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“My parents loved each other at first sight. They both had careers they were passionate about. But they met each other and finally had something they cared about more than their life’s ambitions. They married. And then, six years later, adopted me. My birth mother had packed it all up and left town. Told everyone she couldn’t take another minute in ‘this god-forsaken town.’ Not having children was the only thing missing from their lives. I was their happy surprise. Their choice. That’s the story they told me a thousand times. I was their happy surprise.”

His forehead moved against hers. A slight shift as he smiled. “Sounds nice.”

“It was nice… for them. My parents loved ranch life. But ranch life is hard. Up before dawn, rain or shine. There was always something to do, work. Duties. Responsibilities.” She felt her way along the sides of his face. “You feel that?”

He nuzzled her palms. “Your hands?”

“Callouses. I followed my dad working around the ranch. My mom took me on house calls. Ranch calls. But I never really fit in either of those places, and we all knew it. But here’s the hard part. How could I leave? How would they make it without me? Didn’t I owe them for taking care of me? Hell, it was more than my mother did.”

He tipped her chin up, forcing her eyes open. “I’m sure they wouldn’t have wanted you to sacrifice your life for their dreams.”

“No, of course not.” She shrugged. “But sometimes love ties you up with the biggest chains of all. Holding you down when all you want is freedom.” The lights glistened and shined over his shoulders. Or were they shimmering and watery from her story? “Don’t get me wrong. They loved me. But they never saw me. Didn’t get me. I spent most of my time buried in books. Books became the teachers who taught me, the friend who shouldered me, the mentor who encouraged me, and the village aunty who taught me about sex. When I wanted to escape, there was no other way than books.”

“I see you. But I still don’t get it.”

“Did you ever sit in the security room and watch the people on camera?”

“Yes. Of course, but why…”

“Wonder what their lives were like? How did they meet? What’s their back story? Did you ever watch them like characters in a movie, appearing on screen?”

He shrugged. “I guess.”

“That feeling you get watching them. Waiting for something magical to happen, wondering about their lives. That’s been my whole life… Only I wasn’t stopping to peek in on the security cameras for a few minutes. I was locked in the room with no way out. Shut-in with live feeds rolling across the screen. Forced to watch life from afar, day after day. Until finally, the door opened. I found a key. A silly story about a student who posted her virginity in an online auction to raise tuition fees. I researched that story and found others. It was crazy and desperate, but it was a way out. My parents think I’m in a fine arts internship. I’ve been studying writing online.” Her words zoomed out. Flush with the freedom to share her story with someone. “I can do it. I will do it. It will give me enough money to pay for full-time help on the ranch. And still, leave me enough to travel and see the world. Actually have the life I’ve dreamed of while watching from in that locked room.”

“You do know that the lives you were watching weren’t real? What you see from a distance is always only a reflection of their lives. A mirage.”

“I realize that. But they showed me the possibilities.”

“But those same possibilities exist with an excellent education. A decent job…”

“Takes time. This lets me grab it all in one big scoop. I can earn enough for a night or two to help my parents and unchain myself. Have someone watching me on-screen for a change. I will take the money and travel around the world. Paris, London, Dubai, Egypt. There’s no country I won’t visit. I’ll see all seven world wonders plus seven more that no one talks about. I will play polo with future kings, surf over the golden corral of the South Pacific, and eat shrimp off the barbie. Visit the point of no return in Africa and think of those who came before me. Because I won’t be selfish. I will give with an open hand to any who asks me.”

“And your body…”

“Is a small price to pay.”

He leaned forward and rested his brow on hers again. The soft touch was like the head bump of a barnyard cat when she brought fresh food. His nose rubbed back and forth on hers. And damn, how was a nose rub sexy? How did it send little tingles down her spine? Make her yearn for more. Have her wishing…

His words breathed against her lips, gentle winds calming the fire he’d kindled. “I can provide all that. Give you the money you ask, the travel you want?

“Why would you do that? You don’t even know me.”

“Nyet. But I also know what sitting in the security booth is like. In my family, I’m the watcher. When they need information; they need to know something. I’m the one they send to investigate. I have everything you told me about your ranch and farm life sitting on a file on my desk.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“Because watching someone on screen doesn’t tell you about the person. You see what they do. You hear what they say. But you don’t know the person. I know more about some people than their children, spouses, or employers. But the number of people I really know is about ten. My siblings, my parents, Rand. A few others.”

“You live in this tower alone as much as I did in my room.”

“Not quite.” His smile wrinkled his forehead. “But I know what it’s like to want something more. Something different from what our parents planned for us.”

“My parents planned for med school or ranch life. When I told them I wanted to wander the world. They couldn’t imagine giving me that…”

“…Freedom. I, too, wanted to travel. But everything changed, and they sent me here instead.” He sighed and pulled back. His palms burned her thighs through her yoga pants. “Family emergency.” She raised her brow. But he only answered, “Business.” And then focused on the skyline over her shoulder. The Vegas lights surrounded them through the wrap-around floor-to-ceiling windows of his suite.

“So, you would give me the money. Help me travel?”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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