Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“Another repeat of the Moonshine Incident?” Nathan asked. “Shit. I’m going to have to go into Dad Mode, aren’t I?”
I snorted. “Maybe not that far. And you’re always in Dad Mode.”
Nathan shook his head. “Just because I have a daughter doesn’t mean I’m always in Dad Mode. I’m still cool and hip.”
“And you listen to dad rock, go to parties in sneakers, and use phrases like cool and hip,” Charlie said with a wry grin. “You’re always in Dad Mode.”
“He’s always taking pictures, too,” I added. “With an old film camera. Total dad move.”
“I’m going to kill both of you,” Nathan said, mock outrage on his face.
“We love you.”
“I’m going to be on Hot Dad Mode tonight,” he said.
“That’s fair,” Charlie said. “You definitely do count as a hot dad. Construction worker, nice brown hair. You can be the Hot Dad Next Door.”
“Always taking pictures, my ass,” Nathan grumbled. “I’ll take pictures of Shawn having another moonshine incident later tonight.”
Charlie laughed. “Come on, the Moonshine Incident was a primo Shawn performance.”
They were referring to a night a few years ago when we’d gone to a speakeasy bar down in Denver. I’d gotten drunk enough to go around the bar specifically asking for a hug from every person in the place, sometimes even getting down on my knees to beg people for hugs.
I didn’t remember any of it. But after being repressed and in the closet for years, I’d come out as gay well into my twenties, and I’d needed… a little extra love in my late twenties, to say the least. I’d been out and proud now for years, but it had been a long journey to get here.
“Not my fault I’m overly affectionate when I’m drunk,” I said, peeling off another chunk of drywall. “It just happens.”
“To be honest, I’m actually not going to go very hard tonight,” Nathan said. “I’ve got Maddy this weekend.”
“Told ya,” I teased him. “Dad Mode. And you’re good at it.”
Every other weekend, Nathan had his fifteen-year-old daughter over at his house. When she was younger, it used to be every weekend and sometimes a couple of weekdays, but as she’d gotten into her teen years, she’d gotten more independent. It was easy to forget my brother was a dad, sometimes—he’d had Maddy unexpectedly when he was just twenty years old, and had divorced Maddy’s mother soon after.
“Sounds good,” I said. “You’ve got your daughter to think about, but I’ve got no one and nothing, so I’ll drink my sorrows away.”
Nathan snickered. “I’m sure Rush is going to be buying us all drinks like liquor is water tonight, don’t you worry.”
My heart skipped a beat the moment my brother mentioned Rush.
Fuck. I’d been so caught up in the fixer-upper that I’d forgotten he was back in town.
Rush had been my brother’s best friend for life. And when we were teenagers, and I was still deep in the closet, my crush on him had been a giant, juicy secret. Robert Taylor Rushing had been hot as hell and about ten times too cool for me. I had no idea what he was like these days, but my curiosity had been running wild since I heard he was coming back to Jade River. The only reason Rush was back here in our little Colorado mountain town was because his father had passed away, leaving him his pride and joy—Jade Brewery.
“He’s really back now, huh?” I asked Nathan, trying my best to act cool and casual. “For how long?”
“However long it takes to fix-and-flip the house and the brewery,” Nathan said. “But I think once he spends some time here, he’ll fall in love with Jade River and end up staying put.”
I snorted. “Never gonna happen. He’s a city guy.”
Nathan sighed. “Let me have a little hope, will you? I’ve missed my bestie.”
“Ugh, God, total Dad Mode,” Charlie protested. “Since when do you say ‘bestie?’ You’re a grown man in your thirties.”
Nathan shrugged. “Maddy says it all the time.”
“Rush has been his bestie for a long time,” I told Charlie.
Nathan nodded. “He said he’d help you out on your mission, too.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “My mission?”
“Yeah. I told him you’re trying to have a fun, casual hookup now that your dry spell is over.”
My cheeks flushed with heat and I ran my fingers through my hair. “Fuck nuggets in a bread basket, Nathan.”
“What?” he protested. “And what is a fuck nugget, exactly?”
“Why’d you tell him that? And I said it wasn’t a dry spell.”
Everything had changed so much since I’d last seen Rush. I was thirty-four years old, and by now, I’d gotten comfortable with my sexuality, my career, and my body, and I’d even begun to develop a confidence I used to only dream of. I really did have my shit together, even if dating was a crapshoot.