Her hand comes up, and she places soft fingers over my lips to hush me. “Don’t,” she says gently.
“I have so much to tell you,” I say as her fingers fall away.
“Later,” she says as she takes my hand and starts leading me toward the bedroom. “First… you promised a spanking and a fucking. Then we can talk.”
Christ above, I silently pray as I follow her back. Thank you for bringing this woman into my life.
Unfortunately, exhaustion got the better of me and after I heated Casey’s ass up, I fucked myself into a coma, promptly falling asleep after I had the mother lode of all orgasms.
When I awoke, Casey was gone from the bed and the sun was streaming through the windows. I rolled off the mattress, pulled my jeans on, and promptly found a message written in lipstick on her bathroom mirror that said, “Down on the beach.” Not even bothering with a shirt or shoes, I make my way over to the public beach access and find her sitting in the sand with a cup of coffee.
Her face tilts up to me when I reach her side, and her soft smile fills my heart as I plop down beside her. She leans over and grazes my jaw with her lips. “Sleep good?”
“Yeah,” I say as I run my fingers through my hair. “Guess I was more tired than I thought.”
She turns her face back to the ocean, but I continue to stare at her a moment.
So fucking beautiful. So fucking mine.
I reach out, take her coffee, and help myself to a sip. I can’t help but grimace over the creamy sweetness that hits my tongue, so I push the cup back into her hands.
“So what’s going on, Tenn?” she asks with an impish smile. “You don’t write… you don’t call. What’s a girl to think?”
My hand goes to the back of her head, threading my fingers through her hair and turning her face to me. I stick my nose right alongside hers and kiss the corner of her mouth. “The girl… she knows, without a doubt, that I love her.”
She presses her forehead against mine and says, “I do know that and I love you too. But if you ever go three days again without talking to me—”
“I don’t intend to go three more minutes without you by my side,” I tell her earnestly as I give her another kiss and release my hold on her.
“So what’s been going on?” she asks quietly.
I take a deep breath and wrap my arms around my knees. “It’s been a mess… trying to figure things out. The corporate attorneys really started pushing Woolf and me hard to take the company public. That was the reason for going to Chicago.”
“But,” she prompts me along.
“But we’re not going to,” I tell her. “We thought about it hard and honestly… we were really close to doing it, but then something happened.”
She turns to look at me with curious eyes. I merely reach into my back pocket and take the envelope out. Unfolding it, I hand it to her.
“Just before we were getting ready to walk into the meeting with the board of the investment bank, my dad’s personal attorney, Bob Stoops, handed this to Woolf and me. He said it was a letter my dad had written to us, and he had specifically asked this attorney not to give it to us until at least one month after his death. However, Bob, who was also very good personal friends with my dad, felt like it was more important we read it before going into that meeting, so he sort of made a command decision to deliver it a little early.”
Casey looks down at the envelope and then back to me with uncertainty. I give a nod toward her hands and say, “Read it.”
She opens the envelope and pulls out two sheets of paper that bore my father’s last words to his sons in his neat but rustic penmanship. I read along over her shoulder.
Dear Tenn and Woolf:
It is my hope that as you read this, I can offer you both some words of wisdom and encouragement that perhaps I didn’t have the fortitude to tell you when I was alive. I know I put a lot of pressure on you both to follow in my footsteps, but truly, I don’t ever want that to have been the biggest disservice I may have done to my sons.
I’ve asked Bob to give this to you after I die, but it’s my hope that you can figure things out on your own so I’ve asked him to wait at least a month to deliver it. If for some reason you are faltering or unsure of what to do, please take these words for what they are… merely a way for me to be a father first and foremost and not a businessman.
Tenn… my oldest son… you will never really know the pride you have brought to me. You may not be the exact chip off the old block I had envisioned, but you have surpassed what I could have ever hoped for in a son. You served our country in such a way as to humble me, and you gave me a beautiful granddaughter who I hope is more like you than me any day of the week. I know my dreams aren’t your dreams, and so the one thing I want you to know… no matter what… you follow your heart.
Woolf… my youngest son… you are a chip off the old block, and it is in you that I pin all of my hopes and dreams for the future of our family. I know that may seem like a lot of pressure, but I have absolute faith and trust in your abilities. I know you may feel lost and afraid over everything that is facing you, but this is when you lean on your brother for support, and you surround yourself with good people to help you along the way.
Whatever you both decide to do, know that your mother and I will be looking down on both of you with love, pride, and complete satisfaction that we raised our children right.
Love,
Dad
My eyes mist up again as I read the letter. I’ve only read it about twenty times since I opened it a few days ago, and each time, the impact of his words momentarily stuns me. I guess I never gave my dad enough credit for being just a dad.
His words had such an impact on Woolf and me as we read them that we walked into the meeting with the investment bank, politely listened to what they had to say, and then just as politely declined their help. Neither one of us had a fucking clue what to do, but fueled by our father’s words, we knew we’d figure it out.
Casey gives a little sniffle, and I watch as she blinks back tears. She folds the letter up, puts it back in the envelope, and lays it down on the sand between her feet. Leaning forward, she turns her face and lays her cheek on her knees to look at me.
“What does that all mean?” she asks.
“It’s still complicated, and I’m still going to have to be involved somewhat in the family business, but it also means that I’m going to still pursue my dreams.”
“Would those dreams include me?” she asks hesitantly, and I can’t let her go another moment with any doubts.
Reaching out, I pull her over to me, lowering my legs to the sand and situating her on my lap so she straddles me. My hands go to her perfect face and kiss those perfect fucking lips.
“My dad said something really important in that letter,” I tell her. “He told Woolf to surround himself with good people.”
She nods, not really understanding.
“The main reason the corporate attorneys wanted us to consider going public was to alleviate management duties on us. It was just shifting the burden, so to speak.”
“Because they didn’t trust you and Woolf?” she asks.
I shrug my shoulders. “Maybe, but we understood that. We don’t have much business experience. But then we started thinking… let’s take Dad’s advice and bring in good people to help us rather than do it all ourselves. I mean, my dad did everything, sure, but that didn’t mean we had to.”