“Seventy,” he answered.
She turned it on.
Derek snuggled into her side…just the way he did with me.
I watched them before I got into bed, seeing the way that Cleo didn’t mind giving up her personal space to accommodate him, like she was happier he was there than when he wasn’t.
I got into bed too, sitting close to Derek.
Derek laughed at the cartoon.
My head was against the headboard, and I turned slightly to look at them.
Cleo wasn’t looking at me or the TV. She was looking at him.
Just the way I looked at him.
Six
Cleo
Deacon knocked on the door.
I stayed to the side, slightly out of view, but not so intentionally that it looked like I was trying to hide.
Valerie opened the door. “Hey, Deacon.”
He nodded. “Valerie. Is he ready to go?”
She yelled into the condo. “Your dad’s here to pick you up, Derek!”
Derek emerged a moment later, stepping into his father’s embrace. “Hey, Dad.” He had his grizzly bear backpack on, ready for the day.
“Hey, little man.” Deacon rubbed him on the head. “I’ll drop him off later.”
Derek noticed me. “Cleo!” He ran to me next.
My hands moved to his shoulders when he hugged me around the waist. “Hey, Derek.” I was in jeans and a t-shirt with sandals, dressed for our adventure to the beach on this beautiful Saturday.
Valerie poked her head out farther and looked me up and down, visibly annoyed. “Why is she here?”
Deacon clenched his jaw slightly. “She’s showing me a property from one of her other clients.”
“Isn’t that what a real estate agent is for?” she asked condescendingly.
Deacon put up with it—even though it was a struggle. “With Cleo, I don’t have to deal with a real estate agent, and I hate dealing with people I don’t know. I’ll see you later, Valerie.” He turned away, dismissing the conversation so Valerie couldn’t interrogate him further.
Even though it was awkward, I smiled before I turned away. “Nice to see you, Valerie.” It was stupid that she didn’t care if I took her son to a school meeting, but showing Deacon a house was just out of the question.
“Hi, Cleo.” She greeted me like I hadn’t just overheard what she’d said to Deacon. She walked into her residence and shut the door.
I joined Deacon and Derek in the hallway as we headed to the elevator.
“Why is Mom like that?” Derek asked. “It seems like she doesn’t like Cleo.”
We stepped into the elevator, and the doors shut.
Deacon sighed. “She’s jealous.”
“What does jealous mean?” Derek asked innocently.
“It means…she wishes she were Cleo,” Deacon explained. “Because I feel the way about Cleo that your mom wishes I felt about her.”
Derek nodded, but he probably didn’t understand it.
Deacon squeezed his shoulder. “I really appreciate you not mentioning all the time I spend with Cleo to her, Derek.”
“I want you to be happy, Dad.”
I’d fallen more in love with this boy than I had with any man I’d ever been with. He infected my heart and took it over like a virus. I loved him so much that I didn’t think I had enough space to love anyone else, and he wasn’t even my kid. He was just so good…so sweet.
Deacon patted his shoulder. “Thank you, son.”
We reached the lobby and then got into the car Deacon had rented, this time an SUV. He didn’t seem to have a problem driving, even though he had a private driver. He must have driven himself to work every day in California.
We sat in the front seat, while Derek was in the back.
“So, we’re going to the beach?” Derek asked.
“I’m thinking about buying a place out there,” Deacon explained. “Like I did with the cabin.”
“Wow!” Derek said. “That would be so cool.”
Once Deacon was out of the city and on the highway, he grabbed my hand and held it on the console between us, right in front of his son.
It was nice…really nice.
Derek talked the entire way, spitting out new facts he’d learned and talking about his excitement to start to school. It was a shorter drive than to the cabin, so we pulled up to the house in practically no time. A wooden gate gave the house some privacy from the main road, so I entered the code and we drove up the short driveway to the entryway to the house. It had a three-car garage and a front patio, even though there was nothing to look at it. It was a single-story home on a large lot, the sand right outside the back door.
We got out of the car, and I unlocked the door and disabled the alarm.
Deacon walked inside and took it all in.
“This place is cool.” Derek looked around even though he didn’t know what he was examining. Then he went to the back door, through which there was a pool, a deck, and then the steps to the beach. “Dad, it has a pool!”