Bingo! Once on the porch, I grabbed her elbow and led her around the house. Hidden from view, I pulled her to me, her lips eagerly meeting mine. I lifted her and held her against me as her fingers ran through my hair, nearly bringing me to my knees yet again. The fire, the burn, the ache, all from her. All for her. Ihadto find a way to make her stay.
She pulled back, and I rested my forehead against hers.
“I don’t want to put you down.”
“You’re going to get us busted.” She squirmed her way out of my hold. “I’m going to get my nails done now.”
She grabbed her shoes from the grass before turning and slowly walking with an extra sway in her hips, glancing back at me over her shoulder.
“Keep walking like that and I’ll throw you over my shoulder right now.” I winked. “You havenoidea what’s running through my sick, sick mind.”
Her smile grew, and those cheeks darkened. “Tootle-loo.” With that, she disappeared back into the house. I inhaled deeply and swore I could still smell her coconut shampoo.Don’t be a pussy! Pull yourself together, man!
Marching to the barn, I said a quick hello to Firequacker and Funny Bunny before heading to the she-shed with Grant. I’d built the shed when my house was done, and luckily for me, I only had a lawn mower inside, so it was easy to empty. It was a decent size with a loft for storage. Grant went bananas when he saw it. He initially wanted to paint it purple and gold to honor our beloved Minnesota Vikings, but then decided Madison might want a color to make her feel calm since girls “freak out” sometimes. Smart boy.
We’d gone to the hardware store early, where he took twenty minutes to choose the color, “warm linen.” Basically, it was one hundred color swatches of off-white. We then chose “soft grey” for the loft area.
Once back home, we armed ourselves with paint pans and rollers and got shit done, all before breakfast. Man, were we good.
Now Grant ran ahead of me, pulled open the door, and dropped to his knees, running his finger over the floor.
“It’s dry! We’re ready for furniture and stuff.”
I patted his shoulder. “Okay, little squealer, load up.”
Fifteen minutes and a mind-numbing conversation about lizards later, we arrived at the vintage store in town. Robin’s Nest was Daisy’s favorite shop. It had a cool vibe, with one-of-a-kind painted furniture, tables, art, and vintage lighting that had been restored to funky.
I’d known Kylie Lynn, the owner, since I was a kid. She was one of Daisy’s friends, and her face lit up from behind the counter.
“Jax, what a surprise!” She hopped around the counter. “This must be Grant.” She snatched a piece of candy from the top of the cash register and held it out. “I’m Kylie. I saw Daisy the other day, and she told me all about you.”
Grant grinned. “Hi.”
“What can I do for you both today?
Grant cleared his throat. “Kylie, we have a project and need some girly stuff.”
She turned her amused gaze to me. “Well, I’m intrigued. Do tell me more.”
Grant shook his head. “Sorry, it’s a secret.”
“I see. Well, why don’t you look around and tell me if you see anything that may work for your project.”
Grant pointed to the little glass chandelier that hung above us. “We’ll need that.”
Kylie nodded, and we both followed this kid who seemed to have a flare for design I hadn’t anticipated.
A chandelier, a cream-colored loveseat, a dusty blue comfy chair, a large cream and blue rug, and a little coffee table later, we were finally checking out.
After filling the back of my truck, we hopped inside.
“Jax, we need to go to a store that has a bed for Madison.”
Any sentence involving Madison on a bed grabbed my immediate attention.
“Bed? There’s no room for a bed in the she-shed.”
“You made a rhyme!” Grant busted a gut. “Not the whole bed, but the lay-on-it-part. For the loft.”
