Cleo was on maternity leave. I was the only reason we had to leave. But I blew off work…because I’d rather live in these moments as long as possible.

  “Good. Because I don’t want to leave…maybe not ever.”

  Also by Victoria Quinn

  Keep reading for a preview of Derek’s story, The Boy Who Has No Faith.

  Teaser: Prologue

  Derek

  The top of the building was lined with white lights, matching the beautiful ambiance of the city as the backdrop. The long table was covered with a white tablecloth, arrangements of flowers all the way down. We’d finished the rehearsal at the church, and now it was time to have the rehearsal dinner.

  Tabitha held a flute of champagne, mingling with family members and friends, stunning in a short white dress with her mother’s pearls around her neck. She had fiery red hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and everything about her was perfect.

  My hands slid into my pockets, and I stared at her from across the roof, watching the subtle way her fingers tightened on the stem of her glass, the way she delicately pushed her curled hair behind her shoulder. She had the nicest smile, the kind that made all men weak in the knees.