Page 1 of Turtle Dove

Chapter 1

Grayson

“Are you sure Amelia can’t just tell me what Nora wants? Christ sake, this woman is hard to buy gifts for.” My best friend Case groans over weekly beer.

“I tried that already. She said that it’s not a real Christmas gift if she picks it out for Nora. If you can fuck her, you can pick out her present. Her words.” I take a long draw of my beer with a grin.

“I’m a shitty gift giver, man. You know that. Who better to help me than her best friend?”

“Remember when you gave Cheri Parker that tackle box for Christmas our Junior year? Classic.”

I dodge the perfectly balled up napkin he throws my way.

“Fuck off. That was a nice one and she said she liked fishing.”

“She said she used to go fishing with her grandfather that was dead, man. Very different.”

“I can handle a lot of things with ease, asshole, but when it comes to gifts, I freeze and panic.” He finishes his beer in a few large gulps.

“Well, you’re running out of time. If the unreasonable amount of Christmas lights and Christmas music pumping through the air are any indication, the clock has struck Christmas.”

“You just said Christmas three times in one sentence.”

“If that doesn’t prove my point, nothing does.”

He pulls his phone out and checks the time. “I should get going. Nora gets off work in half hour.”

“Now who’s pussy whipped?” I joke, throwing down some bills to pay the tab.

“Both of us, man. Absolutely both of us.”

***

The sun is already beginning to set over the coastline when I pull into the driveway of the Tybee house Amelia, Cadence and I live in. Sometimes I can’t even believe it. I can’t believe she’s here and she’s mine.

After all this time. After...everything. She’s mine. The last year and a half has been everything.

I’m proudly “pussy whipped.”

I remove my Kane Security hat and toss it to the dashboard of my truck, which is its general home until I slide it back onto my head bright and early tomorrow morning, then run my hand through my hair, scratching at my scalp a little.

I open the driver’s side door and step out into the semi-cool Georgia air. Being this far south doesn’t lend itself to very cold Decembers, but we have a crisp sixty-two degrees Fahrenheit happening right now. I’ll take it.

The large wraparound porch is decorated with twinkling Christmas lights, all multicolored at Cadence’s request. It’s festive and perfect. The smile that appeared on both of my girls’ faces made the hours of sweat, frustration, and curse words worth it.

I step into the foyer and the smell of sweet cookies hits my nose immediately.

Chocolate chip. I could pinpoint it from a mile away.

I step through, past the stairs and toward my kitchen, and that’s when I hear it.

I pause in the hallway and just listen as Mills and Cadence sing along to an Elvis Christmas classic, and I can’t stop my stupid grin.

If I wasn’t in love before, goddammit, I am now.

I peek around the corner to see them swaying and dancing as they place individual red and green chocolate candies on the warm chocolate chip cookies.

“Your daddy thinks he’s so sneaky, Cadence. Maybe he shouldn’t get any cookies since he wants to spy on us. What do you think?” Mills says, with her back still to me.

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