Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
His father chuckled. “I’m not being forced to sleep on the couch. I think offering to buy Nic a car helped. It’s not like your momma wants her new baby driving around in a piece of crap that’s as likely to explode as it is to get her to her destination. She also understands that Nicole’s destination might have been somewhere dangerous. She and Olivia have become fond of Nic.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty easy to love.” He’d started to wonder if he could say the same of himself. “But I screwed up. I don’t know she’s going to forgive me. It feels like she’s willing to forgive everyone else but not me.”
“Well, she’s not real happy with me either, though I’m hoping spending an enormous amount of money on a car will help,” his father admitted. “Not that I think she’s a gold digger. She’s as far from it as I can imagine. Now when you were seeing Alyssa I was worried.”
Josh snorted. “I was never serious about her. She wouldn’t accept Grim.”
His father leaned against the heavy railing. He was in pajama pants and a T-shirt that proved the old man was still built like a bull. His father was still muscular and fit. Likely because he spent so much time working on the ranch. “Yeah, I could have told you that one isn’t meant for our world. She’s too worried about what other people think.”
“And you think Nicole is?” Josh was interested in his father’s opinions.
“I know I was worried in the beginning,” his father allowed.
“You seem pretty worried now.”
“About her safety,” Dad corrected. “Not about whether or not she’s going to break your heart. That girl is pure sunshine. She reminds me so much of Sam and your mom. She’s been through some terrible things and her heart is still open. See, Nicole cares about the right things. Alyssa wants people to look up to her. She’s thinking about her reputation all the time, about being seen with the right people. Nicole thinks about all the people in her life.”
His father didn’t know Nicole yet. “She’s not a saint, Dad. She can tear a strip off a man when she wants to.”
“Precisely why she’s perfect for you. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but you have what I like to call a strong personality. If you don’t have a woman who’ll stand up to you, you’ll walk all over her. You won’t mean to. You’ll let your dominant side take over, and you won’t ever figure out it’s okay to sit back and let her take control.”
Josh raised his brows because there was some hypocrisy flowing from his father. “Says the man who cubed my girlfriend’s car.”
Dad held his hands up. “I didn’t say I was perfect. I’m just saying that your momma knows how to set boundaries, and that’s been good for our long-term marriage. Your pops only learned how to ask for what he needed when we got involved with your mom. She taught him how to trust himself and value himself. Your momma taught me she can love me, Sam can love me, even when I screw up. I don’t have to be in control one hundred percent of the time. The world won’t fall apart if I take a day off.”
“Or let your kids take over the business part so you can do the fun parts?”
His father turned his way, a smile on his face. “Exactly. I know I look over your shoulder more than you would like, but I’m getting better. I know I don’t talk a lot about this. I don’t talk a lot period, but I didn’t have a father, Josh. I still worry I don’t know how to do it. Abby had already raised Lexi by the time we met. She took the lead and showed me what to do. Sam is a natural caregiver. It comes so easy to him. It’s why we worked in the beginning. I took the leader role. I hate that word because I feel like we put all the emphasis on being a leader when all the real work is done underneath. I could make all the decisions, but Sam made us a home. I got us the money for the ranch, but it was Sam who found Benita, who helped us do things like buy furniture that wasn’t a Barcalounger or a TV. It was Sam who charmed everyone around us. Hell, it was Sam who found your mother. I wouldn’t have touched her.”
“Why?” His parents seemed so damn solid. It was odd to think there had been a time they hadn’t been together.
“I didn’t think she could handle what I needed from a woman, but the truth of the matter is I didn’t know what I needed from a woman until I met Abigail Moore. Because I didn’t need a woman. I needed her. I think that’s how you feel about Nicole. Am I right?”