Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
And so far, that’s worked just fine for me.
“It’s too late for you to be working,” he says as he pushes off the doorjamb and slowly walks toward me. “The kids are in bed.”
“I’m not working on the bookkeeping,” I admit. “But I am figuring out the summer schedule.”
“Schedule? The kids just got out of school yesterday.”
“I know, but I think it’s a good idea for them to still have a routine. A schedule. And I’ll be with them most of the time, so I’m juggling things around. See.” I turn the calendar his way. “For example, on Mondays, Holly will have dance, and then Johnny’s taking karate classes right after. But in the mornings, I want them to read a book of their choosing, and before their classes, we’ll go to the library so they can trade them in. On Tuesdays, we’ll start with math, and then after lunch, we’ll go to that amazing lake you showed me for swimming or paddle boarding.”
“Wow,” he murmurs, looking it over. “You’re giving them riding lessons?”
“Of course not.” I smirk at him. “But one of the new ranch hands you hired volunteered to give them an hour a week. They already know how, but they don’t get a lot of practice, and this way, they will.”
“Which kid?”
“Kyle?”
Rem nods with approval. “I’m glad I found Kyle. I can get behind that. What’s this?”
He points to the yellow star on Sundays.
“Grandma day,” I reply with a laugh. “And I haven’t written in my day at the coffee shop yet, but I will.”
“And what day do you get off?”
I blink up at him. “What do you mean?”
“Between the bookkeeping, my kids, and the coffee shop, you haven’t scheduled a day off for yourself.”
“Rem, I count my coffee shop day as my day off.”
“Fuck that.” His voice is mild, but his eyes say, I won’t back down on this.
“If I take another day off, it leaves you in a lurch. Besides, I like this schedule.”
“I’ll only agree with this if you take a day, every other week, to yourself. You can go to the spa or go hang out with Millie or, shit, I don’t care if you go sit in that fancy condo on the ski hill all day, but you’ll have some time for yourself. With the kids out of school, there won’t be any of that, and you’ll need it.”
“Okay.” I nod slowly, looking over the schedule. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Good. I like it. You’re right, they do best with a routine.”
“I do, too,” I admit with a smile. “Without it, it’s nothing but chaos, and I can’t deal with that.”
“Are you about done in here?”
“For now.” I stand and turn off the desk lamp, then circle the desk and walk into Rem’s arms for a big hug. The two of us have gotten into our own routine with each other, and this is part of it.
After the kids go to bed, and the house is quiet, Remington seeks me out, and I get the best bear hug the world has ever seen.
It’s almost as good as the sex, and that’s saying a lot.
And the hug almost always leads to the sex.
“I love the pretty Barbie doll and clothes we got for Aurora,” Holly says from the back seat. She’s so freaking cute in her pink dress, totally appropriate for the pink-themed party and dress code that came on the invitation. Her hair is up in braids again, which seems to be her go-to these days. I don’t mind. It gives us some time to chat and be together without any of the boys. Pink ribbons are tied at the bottom of the braids, and the big, pink gift bag is on the seat next to her.
“I like that one, too,” I agree. “She’s pretty.”
“Maybe I’ll add her to my birthday wish list.”
“When is your birthday, Holly?”
“June twentieth.”
That’s just a couple of weeks away. How do I not know their birthdays?
“And when is Johnny’s?”
“December twenty-third. He thinks it’s lame because people try to combine his birthday and Christmas gifts into one gift.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of lame. Have you thought about what you want for your birthday party?”
“I want a princess party,” she says with excitement. “I want my friends to wear pretty princess dresses. And we can ride a horse from the barn.”
“I think that’s hard to do in a princess dress, but I like the idea of seeing if we can get the ranch hands to help us give rides, if it’s okay with your friends’ moms and dads.”
“Yeah! And we can have a pretty princess cake and flowers and balloons.”
I should have started planning this a month ago. I can’t believe I never thought to ask when their birthdays are.
With the help of GPS, I find my way to Aurora’s house and park on the street. I help Holly out of the back and pass her the gift so she can be the one to give it to her friend.