Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
After several hours of repeatedly calling Beau’s phone, I finally decided to check with the motel. I should’ve done it from the second I heard about the motel charge. Why hadn’t I? I couldn’t say, but I was still dealing with a mammoth hangover and seriously troubled by Chandler’s actions. Fucking Chandler. Even though I’d sensed my relationship with Beau was diminishing, I’d allowed Chandler to sneak in and hurt Beau again. What an arrogant fool I’d become. A joke of a human being.
I grabbed a bottle of rum from the bar on my way to our chairs that offered the perfect view over Lake Michigan. I took a healthy swig directly from the bottle. This liquor went down much smoother than scotch ever could.
With a sigh, I slumped back into the chair. It was time to digest that my tenure with the firm was coming to an end. Tomorrow, I’d begin cleaning up my cases, preparing for a transition. The few clients that had relied solely on me, a contingency in their contracts that only I handled their accounts, hopefully went with me wherever I landed. Luckily, untangling myself as a junior partner would be infinitely easier than if I’d been made senior partner already. I didn’t yet have an equity position in the firm.
I dialed Beau one last time, desperately hoping he’d answer. If he did, that had to mean he wanted me back. My stomach knotted as the fourth ring started and seemed to drop to my toes when the voicemail answered again. My head swam, and I took another swallow of the rum then dialed the motel.
“Motel 6,” a man whose voice might have seen better days barked.
“I’m looking for Beau Brooks, a guest of yours,” I said, my chin hitting my chest, my fingers crossed.
“He checked out about four hours ago.” The call ended abruptly. So much for customer service. Dammit. My poor choices were glaringly evident, deepening my understanding of why my wonderful mister had walked away. Why had I ever agreed to keep Beau at a distance? Especially when he sat at my office for hours watching me do all the mundane and grunt work tasks a first, and second year attorney was assigned. I loved those memories. Dinner by lamplight in the file room we affectionately referred to as the dungeon.
I wasn’t always the man I became. The idea that I thrived by carrying my father’s attitude toward life made me physically ill. Manipulation wasn’t my way, but I’d done that so many times I’d lost count. Even with Chandler, I’d manipulated that situation to see what he was up to. I didn’t feel bad about that. But Beau? That one I didn’t feel good with at all. I closed my eyes, listening to the silence of the house. Despite what anyone thought, I’d never lost my desire for my husband. Or for the dream that we’d have children someday. I yearned for a handful of little ones to love and explore the beauty of the world with.
Why had I allowed Beau to live such a lonely life? The first time he’d left me, that had been my father’s fault, even though neither of us knew it at the time. This time, it was my father’s destructive DNA manifesting inside me. And I’d let it happen. Beau would be far better off without a Richmond in his life. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the kind of person who’d grant him clemency from his life sentence with me. I didn’t want to give him an opportunity to see if he could be happier without me. I would be the one to make him smile again.
I went to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen. Beau was good about leaving my sleeping pills out for me. I’d taken that simple gesture for granted. I’d taken everything about us for granted, but Beau had sure gotten my attention. Please let him be heading to Dallas. Please. It meant I still had a chance.
Beau
Driving into Dallas along Interstate 35 East felt completely different tonight than any other time before. After getting some sleep, I was in a better position to make decisions on where to go. I just had no idea where I belonged. The last time I’d experienced happiness was in Sea Springs, where my grandparents always made my visits memorable. It was where my mom’s heritage could be found.
If I stayed on the outskirts of town, I could avoid Richmond Resorts and the family land that had been ours for generations. It seemed the direction I was supposed to go or at least the direction the truck was taking me in. I had several hours to go to make it to Sea Springs. Maybe if my grandparents’ land ever became available, I could buy it to keep it in the family. I understood why my mom’s family had cherished that place. The proximity to the ocean nourished my soul.