Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“What?”
Dune kissed her and took her hand. “Let me show you something.”
He walked her toward the cliff and then turned her to face her car. “How did you find me out here?”
“Your phone. You shared your location with me, so I put it into my GPS, and it brought me here.”
“Brilliant. Now look.” He described what he saw and when he wanted to highlight a particular thought, he went to where it would be on the land—like the French doors he wanted instead of a sliding glass door or where the kitchen sink would be. “And up there.” He pointed to the sky. “We'd be able to make love under the stars whenever we wanted.”
“You're building a house?”
“No, I'm building us a house. We're still on my parent’s land. My dad is going to subdivide this portion and I'm going to build us a home. A place to raise our child.” he placed his hand on her stomach. “If we're having a baby, we need a house . . .” As soon as the words left his mouth, he closed it. He assumed she would move to Seaport because of him. Dune stepped back and looked at her.
“I quit.”
He heard her words, but they only registered as her quitting him. “Excuse me?”
“I quit my job,” she told him. “I hated it, the city, being away from you. All of it. My heart . . .” She paused and put her hand on her stomach. “Our hearts are in Seaport. I want this baby and this life with you. I don't know where I'll work or live, but I want to be wherever you are.”
“You'll live with me,” he told her. “We’ll be cramped, but I'll work night and day with the builders to get our house done before the baby comes. And you can work with me or stay home all day. I don't care.”
“I need to work, Dune. My dad is going to cut me off.”
“So, let him. When I say you don't have to work or can work as little or as much as you want, it's because I can take care of you.”
“I have bills to pay and if you're building a house—”
Dune cut her off with a kiss. When they broke free, he looked into her eyes. “On the outside I look like a beach bum, some guy who plays around on a boat all day and sits at his favorite bar at night. But when I tell you, I can take care of you, build us this dream house, and say you can stay home and do whatever you want. It's because I can, Caroline. I'm not hurting for money.”
“But I thought . . .”
“I know what you thought because I let you believe whatever you wanted. I'm not rich by any means, but I'm not poor. When this house is built, we'll own it. It'll be ours, and no one can take it away from us.”
“Wow, you're really the adage of don't judge a book by its cover.”
“I'm very thankful for that, because if you saw me as someone like your father, you wouldn't be here right now. Believe me, I know we're different on the outside, but on the inside, we want the same things.”
“I'd love you regardless, Dune.”
The wind blew, and Dune looked toward the sky. “We gotta get back to my house or my parents’ soon. The storm’s coming.”
“What storm?”
“Don’t you watch the news?” he asked.
She shook her head slightly, and he laughed. “Living here, you’ll have to keep an eye on the weather. Hell, even in New York, you’d have to. There’s a hurricane moving up the coastline. It’ll be here before nightfall.”
Dune walked her back to her car. “Do you remember where I live?”
“I think so.”
He pulled his phone out and sent her the address. “I’ll meet you there. I have to take the ATV back. Go to my parents’. My mom is home.” Caroline nodded. After kissing him goodbye, she got into the car and headed back the way she came. Dune stood there, watching the taillights of her car disappear, and imagined what she’s going to look like when her stomach was round with his child. He was going to be a father and couldn’t wait to share the news with this family.
Dune mounted the ATV and headed toward his parents. By the time he arrived, the rain had started in a slow drizzle, but it was enough to dampen his clothes. He ran into his home, changed, and then headed for his parents. He called out as soon as he walked in and followed the voices to the kitchen.
Caroline sat at the island, with his mom on the other side. They chatted like long lost best friends. Dune kissed his mom on the cheek and then Caroline on her lips. He looked into her eyes and whispered, “I love you,” before kissing her again.