Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“Damn, Tulsa Rose, you continue to amaze me. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried how you’d take the news.”
“No one is running me out of town again, Ledger, least of all Ella.” I put the beer back on the counter, since it’s finished.
“You think I’d let you leave? That’s not going to happen, not ever again. Now kiss your man. I’ve got dinner to cook and dessert to devour later.” I lean into him and press my lips against his, feeling the hardness at my aching center. I swear for someone whose libido was practically non-existent, he’s made it to where I’m now a walking orgasm.
“I’m right where I belong, Ledger, here with you,” I tell him. Another sweep of his lips against mine before he backs away.
“Damn straight. Now go make your call to Nelle.” He grabs my phone from the other side of the counter, puts it in my hand, and then starts working in the kitchen.
“Oh, I am. And I’m calling your mom next. She’s going to lose her mind.” I look down at my phone, press the code because I’m too impatient for it to recognize my face, go to my call log, hit her name, then put the phone on speaker.
“This better be good, Tulsa Rose,” Nelle answers the phone, breathless.
“Would I call you out of the blue knowing you’re working if it wasn’t?” My eyes bulge out of their sockets when I hear the slapping of skin and Chase’s voice in the background telling her, “Hang up the phone, or you won’t get my dick.” Ledger is holding back a bark of laughter.
“Okay, this conversation is over. Love you, bye.” I hit the end button repeatedly.
“I love my best friend, but there are some things no one should hear. Chase and she are clearly getting along, though.” Ledger and I laugh together. Nelle deserves happiness. She’s not allowed herself to be with anyone else since going through that fateful night in the emergency room, when I held her hand as the doctor told her she was losing her baby. After so much hurt and pain, I’m so incredibly happy to see her allowing herself to have something with Chase. Nelle might say I deserve everything, but so does she.
32
LEDGER
“Swing with me?” Tulsa asks when I step back on the front porch later in the evening after dinner was done and the dishes were taken care of. She made the dessert while I was preparing dinner—red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. They’re currently in the fridge waiting for us to devour them later. Tulsa has her weird quirks about certain foods. Any type of chocolate cake or cupcakes have to be refrigerated, a cold glass of milk needs to be with it, and it has to be served in bed. I’d rather have her for dessert any day that ends in y, but she was adamant about baking, so I rolled with it.
I went back inside under the ruse of grabbing us a couple of more beers. I went after them first, set them on the counter, then took the stairs two at a time, hit the master bedroom, walk into the closet, and went to my safe. Keeping the jewelry pieces inside was a catch twenty-two, wondering if she’d need to go in there. Thankfully, she didn’t. It’s also where I keep both letters, Mont’s and the one she wrote me that I’ve read more than a handful of times, stating how she was sorry, how she knew I was doing the right thing even when it hurt, and how she’s loved me all along, even through the pain.
Montgomery was anal to the motherfucking tee, asking to keep her mom’s wedding set, his dad’s shot gun, and Mont’s cross necklace his parents gave him, as well as a few of Tulsa’s pieces that were priceless. The other stuff stayed at her house until she cleared it out. Now her jewelry box sits on the dresser, out in the open, her things are incorporated through the house, and I have no problem seeing a pair of shoes here, a bra there, a brush left on the bathroom counter. It makes this all the more real.
“You never have to ask,” I tell her, placing the beers on the side table. She changed before baking the cookies, shucking the business casual look and giving me the Tulsa who loves tank tops and jean shorts. I stripped out of my boots and shirt, leaving me in just my jeans. Tomorrow is going to be hell, a long-as-fuck day since I spent all day in the office only to deal with Ella’s aftermath.
I watch as she tucks her legs beneath her, sitting sideways, elbow on the back of the swing, hand in her hair holding it up in a bun. I take my place beside her. She moves into me. No matter how hot or cold it is, I’m bringing her body as close as possible to me. There’s no nervousness running through my body. What I’m about to do is what I should have done seven years ago. Hell, I was already in Alabama, watching as she walked across that stage, accepting her diploma. Fuck, I made a lot of mistakes along the way. The right thing would have been to allow her the knowledge that I was there for her, cheering her on loud and proud, then meeting her off that stage and throwing her over my shoulder to bring her back home with me.