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“Would you like me to bring your assistant here?” Jason puts the spoon to my mouth, and I take the food. Seriously, I am going to have to ask John what he puts in the oatmeal. It’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted before.
“No. She’s at the corporate office and would never come to the woods.”
Jason’s chuckle is sinister, and I look at him sternly. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Damn, all I did was chuckle.” He feeds me another spoonful of deliciousness, and I moan.
Swallowing my food, I point a finger at him. “I know that chuckle. It’s the ‘I’m about to do bad things’ chuckle.”
“She has you there, brother,” Joey says and winks at me. I smile and John sighs.
“We could talk to her, Crucinda. You need to have some normalcy, even if Jason doesn’t like it.”
Jason flips John off, and John smirks. “He has a point, pebble. You let us know if you want your assistant, we will get her.”
“I’m good for now. If you have a computer, I’ll give you my login information so you can get my phone numbers. Don’t ask me if I know her number; I don’t.”
“That’s what phones are for, keeping the information we forget,” Joey says as he shrugs.
Jason teases my lips with the spoon, and I whimper, opening my mouth for him. “Joey is going back to his post tomorrow. We will not have him AWOL. John needs to take care of some personal business. I’m going to be here to take care of you. No matter what you need, I’ll make it happen.”
Epilogue
Six months later
Peering at Crucinda,I get lost in the way she moves. It took her almost two months to fully heal from her wounds. That didn’t stop her, though. The woman is a damn machine. In bed, every day from eight in the morning until two in the afternoon, she would work remotely, getting things ready for the next show.
Joey writes to us weekly from his post, and pebble sends him care packages. It’s something she loves doing, which is why I can’t seem to tell her he doesn’t need anything. John moved a mile away from us on a farm where Crucinda has moved all her animals. He has become the caretaker, which seems to fit him. I’ve never seen him enjoy anything like he does when he’s taking care of those animals.
Taking over Jasper’s job has been challenging. It’s wrong of me to enjoy doing it and be jealous that he got to do it for so long. I keep that shit to myself, though. It would devastate Crucinda to know I am jealous of someone who is dead and was so close to her.
I focus on what I’m supposed to be doing—ordering swatches of fabric for some kind of suit that I don’t understand at all. But it’s for pebble, and she said as soon as the swatch was here, I’d understand why this fabric would be the final touch to her new theme.
“Hey, hon,” Crucinda says as she limps into the kitchen, where I’m cursing the form I’m filling out. Guilt rides through me, knowing she may limp for the rest of her life. Just watching her have trouble like she does makes me want to bring my father back to life and kill him all over again.
“Hey, pebble. What are you doing?” She sits on the stool next to me, looks at the form, and laughs.
“You know you can hit the button up top and change it to English, right?” She smiles so sweetly at me, like I should have known this, but says nothing to make me feel stupid.
“No,” I growl and hit the button. Sure enough, the website quickly goes from Italian to English, and I sigh. “For fuck’s sake, I could have used that an hour ago.”
Her chuckle calms me down as she pulls the laptop toward her. “Hey, no. I’m doing this. It’s my job, damn it.”
“Honey, it’s alright. I got it. You do so much for me.” She kisses me, and I watch her fingers fly across the keys to order that damn fabric. I feel like a damn failure, but she looks at me. “Get out of your head.”
“Well, yes, ma’am.” I salute her, and she giggles.
“I love you.” She gasps as she says and, at my look of shock, goes pale.
“You what?” The words come out in a whisper, and she looks down.
“I love you.” She says them again, trying to be brave, but I see her hands twisting around one another.
“Thank God.” Her head pops up, and I smile at her. “I’ve been wondering how to tell you that the feelings I have for you are much deeper than family.”
“Much deeper.” She breathes against my lips as she licks her way into my mouth.
“Fuck, pebble, I’ve been waiting to hear you say it.” Picking her up, I carry her to the couch.
