Title: Loving Fox
Author: Lynne Leslie
Series: Skullz Ink #5, Allie and Fox Duet #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Two years ago I fell in love with a woman that wasn’t mine to fall in love with.
With no other choice, I stood by watching as she lost everything, until all that was left was a shell of her former self.
And I let her drag me down into the darkness with her.
It's hard to compete with a ghost, but I’m determined for her to see me as more than the friend I’ve been.
So, I fight the only way I know how—down, dirty, and with the buzz of my tattoo needle.
My name is Fox Beckett and this is how I won Allie’s love.
Loving Fox is the conclusion of the Allie & Fox Duet.
Amazon ⟶ https://amzn.to/2L4D68c
Apple ⟶ https://apple.co/2zfVJka
Nook ⟶ http://bit.ly/LovingFoxNook
Kobo ⟶ http://bit.ly/LovingFoxKobo
I stop us in the middle of the road at the first stop sign I come to. There’re no vehicles behind us so I take the time to pull the penny from the console and hand it to Allie.
She glances from the penny to me before holding her hand out. “What’s this for?”
“Our date.”
She looks down at the penny trying to figure out what it has to do with us going out on a date. When she looks back up at me, there’s confusion in her eyes.
“I take it you haven’t heard of a penny date?”
She shakes her head slowly, curiosity written on her face.
“Okay. So, I need you to choose a number between ten and twenty.”
Her Excitement builds when she realizes I actually have a plan for the penny.
“Sixteen.”
“That will be how many times we flip the coin before we get to our destination. Heads, we’re gonna go right. Tails, we’re gonna go left. Are you ready?”
She bites her lip and nods her head.
“Flip the penny, Red.”
I’m not worried about running out of places to go. Kentucky is full of backroads. Sometimes they lead somewhere, sometimes they don’t. That’s going to be the fun of this date. We could end up on a date in someone’s front yard for all I know.
The first flip lands on heads and begins the journey to our destination. It continues that way for some time. She flips, calls out what it lands on, and I turn us in that direction. The tenth flip sets us on a backroad that carries on for a while, so we settle in and enjoy the scenery. Conversation consists of mundane things, the more important things waiting for when we stop for our picnic. I’m familiar with so much about Allie, but there’s still so much more I want to learn. You’d think I’d know the simpler things, such as her favorite food or color, but I don’t. Before she went to rehab, there wasn’t time for simple. Now that we have it, I want to take it all in and not miss out on anything. Even the small things most people wouldn’t consider important.
My eyes glance from the empty road to Allie when I feel her wiggling around. She stretches out across the seats, laying her head in my lap and sticking her feet out the window. I want to scold her for being reckless, not wearing a seat belt, but as I glance down at her and the huge smile she has on her face, I can’t open my mouth to utter the words. Instead, my foot eases off the gas to lower my speed, protecting her as much as I can while still allowing her that freedom, and my fingers tangle in her hair as a small smile flirts with my lips.
She hums to the radio, her feet dancing in the air, her fingers twirling the penny in between them. The last time I saw her this happy was before tragedy struck. She was happy on some of the days we shared, but she wasn’t happy. This level of happy—I’d give anything to see this level of happy on her face for the rest of my life.
My fingers move in and out of her hair, my eyes staying glued to the road in front of me, except for the occasional glances down at her when I can’t hold out any longer. Each time the truck stops, she flips her penny, smiles up at me and tells me head or tails. Gazing down at that smile while we sit at the stop sign, I think about the words she said to me before we left her house.
I trace the smile with my finger and repeat her words back to her. “That right there is what made it so difficult.”
“Made what so difficult?” she whispers.
“Not falling in love with you,” I whisper back.
A tiny hiccup from her lips fills the cab of the truck while her eyes water. “Tails,” she whispers.
I trace her lips one last time, send a wink her way, and turn left.
I pull into the field that the last penny flip leads us to. Wildflowers dance in the breeze, birds flit in and out of trees, and I realize that we couldn’t have been led to a better spot for our date.
Allie raises up to see where we came to a stop at and lets out a small gasp of delight. She turns to me with a bright, toothy smile. “It’s beautiful, Fox.”
“It is,” I reply, gazing at her instead of the view outside.
Her tinkling laugh bounces around the cab. “C’mon,” she demands opening her door and climbing out.
I smile and shake my head, glad that she’s having fun, and follow her from the truck. Before I shut the door, I grab the blanket from behind the seat.
“What do you need help with?” Allie asks as I grab stuff from the back of the truck.
“Nothing. I can get it.”
She looks at the stuff in the bed and back to me with a raised brow. “That’s a lot of stuff.”
“It’s a cooler, a hot sack, and burlap sack with our utensils and shit.”
“Fine,” she huffs. She glances at the blanket tucked under my arm. “At least let me carry the blanket.”
I hand it over without fuss because I can tell she really wants to help. I grab the cooler in one hand and the hot sack and burlap bag in the other. Allie waits for me to lead the way. Glancing around, I try to find the best spot for us. There’re two weeping willows toward the middle and I realize I couldn’t have picked a better spot.
“There,” I nod toward the spot and lead the way.
“Perfect,” she whispers as she follows behind me.
Amazon ⟶ https://amzn.to/2YtEXgn
Apple ⟶ https://apple.co/2LDevdu
Nook ⟶ http://bit.ly/BeingAllieNook
Kobo ⟶ http://bit.ly/BeingAllieKobo
Fighting For Phoenix (Skullz Ink #1)
They’re in for the fight of their lives in order to have their second chance at love.
Forgiving River (Skullz Ink #2)
To fight the past, they must confront the monsters from their nightmares and hope they survive.
Healing Saint (Skullz Ink #3)
Will their newfound love crumble beneath the weight of the past and the scars that threaten to break them?
Mom. Fiancee. Wine Drinker. Hot Mess. Even bigger Walking Disaster. Fluent Sarcasm Speaker. Word Writer. Collector of Readers Hearts. Taco Lover. Book Nerd.
Lynne lives in the quiet country with a bossy mister and two little divas. If you don’t catch her with her nose in a book or her fingers scribbling on paper, she’s usually right in front of the television with her family. She loves anything that glitters and has a weird habit of collecting pens. She thinks seafood is disgusting, beach sand is the devil, and Tom Hardy is life.
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