“Oh, yeah?” He gives a soft smile down at her. “Any words of wisdom you’d like to share?”
“She said, be careful who you give your heart to.”
“I’ll have to approve of anyone you eventhinkof giving your heart to.” He taps her on the nose with his finger.
“It’s too late.” Reese comes over and wraps her arms around my waist. “I already gave it away.”
“Ace Waterman, huh?” Mr. Westfield looks from Dad to me and breaks out in a gentle grin. “You’re lucky I approve.”
Reese bubbles with a laugh before turning to me and landing a kiss over my lips.
Mr. Westfield says his goodbyes, and Reese follows him out.
I nod over at Dad, perturbed. “What’s with the send him off to rehab routine?” Not that I’m opposed to Warren getting help, it just seems like a strange recommendation from my father of all people.
“I’d a been a better man for it.” He pulls a cigarette off the table and lights up. “I fucked up a long time ago, but you can be glad, or else neither you or Reese would be here today.”
I glance out the window at Reese, and her mother’s letter comes back to me.
“You were into her mom?”
“Into? I was the shit. She was intome.” He takes an arrogant puff, and the smoke billows through the room. “All right. I was whooped and she wisely didn’t choose me in the end. Damn near killed me. And, when she died, I almost died with her.”
A brick settles in my throat. I couldn’t handle losing Reese. I can’t imagine what he went through.
“Is that why you and Mom split up?”
“Nope. Loved her, too. She couldn’t stand me. Found someone who treated her better.” He says that last part in air-quotes and the ashes from his cigarette spray over my bare foot. “Look, be good to your lady, or she’ll find someone else. It’s that easy.” He points to Neva. “And you don’t settle for shit.” He grabs his patrol jacket off the hook. “I’m going to work. Keep out of trouble.” He storms out the door, and I follow him outside to where Reese is standing alone, staring at the lake.
I run a string of kisses up over her face. “You want to go camping for the day?”
“Just one day?” She turns and her laughter ripples from her chest to mine. “I’ve got at least four before I have to get back to school.” Reese tilts her head and the light shines over her hair, illuminating each strand with the fire from the morning sun.
Neva pokes her head out the screen and scowls at the two of us before pulling her lips back into something just this side of a smile. I don’t blame her for not expanding. Her face might crack from the effort.
“I just want to say I’m sorry,” she gives it just above a whisper as she looks to Reese. “And, if you want to go for coffee sometime, I’m okay with that.”
“I’d love that.” Reese takes in a hard breath as if she were fighting tears.
Neva bolts back into the house—probably to crawl back into her casket for the day.
I toss the tent in the back of the Cougar and get the cooler together before Reese and I take off for the falls.
We get up to the top and Reese throws the tent up in the air and laughs as it pops into shape, landing with a whisper over the dirt. I embed us in a clearing under the pines and scoop Reese into my arms as I take us inside our little orange love shack.
“I’m going to love you forever, Reese.”
“I’m going to love you twice that long.”
I land a kiss over her lips, hot as a firebrand.
Reese pulls me down over her, and I make love to her sweetly until long after the sun goes down.
12
Catching Ecstasy
Reese
