Chapter 14 #2
He grinned at her. “I’ll look forward to that. But what am I getting in trouble for exactly?”
“You’re not supposed to change the rules without checking with her first.”
“How do you know that?” Carson asked.
“I saw it in a TV show. The mom got mad because the dad changed the kid’s bedtime without talking to her about it first.”
“How is it that he’s more prepared to be a husband and father at seven than I’ll ever be?” Carson asked Cresley, who laughed.
“He pays attention to everything.”
“That’s how I learn stuff.”
“And PS, he’s right about not changing the rules without checking with me, but I’ll let it go this one time. If you want to call him Carson, you can, but all other adults are Mr. and Ms. You got it?”
“Yes, Mother.”
When they took their ice cream to a table, Cresley noticed that Carson chose the seat facing the door.
“So, Carson… how’s it going? I’m practicing calling you just Carson.”
Carson laughed. “I’m having ice cream in the middle of a workday. Things are going pretty well.”
“Except for your smooshed Range Rover.”
“Yeah, that’s a bummer, but all that matters is that no one was hurt.”
“Did the guy that hit you apologize?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, he should. It’s the right thing to do.”
“Indeed, it is.”
Fortunately, Ty changed the subject to their upcoming surfing lessons.
With time running short, Carson went wet suit shopping online and found what they needed.
“What color do you want? They have black, red and navy.”
“Red!”
“You got it.” He double-checked the size and paid for next-day delivery to Cresley’s house, so they’d have it for the weekend. “It’ll be there tomorrow.”
“So cool.”
“You know what else is cool?”
“What?”
“I still have the board I learned on, and I’ll teach you on that one.”
“That is cool. Thank you for teaching me. I can’t wait to try it.”
“Don’t forget what I told you. It’s very hard at first until you figure out the balance and how to ride the waves. You’ll fall a lot. You might end up underwater, and that might be scary, but I’ll show you how to get back up. The most important thing is not to panic.”
“Right. No panicking.”
“Is it all right if I panic while watching?” Cresley asked.
“It’ll be fine, Mom. Carson will be right there.”
Cresley shared a smile with Carson, who seemed pleased by Ty’s faith in him.
“Thank you for teaching me,” Ty said.
“I’m looking forward to it. We’ll have a blast.”
As he ate ice cream with Cresley and Ty and talked about surfing, he felt his phone vibrating nonstop in his pocket, probably with texts from each of his siblings, his father and maybe even his mother, wondering what the hell had him taking a sudden personal leave of absence.
As far as they knew, he had no personal life to speak of, so they’d want to know the truth of what was happening with Cresley that brought on an emergency leave.
And what exactly would he tell them when he got around to responding?
Recalling how he’d felt hearing that Julian was driving Isla to her estranged husband’s wake, he should probably expect significant pushback from the others.
Blowing off work to provide personal security to Cresley Dane and her son would certainly put attention he didn’t want on him, her and the entire situation.
Coming right on the heels of him encouraging her to dump Julian and the firm because of his ethical concerns would only add fuel to their fire.
Where there was smoke…
Shit.
He was involved with her—and her son—whether he’d intended to be or not.
Was this how it’d happened to Julian?
This situation reminded him of the time he’d been hiking with friends in the Hollywood Hills and accidentally stepped off the trail into a slide that had him clinging to anything he could grasp to keep from falling to his death.
Just like then, he’d stepped off the cliff without intending to, and now he was flailing as he tried to stop the slide into a place he’d never planned to go, knowing it could turn out to be the most painful thing to ever happen.
Listening to Ty tell his mother a story about a boy at school who got into trouble for spitting on another kid, Carson was riveted by her expressions, the obvious love she had for her son and how delightful he was as he conveyed every disgusting detail about the incident.
It occurred to him as he soaked up the moment with them that he wasn’t doing a goddamned thing to stop the slide. Rather, he was plunging into an irreversible fall with every minute he spent with them.
He was about to stand up and tell them he couldn’t do this, that they’d have to find someone else to protect them and teach Ty to surf…
But then she smiled at him, and the desire to run away disappeared like wisps of smoke.
When she looked at him that way, the fall didn’t seem so scary or out of control.
It became exhilarating, like riding a perfect wave or nailing a cheating husband with proof of an affair that would result in a huge settlement for the firm’s client. Those were the things that had excited him in the past.
Now it was her.
She did it for him, and denying that would be foolish at this point.
That didn’t mean he had to promise her forever or anything that dramatic.
He’d do well to remember that as he watched her pose for a selfie with the delighted girl working in the shop.
Then he guided them out of the shop and onto the sidewalk, which he scanned in every direction, looking for trouble that wasn’t there.
If Beckett was smart, he was hiding out somewhere the cops would never find him, but he hadn’t proven to be smart so far. Carson hoped they’d get lucky with Marlon being quickly apprehended so he could stand down and get back to normal.