Blink of an Eye: Beginnings Series Book 8 by Jacqueline Druga Read Free Book Online Page B

flash back careened at her after she hung up from a brief phone call. Henry telephoned, said he was not stopping by and he apologized.
    “ For what?” Ellen asked.
    “ Just all the trouble and chaos.”
    She thought he was joking and playing a depressed card , until he brought up the mock wedding. How they needed to stop the plans, sooner rather than later.
    “ Frank is upset.”
    “ Frank has to deal. It’s over between him and I.”
    “ But he’s my friend.”
    “ And not to sound callous, but maybe you should have thought of that before we snuck off and got married. Henry, is this bothering you because the mock wedding isn’t real.”
    “ Why would you say that?” Henry asked.
    “ Because you wanted to make it real.”
    Ellen hear d his sigh on the phone, and then she heard Dean call her name in the distance.
    “ Frank will never allow it. He wants to be in control.”
    “ Then maybe …” She peered over her shoulder, down the hall and to Dean in the bathroom. “Maybe we should take any chance of control away from him. I can’t have him interfere now. Not now. Maybe it’s time for me to decide where I need to be. Quit involving everyone’s emotions.”
    “ That’s a good idea, but how.”
    “ Maybe have Jenny’s wedding plans not be in vain.” Again, she looked at Dean. “Maybe I need to marry someone.”
    “ El, that may be the only solution. Solidify a bond. Legally. Are you sure, I mean, I …”
    “ Ellen,” Dean called her.
    “ Henry, we’ll talk more later. I have to go.”
    She hung up before she or Henry said goodbye . Dean was her priority. It was that call that made her think of the day she married Dean when she was seven months pregnant. How strong he was, adamant, and focused. Not the quite the same man who sat waiting on her in the bathroom.
    Both Deans of the past and present needed her but in different ways .
    Back then , though, she made a promise to Dean and she broke it. The trust Dean placed in her and she had betrayed him. Now Dean needed to trust her and Ellen felt a part of him didn’t. He had every right. Now more than ever, Ellen wanted to help Dean. More than the day she had married him, she wanted to prove to him she could be there for him. With Dean as low as he could get, Ellen had her chance to make it all up. Her feelings for him had grown deep enough that she could be what he needed and not let him down. And she wouldn’t. Not this time.
    “ I’m back,” she said as she walked into the bathroom. “Sorry. That was Henry.”
    “ I figured. Everything okay?”
    “ Actually, yeah. It’s great. I have an idea, but I’ll share it later.” Ellen lifted the basin to the counter then dipped a small brush in the cup of soap, swishing it around building it to a lather. “Towel or no towel, Dean.”
    “ How bad are you going to be?” He kept his eyes closed as he sat in a chair center kitchen.
    “ I’m a pro.” Ellen tossed a towel over her shoulder and brought the brush to his face, soaping him up. “Ready?”
    “ I guess.”
    She set down the cup and picked up the razor , lifting Dean’s chin to start at his neck. Humming as she shaved him.
    “ What are singing?”
    “ You’ll laugh.”
    “ Then tell me.”
    She dipped and rinsed the razor and then continued , “I was singing the ‘Silly’ song Robbie played all night last night.”
    “ Why?”
    “ I can’t get it out of my head. I could have sworn I heard him playing it when we were walking home.”
    “ I thought I heard that too.”
    Ellen released a sigh of relief . “Good. I thought I was hearing things. I wonder why he was playing it?”
    “ To annoy everyone.”
    “ That’s Robbie.” Ellen shaved his other cheek. “Almost finished.” She wiped the soap that dripped.
    “ El,” he spoke so soft. “I usually shave first then shower.”
    “ So we did it backwards.”
    “ You combed my hair on the right, didn’t you?”
    “ Dean, you seem to be bitching a lot at someone who