Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 135696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Ledger began studiously eating his eggs.
“I know your mom has men staying over,” he said quietly.
Ledger took a massive bite of toast so his mouth would be full so he didn’t have to respond immediately.
God, he loved his kid.
“I’m gonna let it slide, you didn’t tell me,” Riggs shared. “Part of that not standing in the way of you becoming a man. But Nadia and me being together isn’t like that. This is going to be now, while this stuff gets sorted out, and after that happens, it’s going to be regularly. And if it works out with her and me, and we take the next step, it’ll be all the time.”
“I like her,” Ledger said.
“I know. But you and me need—”
“Dad, thanks for talking to me about it, but I like her. I like you having her because you seem, I don’t know, different. Happier, or something. Whatever. So, yeah, she’s around more, and you’re more happy, and I like her, and I’m more happy, and we get Gia at our house more, so I’m okay with it.”
“All right, kid,” he muttered.
And thank fuck that was done.
Ledger munched toast.
Riggs warmed up his coffee.
And when it was time to take his son to school, he shouted up the stairs, “Don’t drag that suitcase down! I’ll do it when I get back!”
“Can I take you back to Chicago with me so you can teach Carter how mountain men do it?” Maribeth shouted back.
“Carter carries your suitcase!” Nadia started shouting with them.
“Yeah, but he expects payback, knowwhatImean?” That was Maribeth.
“I do too. Just sayin’!” Riggs finished it.
“Riggs!” Nadia yelled. “Stop it!”
He was chuckling as he walked to where his son was hanging, waiting for him at the door, and when he got to his kid, Ledger said, “See? You say things are weird with what’s going on at Nadia’s, but still, you’re laughing. More happy.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Riggs grinned at him. “Get in the truck, genius.”
Ledger raced out the door.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Family Activity
Riggs
Early that afternoon, in his workshop, Riggs stepped away from the arbor he was building to clean up because Nadia would be back soon.
But he stopped to take a beat and give his work a critical eye.
He’d thought it’d skew dark, considering all the shit that was hitting him while he made it. And dark wouldn’t work for the prominent feature of a wedding venue.
It hadn’t gone dark.
Not even close.
It had become something he made while Nadia was hanging on the couch in his workshop with him, and while Nadia and he were finding their ways to each other.
So.
“Damn,” he muttered and moved to a workbench to open up his sketch pad and start drafting different arches, because he wasn’t going to sell that one.
No fucking way.
He was going to install it at the trailhead that led to Nadia’s cabin.
This meant he was way off schedule for the arbor for Pinetop, and he was going to have to bust his ass to make the date he gave them for installation.
A new design idea was coming to him when Gia got up off her belly, took a stance, and barked twice at the barn doors.
Riggs put his pencil down and watched her turn, lock eyes with him, circle back around and resume her stance, attention to the doors.
No wonder Maribeth knew she was giving clear warning, because that was precisely what she was doing.
He moved to within reaching distance of a crowbar just as Jess walked into the door.
Jess took one look at Gia, who was now growling, and stopped dead.
“Gia. Friend,” Riggs commanded. Gia relaxed her stance, circled around to look at him again, and Riggs said, “Go.”
She approached Jess.
Jess bent to offer his hand, and Riggs took a second to try to understand how he could tell the two brothers apart.
It boiled down to Jess having a cocky vibe, and Jace having a confident one.
Other than that, if you couldn’t sense that nuance, you couldn’t tell them apart.
Even so, those vibes were so strong, if you knew the men, you couldn’t miss it.
This meant, if Roosevelt, Lincoln and Sarah were actually a thing, Riggs could see how it worked.
Kind of.
Rubbing Gia down, Jess noted, “Totally calling Hutch this afternoon. Gotta get me one of these babies.”
“Highly recommend,” Riggs replied.
After Jess gave Gia her rubdown, he asked, “Got a second to come with me? We found something and want to show you.”
Riggs didn’t know if this was good or bad.
Jess sensed that and went on. “Nothing big. But we got a take on it and want you to see it while we explain it to you. I’ll drive you and bring you back.”
“You good with Gia coming with?” Riggs asked.
Jess gave her another rubdown and answered, “Absolutely.”
They left his workshop and piled in Jess’s truck. Jess opened the back window for Gia, and she stuck her whole head out to feel the breeze. In that manner, he drove them to the access road and down to the end of it, which was right by the edge of the lake.