Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
“Yes.”
“Let me see it now,” she demanded.
“Not happening until after breakfast,” he informed her sternly.
“Fine.”
A knock sounded on the outer door. Maisie pulled the covers over her head to hide as Beau slid off the bed and grabbed his robe from the closet. “Coming,” he called.
“Your breakfast, sir,” the housekeeper announced as she wheeled the cart inside. “Shall I set up the table for you?”
“I will take care of it. Thank you, Sarah.”
“My pleasure, sir.”
As soon as the outer door closed behind her, Maisie peeked out the bedroom door. “Is she gone?”
“Yes, Little girl. You could say hello to her. Sarah is very loyal to me. She would never dream of spreading rumors about either of us,” Beau assured her.
“It smells good.” She walked forward to open one of the domed warming lids. Maisie wore one of his congressional softball team shirts that draped over her petite form to reach just above her knees. It looked way better on her than it did on him.
“Pancakes. They’re perfectly golden.” Maisie reached in to snag one and took a bite. “Yum!”
“Sit down. I’ll get you some juice and…”
“Coffee!” she proclaimed as she plopped down into a chair.
“We’re going to work on the amount of caffeine you consume, Little girl.”
“Tell me I can’t drink coffee and prepare for war,” she warned, viciously taking another bite of the pancake in her hand.
Beau made a note to cut back on her caffeine slowly. There was no doubt war would result if he tried to make her go cold turkey. He was definitely not that stupid.
Pouring her a cup, he added a healthy dose of milk and one cube of sugar. As he stirred it together, he walked forward to set it in front of her. Kissing the top of her head, he stole her plate and carried it to the lovely display Sarah had created.
He piled her plate with all the things she loved and placed it in front of her. Returning to the cart, he filled a small bowl with maple syrup and placed it between their silverware. Immediately, Maisie dipped the last bite of her stolen pancake into the golden liquid.
“Thanks. I hate it when everything gets soggy.”
“Soggy is bad.”
Maisie had never tasted pancake syrup until she went to college. Seeing her roommate slather butter before pouring the thick mixture over her pancakes caused Maisie to vow never to consume them again. He’d suggested this alternative for her. Forget the butter. Maisie would never allow herself to be that spoiled.
He added a few foods to his plate, avoiding the bacon and eggs. His doctor had already lectured him about the dangers of rising cholesterol. With a cup of black coffee in his hand, Beau sat down to enjoy a rare breakfast with his Little girl.
“So, what’s the surprise?” she probed.
“After breakfast,” he reminded her.
“Fine. I can wait.”
She ate silently for several seconds before losing patience with being quiet. Unless focused on solving a problem or learning a new challenging chunk of information, Maisie was seldom quiet.
“What are we doing today after the big secret? I have work I can dive into if you’re busy.”
“No work this weekend—unless there’s an emergency for one of us. This is our time to relax and be with our friends,” he explained.
“Like you ever don’t work.”
“I’m not this weekend. After the big surprise, I think we’ll be busy most of the morning. Then, let’s choose somewhere fun to have lunch. Do you have any favorite places in town you’ve missed?”
“Dragon tacos were the only thing I remember from our childhood. Oh, no! We forgot them last night!”
“We’ll put that on our list for lunch today,” he suggested.
“I could skip lunch after this breakfast. I’m sure they’ll have food at the reunion tonight.”
“No skipping meals.”
“Then choose somewhere I’ll enjoy,” she requested softly. Her words carried a silent message.
“Trust me. Be aware that we will go to fancy dinners as well, Little girl.”
“I know. It’s just weird with all those forks. So many things to wash.”
“Tell me about what you’re working on.” Beau steered the subject in a different direction. Maisie had perfect manners. The consummate researcher, she had absorbed etiquette in a number of settings. He knew she had wasted her time with this for him.
“So, it’s a bit complicated, but here’s the idea behind what we’re doing.” As Maisie talked, she abandoned her chair to come sit with Beau in his. Sitting sideways on his lap, Maisie described the complex experiment she had designed with her team. It would be tested virtually in two weeks, and everyone had checked and double checked their formulas and calculations. If they were successful, the result would create a medication that would eliminate the common cold within hours.
“That’s amazing!” he praised, brushing his fingers through her hair.
“The best part is, even if it isn’t a complete success, we’ll learn valuable information about easing a variety of symptoms. Maybe we’ll figure out how to lessen sneezing or coughing.”