Page 57 of The Burdens We Share
I roll my eyes, “Fine. Who was on the phone?”
He grins, “Follow me. I have to show you something.”
I give him a suspicious look because why did he just completely ignore my question? He reaches for my hand and I place mine in his and let him help me out of the chair. He holdsonto my hand as he leads me out of his office without divulging any more information about where he’s taking me, who was on the phone, or why he’s being suspicious.
He takes me in the elevator all the way up to the roof where a helicopter is waiting. I look up at him and find him looking at the helicopter with what seems to be excitement. “Dallas?” I ask, confusion in my voice.
Dallas looks down at me, “Yes?”
I gesture towards the helicopter, “What’s going on?”
He tugs me towards the helicopter as he explains, “The helicopter is here to take us away for the weekend.”
I furrow my brows, “Um, where exactly are we going?”
He laughs to himself, “I’m taking you to Texas.”
My entire face lights up, “What?”
He nods, “We’re going to Texas together for the weekend.”
I practically jump up and down before I gather myself, “Wait, for work or for fun?”
He releases my hand and uses his to tip my chin up, “For fun.”
I squeal in excitement before the logistics play in my mind and my tone shifts to seriousness, “But I don’t have a bag packed!”
Dallas gives me a look as if he’s offended I would doubt him. “I had Brody and Aria pack you a bag with everything you need, including your guitar.”
“My guitar?” Now my interest is piqued.
He nods, “Yes. I got you a gig at a local bar in Austin. It’s nothing big. I didn’t want the fans to swarm you. I thought this way it would be more personal and intimate.”
My eyes start to water because nobody has ever done anything even remotely close to what he’s doing for me right now. “You planned all of this for me? Why?”
Dallas drops his fingers from my chin and just holds my gaze, “Because I know it was your first dream and you never gotaround to making it happen. I figured I would help.”
A single tear rolls down my cheek and he quickly wipes it away. He doesn’t understand what he’s doing to me. My heart swells with affection for him and I show it by throwing my arms around him and squeezing him. He returns the sentiment, though he doesn’t squeeze me nearly as hard. He made my first dream come true, a dream that was originally not even mine, but became mine because I wanted to be closer to my father. Dallas doing this for me seals the crack in my heart that was there from never completely accomplishing my father’s dream.
Dallas chuckles, “Come on, we’re gonna be late to your show.”
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WE FLEW ONTO THEroof of an apartment building which I found confusing since I thought we’d be staying at a hotel. Dallas later informed me that he owned the penthouse apartment on the highest floor of the building and that it was originally intended for him to use when he was visiting family, though the apartment didn’t get much of any use considering his father hates him. It made my heart hurt for him because how could his own father hate him? How could his father blame him for his mother’s death? The thought just wasn’t fair.
Dallas had someone stock up the refrigerator for us and I suspected he even had it cleaned because there wasn’t a spec of dust anywhere even though he hasn’t been here in some time.
Now, we’re washing the plates from dinner. Well, I’m washing and he’s drying. “Have you noticed something off with Selene lately?” I ask Dallas.
He contemplates my question for a moment before he answers, “I haven’t really noticed. I guess maybe she has been acting a little unlike herself, but I’m sure if anything is up with her it’s stress-related. She piles her plate up too much.”
“She thrives in chaos,” I add.
Dallas smiles to himself, “I remember those days.”
I laugh at him, “You do realize you still pile your plate up, right? Your company is so busy and yet you decided to offer yourself up to protect me. Why did you do that anyway?”
He puts the dish in his hand inside the cabinet and closes it, propping his hip on the counter as he responds, “Because I wanted an excuse to be close to you.”
