Beard Up(21)

Chapter 10


I would marry the fuck out of you.


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-Coffee Cup

Mina

By the time I arrived home that night, I was exhausted.

Josh had forced me to go to this game after getting off of work that night, and I knew I'd be tired as hell tomorrow.

Seeing as it was ten to eleven now, I went straight to bed, only stopping briefly to check on Sienna, who was sleeping peacefully in her bed.

Which was a drastic change from how she'd been acting when I'd left.

She had most assuredly not been happy to find out that I was going out on a date. She'd said some mean things to me, and I'd gathered her into a long hug before I'd left her with Baylee and Sebastian for the evening.

I'd arrived home to the two of them talking quietly on the front porch, but I was thankful that they didn't linger too long, wanting to talk.

They could plainly see that I was exhausted.

I was also not up for any questions.

Thankfully, they'd given me that reprieve. Although I knew that they'd be asking about my date sooner or later.

As I laid down in my bed-mine and my husband's-and stared blankly at the ceiling, I couldn't help but compare this date with those I'd had with Tunnel.

Tunnel had always tried to make our dates fun, and we never ever went to places that the other didn't like. That meant that we never ate sushi, because he hated raw fish. I hate spaghetti, so we never went out to eat Italian.

And, to this day, I'd yet to ever go out to an Italian or a sushi restaurant since Tunnel had passed.

I rolled over onto my side and stared at the empty pillow on Tunnel's side of the bed, and carefully reached my hand over to rub along the empty spot.

It was often that I went to bed like this alone, and if I concentrated hard enough, I could still pretend that he was still coming home, that he wasn't off of his shift yet.





***


I closed my eyes and let my mind slip into a sort of dream state. One that was meant to be interrupted.

I wouldn't go to sleep for real until Tunnel arrived home. When he did, I'd hear the alarm disable, then I'd hear him come in, lock the door, then rearm the security console.

Shortly after that, I'd listen to him as he walked quietly-which was never all that quiet since he was a big guy and his footsteps were heavy-to the cat food bowl which he'd then fill to the brim because our cat hated eating out of a bowl that wasn't filled to maximum capacity.

That way, Taco, as Tunnel liked to call her, wouldn't bother us until the morning.

Then I heard him stop in the kitchen, and watched as the light flicked on and then off, seven times. 

I smiled.

A lot of people didn't even realize that Tunnel had this problem.

And honestly, it wasn't so much a problem any more as much as it was just one of his quirks.

Tunnel told me many times that he had OCD. Yet, if I hadn't known or wasn't told by Tunnel himself, I wouldn't have even realized that he did the odd things that he did.

When he kissed me seven times, I didn't care. Not like he thought I cared.

In fact, I loved that he kissed me seven times. Seven times was six more times than most women got, and I was happy to have anything he was willing to give.

Sure, it was a little odd to have him turn around, head back into the house and go through his departure routine not once or twice but three times. It wasn't a big deal, certainly not something that would make or break us. I just planned accordingly and allowed him the time he needed to go through this process.

Luckily, it was only when we were leaving-and only when he was leaving our home -that he had a routine he had to follow.

The soft tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap of Tunnel's boot hitting the bottom step that led into our bedroom had me rolling over onto my belly and glancing at him as he moved surely through the dark toward the bed.

He knew I was awake and didn't try to be quiet.

"What time did you go to sleep, baby?" he asked, dropping his keys down onto the nightstand.

His gun soon followed, and he bent down and put that one into the floor safe-something he'd been doing since the day that Sienna was born.

The next thing to go was his utility belt, followed by his flashlight being plugged in.

He then sat down in the chair and took off his boots while he waited for me to answer.

"About two hours ago," I admitted. "I was reading before bed and lost track of time."

His lips twitched. "That seems to be a new habit," he growled. "What did you read this time? Anything good?"

Oh, yeah, it was good.

It was about a Highlander. How could it not be good?

"Yes," I said matter of factly. "It was excellent. I think you'll like it, too."