Page 81 of The Outpost (Jamison Valley 4)
After our shower, he had set up our bed on the floor and we’d curled in for an early bedtime so Beau could get up before five and make the trip back to Prescott in the morning.
Normally, we both slept on our sides facing one another, but tonight, Beau was on his back and I was draped across his chest. I wasn’t sure why he liked the other position better but this was my new favorite. My toes were running up and down his muscled calves and my ear was pressed right against his heartbeat.
“Let’s play our question game,” I said.
He hummed his agreement.
“You’re falling for me?” I asked his chest. Even though he’d said it during our argument, I hadn’t missed it.
“I think you know the answer to that one, Shortcake.” His lips pressed into the top of my hair.
I was falling for him too.
“My turn,” he said. “Would you ever consider moving away from Seattle?”
I had asked myself that same question for the last month. The idea of being with Beau in Prescott was so tempting, but on the other hand, I knew myself well enough to know that I would suffocate in a place so small. The last thing I wanted was to resent him for trapping me in Montana.
“I don’t know,” I said. “There might be some things to change so I’m happier but I miss Seattle. Would you ever live in the city?”
He sighed. “I can’t leave Prescott. I need to be here for family. Especially Coby. And I can’t see myself being happy in a place like Seattle. No space. So many people. I think it would slowly choke me to death.”
I hated his answer but at least it was honest.
Our argument from the kitchen earlier now made sense. When he’d asked if not going back to Seattle would be so bad, he’d been asking if I’d consider a life in Prescott.
“Where does that leave us?” I asked.
“The same place we’ve always been. Here together for as long as we have.”
“Okay.” My throat started to close but I held off tears. If I didn’t get to keep Beau for a lifetime, I wanted to fill the time we did have with only happy moments.
When my emotions were under control, I propped my chin up on his chest so I could memorize the way Beau’s face looked tonight. His eyes were light in the darkening room. The crease between his eyebrows was relaxed and disappearing. His hair needed a trim but his beard was shorter than it had been when we’d first met.
“What do you look like without your beard?” I asked.
He grinned. “Younger. More like Michael.”
“When was the last time you shaved?”
“I shave my neck every day for work but I haven’t been without the beard in ages. Eight years, I think. Why?”
“Just curious, I guess. I doubt I’ll ever get the chance to meet your mom so she can show me your baby book and high-school yearbook pictures.”
Why did that realization hurt? I was infatuated with Beau’s beard, but right now, I wanted nothing more than to see him without it. To have that glimpse of him as a younger man. To run my hands across his smooth skin and learn every angle of his strong jaw.
Just once.
“I’ll make an agreement with you, Shortcake. I’ll shave my beard if you promise me you’ll never cut your hair short.”
“Really?”
“Really. I love your long hair.” His hand abandoned my skin to tug at the ends of my hair resting on our bed. It had grown two or three inches since I’d been at the outpost and now hung to my waist.
“But don’t men usually love their beards?”
He grinned. “Yeah, I love my beard, but I think I’m getting the better end of the bargain. Besides, give it two weeks, and I’ll have it grown back.”
I smiled. “I’m in.”
