My Father Bet My Year at the Boucherie, So I Signed It Myself and Named the Terms novel · Chapter 19 of 24
Chapter 19: Rain on the Porch
It rained for three days before Christmas, a steady gray winter rain that drummed on the tin roof and turned the lake the color of a nickel.
Margot was at her great-aunt's for the night, with a cot and a nightlight and a plate of pecan pralines.
I had driven her there myself and watched her go up the steps with her crayon tin.
When I came back, the camp house was warm and smelled of woodsmoke.
Seb stood on the screened porch with his back to me, looking at the tub.
He had scrubbed it out.
It sat on its clawed feet at the end of the porch, white enamel and clean, and he had run the water into it from the kitchen in pots.
Steam rose in the cold air.
There was a rug on the boards, and two folded towels, and a bottle of the cheap red wine I liked.
"You did all this," I said.
"Celeste put it here," Seb said.
"She never once used it.
"She said she wanted a bath with the rain on the roof, and then the baby came, and then she didn't."
He turned.
His face was raw and open.
"I'd like you to be the first," he said.
"If you want to."
"I want to," I said.
"And I want to say something first."
"Say it."
"You're going to go to Blake alone, aren't you?" I said.
"The day after the fire.
"Or before it.
"You've been looking at me for three days like a man who's already packed."
He did not deny it.
"I won't have him near you," he said.
"Or Margot.
"If it goes wrong on the levee, I'd like to be the one who's standing there."
"No," I said.
His mouth tightened.
"I'm not asking, Seb.
"You said you'd tell them in front of the crews and the priest, and you will.
"You'll do it with the drawings in my arms and Margot on a crate.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of My Father Bet My Year at the Boucherie, So I Signed It Myself and Named the Terms are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
← Chapter 18 · All chapters · Chapter 20 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend