“Take a Red Bull for me. If there are cinnamon rolls, take a couple, and I want one.” I’d forgotten how much Dash enjoyed the TikTok cinnamon roll recipe. Amelia made them twice a year. Today was one of those times. I might grab one too. The devious plan made me smile. Dash believed six of the rolls were for him. He’d be frustrated with me for taking three, meaning our kids wouldn’t eat, or that I won. I did a triumphant fist pump, keeping my excitement close to my chest.
3: The Slide into Fourth
Dash/Beau
Dash
Through the good and bad times, I held on to the memory of Beau shifting my birthday by a day to give me my own twenty-four hours to celebrate. His sweetness and consideration, especially when he preferred not to make a fuss over his own birthday, had me absently bringing his knuckles to my lips for a kiss.
The July heat and humidity lingered throughout the day and into the night. The scent of heavily applied sunscreen clung to us as we enjoyed the last few hours of the night by poolside. Scott and Lauren were snuggled together on one lounger facing the pool. Beau and I sat side by side in Adirondack chairs, closer to the trickling waterfall on the outer edge of the pool. Our backyard was a carefully planned oasis where we spent most of our free time. The perfect outdoor setting for the entire family.
Having bought all of Beau’s grandparents’ land, and the property next to it with the thick thatch of forestry where Beau and I shared our first kiss, we had ample space for a swing set, treehouse, and a safe jungle gym built before any of the children arrived. I eventually wanted the girls to take tennis lessons. I had a space on the property reserved in my mind for a court when money freed up.
Between there and here was a lovely, fenced-in swimming pool, built-in waterfall, and a dedicated shallow end for the kids. A large, covered sandbox was nearby. We’d built a privacy fence around the majority of the property and installed expensive as hell landscaping and loads and loads of flowers to help tie it all together. I always had ideas to improve our living space, but for now, with the cost of private school starting in the fall, we spent a lot of the money we made.
Why was I thinking about that right now? I lifted Beau’s hand, kissing it again. His head rested against the back of the chair, and at my gestures, he swiveled to face me with a questioning gaze. “I was just thinking about the picture the girls gave me. I loved it.”
Beau’s brows crinkled. “Amelia gives you a picture of them every year. It couldn’t have been a surprise.”
He was a rock when it came to reality, never getting lost in the whimsical fairy tale I spun about our life. My fingers tightened around his. “This year’s picture is the day we brought West home for the first time. We’re all in the picture. Our family’s complete. West looks so much like you.”
Beau nodded and closed his eyes. “It’s late.”
“It is late,” Lauren Lee agreed, getting to her feet. “We need to go home. Tomorrow mornin’s comin’ quick.”
Scott, Beau’s childhood buddy and Lauren’s husband, kept his hands on her body. How she held him captivated after so many years of marriage was inspiring. It was the same way Beau held me. Scott rose too, circling her waist. “You’re gonna have to get me home,” Scott said. “We have a long walk. Ten feet at least.”
The joke never grew old. Scott bought the vacant lot next to ours. We saw at least one member of the Lee family every day. Our kids were fast friends. Scott focused on the charter service full-time, while Lauren became a cosmetologist, having a successful career at the only high-end salon in the area. For me, life with a talented stylist next door was everything right in the world.
Amelia set up a slumber party for most of the kiddos in the living room. I didn’t know for sure, but suspected Daisy Mae and Dolly, Scott’s two oldest girls had gone home. Their young teenage selves took the whole hormonal, bad attitude as a way of life. They could barely tolerate us anymore.
“Whoever’s asleep, let them stay,” Beau said without moving his head or opening his eyes. My brows knitted together. It was my birthday night. We’d never be quiet enough not to wake up Scott’s kids. My fingers squeezed until Beau glanced at me. “What? That’s what happens at a slumber party. And you got yours this mornin’. Tomorrow’s comin’ where you’ll get more.”
“Hmm,” I murmured as I manifested laser beams shooting from my eyes.
“I sense tension,” Scott said, happy to jump in the middle of any possible disagreement. He was loud and full of humor.
“Good night, Lee,” Beau said dismissively.
“We should probably stay too,” Scott said, unfazed by Beau. “It’s late and a risk to get home with how much we’ve had to drink…”
“Figure it out,” Beau said, finally sitting up and paying attention to his surroundings. “Lauren can get you home. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Har, har.” Scott tucked an arm back around Lauren and turned to leave. “He’s always testy these days. Remember when he used to be a nice guy?” He didn’t wait for an answer before adding, “It’s hard for me to remember too.”
The never-ending banter between those two left me hiding a smile. When I turned back to Beau, he bent over the arm of the chair to be right in my face. “You know, we could take off to Houston tonight. Amelia said Belle’s arrivin’ first thing in the mornin’. She’ll be here until we return on Monday afternoon.”
“How did Amelia respond to the idea of additional help?” I whispered. Amelia was quite protective of the children and preferred to keep other adults out of the house until they were properly vetted. No one ever passed her tests.
“I sold it to her as a present for the girls. She’s comin’ as Belle fromBeauty and the Beast. She’ll stay in character for the length of the stay,” Beau reminded me. “I showed her all the background tests she passed from Care.com.”
“Ahh, yeah, I remember now. She’s costing about three hundred dollars, right?” I asked. When Beau started to move away, I locked an arm around his neck, keeping him close. “That doesn’t seem like a lot for two days of Belle.”
“I didn’t think so either,” he said, giving a giant yawn in my face. “Let’s just leave tomorrow. Come to bed with me.” Of course Beau broke my hold and drew me up with him, walking side by side to our bathroom entrance. “She reduced her price because she’s lookin’ for a part-time job with us. She’s bringin’ a Disney library to read. The girls are so smart, they’re gonna have fun. She’s plannin’ a tea party in the treehouse.”
I pushed open the door, and cold air blasted us. Beau slipped inside first. I got the peck I expected as he passed by. “They’re so curious. I bet that’s how you were growin’ up.” He gave me another kiss with a giant grin while he descended then retreated. “At their age, I was flingin’ myself off the end of the boat dock. I never learned not to do it. They had to jump in and save me several times until I figured out how to save myself.”
“I love you,” I said, locking us inside the house before edging past Beau into the bedroom. “I’m going to check on the kids and shut the house down. I’ll be back to lay in bed and talk about nothing until you fall asleep on me.”
