Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“I’m going to let Jake know I’m home,” I inform Polly as she hops out of the truck. “And probably send Brady on his way, too. I’ll meet you upstairs. Make yourself at home.”
“I think I’ll hop in the shower, if that’s okay with you.”
“Whatever you need, babe.” I wink at her and kiss her softly before I open the door to the mudroom and let her precede me inside.
Polly makes her way up the stairs to my suite of rooms, and I break off to the guest room, where Brady’s bunked.
I knock on the door and open it quietly.
“It’s just me,” I say softly. “I’m home early. You’re welcome to stay, or you can head on out if you want.”
“I’ll sleep here,” he says, his voice raspy. “Everything good?”
“Had a great time,” I confirm. “Thanks for helping Jake out.”
“Love the kid,” he says simply and falls back onto the bed. “I’ll head out around six.”
“Sleep well,” I reply and back out of his room, shutting the door behind me.
Next, I make my way to my kid’s room. It smells like old pizza and stale socks when I walk inside, and it occurs to me that I missed that more than I realized.
“Brady?” Jake asks with a scowl.
“It’s me,” I say and sit on the side of his bed, folding him into my arms for a hug. “I wanted to let you know that I’m home a little early.”
“I’m glad you’re home,” he says against my shoulder. “You can tell me about it later. What time is it?”
“Two,” I reply and ruffle his hair. “Go back to sleep, and take the morning off. I’ve got the horses today.”
“Won’t argue,” Jake says and flops back onto the bed, instantly asleep. I grin and watch him for a moment, sleeping in the moonlight.
He’s such a handsome kid. In the past year that I’ve known him, he’s grown from a boy into a young man. His features are squaring off, less round and child-like. But there’s still so much kid in him.
I’m glad that I have a couple more years with him before he goes off to college.
Once inside my room, with the door behind me, I can hear the shower running in the bathroom. As I sit on the side of the bed and sigh with the contentment of being home, I realize that nothing is better than this.
“This is so lovely,” Polly says the next morning as we sit at the brand-new table in my office, eating bagels with cream cheese and fruit with a side of bacon that I found in the fridge. It was already cooked; I just had to warm it up in the microwave. “Chase did an amazing job on this table.”
“I love it,” I agree, wondering where in the hell my kid is. I told him to sleep in, but I thought he’d be up by now. I’m eager to have him in here with us.
“How were the horses?” Polly asks as she pops a grape into her mouth.
“Everyone seems fine. It’s weird not having Blossom out there,” I admit with a sigh. “And I feel bad that Jake was the one who had to handle that.”
“He did a great job,” she reminds me just as the boy himself fills the doorway of my office.
“Uh, hi,” he says with a frown, looking from Polly to me. “I didn’t think we were breaking that in yet.”
“It’s the first day.” I stand and gesture to a chair. “Sit. Eat with us. Did you stock the bacon in the fridge? Excellent and delicious idea. I’ve decided you get your brilliance from me.”
“Yeah.” He clears his throat, still not smiling and not sitting. He glances at Polly, then looks over at me and shrugs. “I think I’ll just grab something downstairs. I’m gonna go find Russ and goof off for a while.”
“Jake—”
“Welcome home,” he says, already rushing down the hall before I can say any more.
“Well, shit,” Polly says, tears in her eyes. “I think we hurt his feelings.”
“Why?” I scowl at her and then look at the empty door again. “For fuck’s sake, it’s just breakfast.”
“At the new table, for the first time, after you’ve been gone for more than a week, Ryan. He was excited to share this with you, and instead, it was me sharing it with you.”
“That’s stupid.”
“No, it’s not stupid.” She stands and crosses to me, taking my hand in hers. “He’s just found his comfort zone here, and now I’m taking up space in it. Maybe I should stay away for a while—”
“Fuck that.” I turn on her and frame her face in my hands. “You’re not staying away.”
“Why are you so angry?” She frowns up at me, and I take a second to breathe in and calm down. I hate the look of betrayal on Jake’s face, and I hate that I’m the one who put it there. She’s right, I fucked this up.