Deacon (Unfinished Hero #4)(85)

Two days later, I stood next to the fancy new grill (that I bought Deacon, payback, ha!) at the end of my porch, eyes trained to the river.

Deacon was there, Araceli, Esteban, and Gerardo all standing close, eyes rapt with attention, watching Deacon teach them to bait a hook on a fishing pole. Araceli had Bossy’s long lead in her hand and Bossy was nose to the grass, discovering.

Silvia and Margarita were with their dad ten feet away, all of them had poles in the water, but Silvia’s eyes weren’t to her line. They were on Deacon.

“Euw!” Gerardo shrieked and I grinned.

Milagros came up beside me. “My son is not a fan of worms, so I did believe he’d appreciate seeing one tortured. I guess I was wrong.”

I looked to her and grinned.

She looked to me and did not grin. “There was something else I was wrong about.” Her gaze slid sideways and I knew she was looking to Deacon.

I also knew what she was saying.

I looked back to Deacon and watched as he gently moved the group away so he could show them how to cast a line.

My man, he had many talents, all of the new ones awaiting me I couldn’t wait to discover.

“I felt that, with Manuel, what’s in your eyes,” she said softly.

I again knew what she was saying.

“I’m glad,” I replied softly, and I was. I loved it that my friend had the splendor I was feeling.

“Feel it every time he looks at one of our children like he can’t believe they’re real.”

I loved that she had that, too. She deserved that. So did Manuel. So did the kids.

I felt tears sting my nose.

“Sometimes, he looks at me that way,” she carried on. “To this day.”

I turned to her, reaching out to clasp her hand.

She looked to me.

“I’m glad, honey,” I whispered.

“He gives you that,” she stated.

He did.

And him doing it gave me glee.

“Yes,” I replied.

Her lips tipped up. “I’m glad, Cassidy.”

I let her go but only to wrap my arms around her to give her a hug.

She gave it back to me.

When we were done, we didn’t let each other go. Not completely. We kept an arm around each other and turned to the scene by the river, Deacon handing the pole to Gerardo while Esteban and Araceli gathered close. He was bent to the boy and I knew giving instruction.

He was going to be a great daddy.

Yes.

Deacon gave me glee.

And he did it in a way I never thought he’d take it from me. I just believed he’d always give it, freely.

I guess I was stupid that way.

Chapter Sixteen

Say Something

I was upstairs in the bedroom.

Deacon was downstairs in the foyer with Bossy. They were training. She’d mastered the commands of “sit” and “down,” but she wasn’t real hip on “stay.”

Deacon was determined to make her that way.

It was hilarious. It was also cute.

Badass versus Boss Lady Puppy.

I couldn’t predict a winner so I didn’t try.

After his last awesome stay, Deacon had taken a job and come back. It was three days before my family was going to descend and there was a lot to do.

The house needed to be cleaned and we needed to go to the grocery store. This was because we were having a big spread the night they arrived. At Deacon’s request, my loaded potato casserole (and because Dad liked it too) would be served and Deacon was going to grill steaks (another talent I discovered, my badass could man a grill).

The next night, we were having a big shindig. More barbequing, hotdogs, hamburgers, brats, chicken breasts. Milagros, Manuel, and the kids were coming, as well as few of my friends from town.

Deacon had not hesitated to approve his meeting of my friends. He did this over the phone while he was on his job.

“Whatever you want, Cassie.”

Whatever I wanted.

I so loved Deacon Deacon.

And the last thing to do before my family descended, according to my man, was teach our dog to stay.

So I was giving them time and was up in the bedroom, determined to unpack Deacon’s bag. He’d said this stay would be a month. He’d also said, “Gonna start cuttin’ ties, Cassidy.”

He didn’t explain this fully.

He didn’t have to.

I got it.

He was preparing to be with me.

Always.

And I was preparing to have him, doing this by making a point by unpacking his bag. I’d already cleared a drawer and space in the closet. I did this as a statement but I also did it because I was sick of tripping over his crap when I was in the closet.

A win-win for me.

I was also going to corral Lacey into going shopping with me. Deacon looked good in his tees, shirts, jeans, and definitely his belts. He had kickass belts.

But he didn’t have many clothes.

I was going to rectify that. If he didn’t want to take them on the road, that was okay. They could stay home.

Home.

With me.

I grinned.

He’d tossed his dirty stuff in the laundry so I dragged the bag out of the closet and put it on the bed. Tees, socks, and boxer briefs in the drawer. Belts (two of them, he had three, one he was wearing) on the hooks on the wall in the closet. Extra pair of boots on the floor. Jeans (three pairs, all faded; as hot as they were, definitely needed new) and shirts on hangers. Dopp kit in the bathroom, unpacked and put in a drawer. Then there were the three thick rolls of bills, the outside bills in denominations ranging from twenty to one hundred held tight by rubber bands that I found, ignored (but didn’t, since I had to touch them), and put in with his socks and briefs.