Page 57 of Lone Star Longing
She blinked a minute. “Are you coming too?” She motioned to his jeans and t-shirt.
“I’ll grab some trunks at the gift shop and change down there.”
“Oh. Okay.” Interesting that he was willing to spend the money, when he didn't have a job. And she knew the gift shop couldn't be cheap. And that he didn't feel like he needed to wait for the bed to be delivered, to tell the hotel workers where to put it. But he knew about these things better than she did, so she shrugged it off and headed toward the door.
Ten minutes later, she was on her back on an inflated inner tube, her butt and her feet in the cool, clear water, trees sheltering her from the sun overhead. Beck was on the tube behind her.
She craned her head toward him. “I’m never leaving. You can cancel that extra bed. I’m just going to sleep out here.”
He grinned. “It is very peaceful.”
Well, mostly. Kids played nearby, yelling at each other, but the breeze rustling in the trees carried the noise off. She let her eyes drift closed, her head loll back against the rubber of the tube as the water carried her down the winding waterway.
Her child was going to grow up knowing he or she was loved. Her child was going to have experiences like these children here, no matter what she had to do to make it happen. Her child was never going to feel “less than” because of an absent father. She was going to guarantee that.
Maybe she’d have to move to a city to make enough money. Maybe she would have to move because of gossip in the town, though, to be honest, if people were going to talk, they were already talking. She didn't even care if they were talking about her, but she would not allow them to talk about her child.
“Hey,” Beck said, floating up beside her and covering her clenched fist with his hand. “You’re supposed to be relaxing.”
“I know. It’s just not as easy as all that.”
“Yeah, I get it, but try to live in the moment, not in the past. Just for a little while.” He released her hand as his tube bumped hers as they floated around a bend. “Think about what you want for dinner instead.”
She laughed. “Those burgers at the patio restaurant smell good.”
“If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll get. They have a sit-down restaurant, too, or we can order room service and watch a movie.”
That last part sounded best, really. Ridiculous, because she could eat and watch a movie back home, and here she had choices, but that was the one that sounded best to her. She needed to be in her comfort zone after the day she’d had.
Once she got out of the water. Which she never wanted to do.
She was surprised, actually, that Beck was willing to go along with her choice of room service and a movie. She insisted on paying for the room service instead of adding it to his bill, though. She was going to contribute to this trip one way or another.
They went back and forth about the movie, between action or drama or comedy, finally settling on an older movie they’d both seen but both enjoyed.
Again, Lacey thought about how that same discussion would have played out with Jesse. They would be watching the movie he wanted to watch, because if she hadn’t given in, he would sulk, and so she found it just easier to let him have his way.
Which, now that she thought on it, was ridiculous. Of course if she rewarded his bad behavior, he would continue to act the same. He was used to getting his way. And those thoughts led to thoughts about his mother, and how she had raised him, and how she was treating Lacey because of it.
Her stomach started to knot, but she forced herself to relax, to push the thought aside. If his mother wanted to deny the child, fine. That meant Lacey didn't have to worry about sharing her child with people who wouldn't treat him right.
She picked up her burger, which Beck had chided her for ordering when the menu had so many choices, as the familiar music of the movie played, and she started relaxing again. She would lose herself in the familiarity of the film, let it ease the tensions of the day.
“Tomorrow I need to make a few stops before we head back,” Beck said, cutting into her thoughts. “Is there anything you need?”
She had thought of so many things she’d like to do, now they were in town, and she had planned to stay longer. But he hadn’t. He’d planned to go back tomorrow.
“I need to get my phone fixed, and you had said something about getting your mom a chair for the porch. This would be a good place to do that.”
“Right.” He looked at her. “I’d forgotten about the chair. Thanks for remembering.”
“And I’d like to, if we have time, to go to a grocery store.”
“A grocery store?” he echoed, leaning forward to turn and look at her.
“Yeah. You know, the store in Broken Wheel doesn’t have a lot of selection, and I’d like to see, you know, a grocery store that has different brands and different foods.” She shook her head, smiling. “We don't have to. It was just something I’d thought about when I planned to come here, and you know, spend time.”
“You’re an odd one,” he said, sitting back against the couch again.
