Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“What’s up?” I heard from beside me, and was shocked when I looked up to see Kace himself, who’d appeared at the edge of our table, holding a pint of beer. He looked radiant after the attention bath he’d just been soaking in.
“Oh,” I said, wishing I wasn’t still so dazzled every time I had his crystalline eyes on mine. “Nothing. I just realized I called my daughter ‘kiddo’ again, forgetting that she hates it now.”
Kace slid onto the booth next to me, and I tried to ignore how good his thigh felt pressed up near mine on the seat.
He glanced over at my phone. “How old is she again?”
“Fifteen. She told me that if I keep calling her kiddo now, I’ll still be doing it when she’s thirty-five years old. I asked what was wrong with that, and she just had two words for me.”
“Did she tell you to fuck off?” Kace said. “Kids say wild shit.”
“God, no,” I said. “Maddy’s a good kid. She said that’s cringe.”
Kace smiled sympathetically. “I remember my phase of saying that when I was young.”
“Excuse me?” I protested. “When you were ‘young?’ You mean about two minutes ago?”
“Like two years ago,” he told me, shoving me gently with the side of his body. “Come on, boss. I’m young, but I’m not that young.”
I knew I couldn’t convince him that he was still so fucking young that I’d pay way too much money just to live one month at his age again. I gave him a little shove back, then looked over to see that the TV crew had positioned themselves right at the edge of the table, filming all four of us.
Instinctually, I put a few inches of space between me and Kace on the booth seat. “Didn’t realize the crew was there,” I said.
“Is that okay?” Kace said. “I say the word, and they quit filming.”
Charlie quickly shook his head across the table from us. “Are you kidding? It’s fucking awesome. We should be doing something TV-worthy, shouldn’t we? Should I, like, shotgun a can of beer or something? I saw a video of you doing that the other day on some app.”
“Hell no, my guy,” Kace said. “I only shotgun drinks when my friend Callie baits my ass into doing it these days. I haven’t done it that much since moving to Jade River.”
“I was going to ask,” Shawn said, “what actually made you choose Jade River? You have enough money to live anywhere you want in or around Denver. Your house is definitely the only thing like it in Jade River.”
“Land,” Kace said simply. “Land and space. I did look at a bunch of houses around Denver and Boulder, but the thing about Jade River is that it’s not in the center of everything. It was the same reason the previous owners of my house lived there. The whole fuckin’ seclusion vibe. Oh, and the tennis court.”
“The tennis court is pretty great,” I agreed.
Kace shifted on the seat. “I also really wanted a guest house, and that’s hard to come by in more populated areas,” he said.
“I imagine you have a lot of guests?” I asked.
I expected him to make some joking comment about hookups or orgies, but instead he ran his fingers through the condensation on his beer glass, suddenly lost in thought. “I, uh, don’t have the greatest relationship with my mom these days, but I want to have a safe place for her to stay if and when she needs it. It’s probably not going to happen anytime soon, that’s for fuckin’ sure, but I need to know there’s a place. You know?”
My heart suddenly ached a little behind my chest. Kace’s sudden, very serious show of emotion was surprising.
“Right,” I said softly, my brain finally catching up. “That’s a beautiful thing, Kace.”
“Oh, fuck,” Kace said, turning to the side and remembering the TV crew. “Sorry, guys. Can we nix the last minute?”
“You got it,” one of the camera guys said.
Kace turned back to us, letting out a breath. “I have had too much to drink. I really do forget that they’re there,” he said. “Then I say some personal shit and have to backtrack. I… haven’t actually told people about that kind of stuff, and I don’t really want it public.”
I was honestly just as surprised that Kace had opened up to me, Shawn, and Charlie.
“It’s so good that you’re still there to care for your mom,” Charlie said. “Even if things aren’t great right now.”
Kace scrubbed his palms over his face. “Man. Do people talk about a lot of deep stuff with you guys often? I feel like that just poured out of me.”
“Actually, yes,” Shawn said, smiling softly. “You’d be surprised how much personal stuff people share with us while we’re in their homes, renovating. Usually it’s not until the projects actually get started, but I’m happy you already feel comfortable with us.”