“Me, too,” Beck admitted.
“Can I meet you guys in the restaurant? I want to clean up a bit. I feel like I’m covered in dust and cobwebs.”
“Sure. Let’s grab your suitcase from the car.” Seth turned to Beck. “Can you get us a table and order me a beer, man? I’ll meet you there in a few.”
He nodded. “Got a preference on brews?”
“I’ll take anything as long as it’s not as dark as the furniture.”
“Got it.” He leaned in and gave Heavenly a soft kiss. “Don’t be too long.”
“I won’t.”
Ignoring the innkeeper’s curious stare, Beck asked to be seated. As he followed the woman into the dining room, he heard Seth teasing Heavenly about her choice of motel while they meandered outside.
Moments later, he was seated at a linen-covered table near a window overlooking the wide porch with quaint wicker chairs and a cozy swing positioned to take advantage of the full-frontal views of the serene blue lake.
While he waited, he texted Gloria updates and promised he’d holler when they needed a ride home—no idea yet if they’d need three seats. She only replied with a thumbs-up emoji, which told Beck she was busy doing something, probably Buddy.
Then a young waitress who introduced herself as Tisha dropped off a basket of bread and took their drink order. Beck scored Seth a pale craft beer, ordered himself a good Scotch, and guessed Heavenly would welcome a white wine.
“Would you like to order appetizers or wait for the rest of your party?”
Beck glanced at the menu. “Why don’t you bring us some potato skins, shrimp cocktail, and…cheese curds.”
The last dish was a Wisconsin tradition and a favorite of Heavenly’s. He’d never tasted them, but he hoped they would cheer her up.
“Of course.” She jotted down his order. “Can I get you anything else for now?”
“I’m good.” Beck turned his attention to his phone and tapped out a message to Seth.
You better not be up there macking on our girl without me.
Seth strolled into the room with a laugh just then, pocketing his phone. “Keep your panties on. I just helped Heavenly with the zipper on her duffel bag. I’d have loved to watch her change, but…”
Beck sent him a dry stare. “You were hoping to get lucky.”
“Damn right I was.”
“You think she’s in that mood?”
Seth shrugged. “Who knows? Her head is all over the place.”
“It is. I’m trying not to get my hopes up. We both know there’s a difference between needing someone in the moment and wanting them forever. She might wake up tomorrow and tell us she’s leaving to see the world or whatever. That shit is killing me.”
“Yeah, but at least we know we’re not losing her to Bayfield. And she reached out to us. I’m taking that a good sign.”
“Absolutely. After today, I’m less convinced she wants to go her own way. Did you notice that once she had our approval to spread her father’s ashes, she seemed a lot more at peace?”
Seth leaned in. “That’s the submissive in her. You and I both know how good we’ll be with and to her. Not sure she knows that.”
Beck shrugged. “After she gets a good night’s sleep, we’ll ask her how she feels about coming home.”
“What if she’s already decided to ‘explore’ by then?”
“Good point. I hate to grill her tonight, but…”
A crafty grin spread across Seth’s face. “I’ve always said we can make her love us more by making love to her more. Sex can be pretty damn cathartic, and she did say she wanted to think about something else…”