Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
She laughs. “I’ll get you sorted out.” She drops my hand and links her arm with mine, and I slow my gait so it’s easier for her to keep my pace as we take our time walking to the back of my property.
“How much land do you have?”
“Three acres. Not a ton, but enough that I have a big enough yard for my nieces and nephews to play in when I have them and not worry about them being near the road.”
“No kids for you?” she asks. I can tell from the tone of her voice that the question is not as casual as she’d meant for it to sound.
“One day. In the meantime, I love being an uncle. It’s a trip to see my brothers be dads.”
“How so?” she asks.
“Declan was the first with Blakely, and Mom was really her only female influence until Ramsey came back into our lives a few years ago. That poor girl, she didn’t stand a chance but to be outspoken and ornery.” I chuckle.
“I’ve heard some pretty funny stories. She’s got some great one-liners.”
“She does, and it’s so damned hard not to giggle, to urge her on when we all know we should be explaining how what she’s saying is inappropriate. Oh, one time she made a sign that was supposed to say don’t come in here. Instead, it read, don’t cum in her.” I’m shaking with glee, because damn if my niece isn’t a barrel of laughs.
“She did not!” Courtney sputters with laughter.
“Oh, she did. She was being so sweet, and she was so proud of herself, and all of the adults were biting their tongues trying not to laugh.”
“That’s too funny.”
“Trust me, she’ll have more blunders. That kid is a handful. I feel for Declan and Kennedy as she gets older. They’re going to have to put bars on her bedroom window.”
“Stop.” She swats at my arm playfully. “They will not. She’s going to grow up to be amazing, and she’ll have a good head on her shoulders because she’s surrounded by a group of incredible adults who raised her to be that way.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I don’t. Instead, I stop walking and peck a kiss on her lips. “We’re almost there.”
The remainder of the walk is in silence, but it’s not uncomfortable. Everything is wet and soggy from the rain, but the trees are green and beautiful, and I can imagine they would give off a nice bit of shade if the sun were shining brightly in the sky. It’s really a beautiful piece of land.
“Wow, the water is really flowing,” I comment as we get close to the stream. The sound is so calming.
“Usually, it’s calm and clear. I’ll have to bring you back here again so that you can see it when it’s not been raining for forty days and forty nights.”
“It’s been less than forty-eight hours,” she says, shaking her head with a small smile tugging at her lips.
“Seems like months.” I pull her into my arms and hold her with her back to my front as we watch the steady flow of the stream.
“It’s peaceful.”
“It is.”
“You should put some chairs or a bench or something here, maybe a hammock, so you can sit and listen to the water run. Can you hear it when it’s not so full and muddy?”
“Yeah, there’s a small, constant flow over that small rock bank.” I point to what I’m talking about and she nods.
“You should do it.”
“If I do all that work, you better use it.”
“Oh, I’m in. Me and my Kindle and a nice cool breeze.”
“I see how it is. I do all the work, and your fictional boyfriends get to reap the rewards.”
She turns into my chest and moves her arms to wrap around my neck. “Technically, you’re fictional too.”
“I like the way you think, gorgeous.” I lean in for a kiss just as a giant raindrop pelts us in the face. “Fuck, that break didn’t last long.”
“It’s just water,” she says, smiling up at me.
“Come on, let’s head back to the house.” I take her hand in mine, and we start walking back.
“Are you afraid you’re going to melt?” she jokes.
“No, but I don’t want you to get sick.”
“You know that’s not true, right? It’s something our parents used to tell us to get us to do what they asked.”
“Maybe, but I’m not risking it.” I walk a little faster as the rain starts coming down. That is until I’m tugging on her hand. I look back to find her standing still, soaking wet, with a smile on her face.
“What are you doing, crazy girl?”
She lets go of my hand and spreads her arms out wide. “Enjoying the rain.” She closes her eyes and tilts her head back, letting the drops wash over her. It’s really coming down, but she doesn’t seem to mind that she’s completely drenched.