Hold Me: Delos Series, 5B1 Read Online Free Page B

shrugging, and watched his gray eyes lighten with amusement.
    “On the other hand,” she teased, “you’re looking kinda like a hobo who just missed his train!” She motioned toward his beard.
    “Yeah, gotta go back into Muslim mode,” he joked, rubbing the side of his bristly face. “What’s the weather like where you are?”
    “Clear. In fact, the sky is so blue it hurts your eyes to look at this morning, Beau. When I got up earlier, I was staring out the kitchen window wishing you were here. Oh, it would be a great day for a horseback ride on one of those trails.” She saw sadness cross his face, but he rallied quickly and said, “Don’t I wish . . .” Beau was sitting at the computer monitor, a plywood board for a desk in a small room, the door closed so they could have some modicum of privacy. How she treasured these moments.
    “Think June, sweetheart,” he urged. “Every day here is a day closer to coming home to you. How are you doing?”
    She forced a smile and said, “I’m doing okay, but I miss you a lot.” She wanted to add: terribly , but bit back on the word. Beau was missing her just as much as she was missing him.
    “Good. Has Graham got any plans for you today?”
    “Yes,” she said, her voice lighter. She grinned, “In fact, we’re going out to the tack room in a little while because we’ve got to clean a lot of leather. With half the wranglers gone for the winter, things like that fall on him to handle.” She held up her hand, wriggling her fingers. “He asked if I wanted to help and I said I would. It makes no sense for him to do all those saddles, bridles, and martingales alone.”
    “How warm will it be in there? I know that tack room isn’t heated.”
    “Probably above freezing. He went out earlier and put a big heater in there to start warming it up, so it ought to be fine. My mom is making a big pot of vegetable beef soup for lunch and dinner, and my grandma is in the kitchen making six loaves of bread. I think by the time I get done cleaning leather at noon, I’ll be more than ready to eat.”
    “Good. At least at your place, no one gets food poisoning! I really wish I was there with you,” he said, smiling a little.
    Callie could feel him wanting to say so much more, but black ops had top secret clearances and the CIA wanted to make sure they didn’t slip up and give away classified intel. “I wish I could pack up some of my mom’s soup, put it in dry ice, and send it to you.”
    “Wish you could, too, but it would never work.”
    “Grandma Maisy was talking about maybe tomorrow having me come into the kitchen and help make up about ten dozen chocolate chip cookies and send them to you. That way you could share them with your brothers.” She saw Beau perk up, since he loved desserts.
    “That would be right nice. We’ve only got about half our teams here. The rest are stateside until February one. Wrap the cookies well, and I’m sure everyone will get at least two.”
    “Sounds good. I’ll tell Grams.” She gave him a wicked look. “And of course, you can stash a few away for yourself in your room, can’t you, Gardner?”
    He nodded. “Caught!” he grinned, and his cheeks flushed. He could be so boyish when he was alone with her and she loved that he’d let himself be vulnerable with her. That was the man she fell in love with.
    “Well, I’d be tellin’ a big fib if I didn’t agree that I’d probably take a dozen and parcel ’em out for myself, one cookie a day. That way, when I eat it, I’ll close my eyes, visualize the ranch, and see you beside me.”
    Her heart turned over. “I’d love that,” she said. And then, speaking more softly, she whispered, “I miss you so much, Beau.”
    “I know you do. I miss you just as much, believe me. But we’ll get through this. We have our whole lives ahead of us. Speaking of which, have you and Maisy and Stacy had a chance to go into Butte, to the wedding shops? Did you look at any wedding gowns,