Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Reese was quiet for a moment, and August gave him time to sort through his thoughts. “I’m glad you have your friend back. I’m sorry I was a dick about him.”
“There’s probably a better way you could have said that, but thank you.”
“Sorry. Pop doesn’t mind when I curse or say stuff like that, so I forget.”
He thought that was another way Lewis tried to be cool, the dad who was more fun and left the other stuff up to August. “Have you still not heard from him?” August hadn’t, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary for Lewis to get busy and take days to return calls.
“No, he’s probably traveling for work or something. You know how busy he gets, and he’s like, a workaholic or whatever and his mind is all in what he’s doing.”
“I remember.” Which was true, but that wasn’t an excuse if you asked August. “So…Clint was saying they do this thing at one of the farms called Movies with Goats.”
“Huh?” Reese’s brows scrunched together.
“It sounds strange, I get it, but it’s pretty cool. A lot of people go. They have ice cream and snacks, and you feed the goats and watch movies on this large screen outside. Some of his friends are going, and they invited him and said we should come along too. What do you think?”
Reese shrugged. “Those kids you mentioned? Sure. It’s not like we have anything better to do, but I still think it sounds weird.”
“You and me both, kid; you and me both.” The two of them laughed, and damned if it didn’t feel like August was starting to get his son back.
“You know how you said you could find someone for me to talk to?” Reese asked, grabbing August’s attention.
“Yes, absolutely.”
“I think I wanna do that.”
“That’s a very mature decision. I’m proud of you.” He wanted to say more but knew if he did, it would make Reese shut down.
“Thanks, Dad.”
He waited until it was late and Reese was in his room before he called Lewis again.
This time Lewis replied. “I know, I know. Sorry. Things have been hectic, and I’ll remind you, it’s only been a few days,” he said instead of hello.
“But it’s important. When I leave a message about Reese and say you really need to call me back, you do.”
“Yes, I know, August. I’m always doing something wrong.”
August rolled his eyes. It was always this way with him and Lewis lately. He had a habit of putting words into August’s mouth and making himself the victim. “I don’t want to fight with you, Lewis. I just want to talk to you about Reese.” He mentioned parts of their conversation while hiking that he thought Lewis needed to know, and then his observation from this evening.
“Reese knows I love him.”
“I’m not saying he doesn’t, but he’s fifteen, and you were always his hero. He’s moved away now and—”
“Which was your choice. Your doing.”
But August couldn’t go without Lewis’s permission, and Lewis had never even asked August to reconsider. He’d immediately agreed to them leaving. “Just try and call him more often, okay? And maybe we can figure something out for him to come this summer, even if it’s only for a long weekend. I don’t want him to feel like he takes second place to your work and your boyfriend.”
“I’ll remind you that you only moved a couple of weeks ago.”
“With a plan that Reese would come out this summer, and you’ve already pushed it back to fall or winter. And as soon as we left, you moved Zachary in.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll do better.” Lewis sighed. “It’s…we were young when we got together, you and I, and we were young when we adopted Reese.” August didn’t consider twenty-eight that young. “We wanted to travel, you remember that? We had so many plans that took the back seat when we became fathers. And I don’t regret that decision for a second. You and I might have our issues, but you know I love Reese.”
August did know it. He didn’t doubt his love; Lewis was just shit at showing it sometimes, and he was selfish. He always had been, but August had ignored it when they were younger. “You can’t recapture the past…and no one is saying that you and Zachary can’t travel or have fun. I just thought you should know how Reese feels, and I don’t want you to forget about making him a part of your life. It’s important that he knows you’re his pop and he’s just as important to you as always, even if you don’t live close and you and Zachary move forward with your relationship.”
August had a feeling a lot of this came from Zachary. Lewis had always been Lewis and always would be, but Zachary was fourteen years younger, and maybe he didn’t want to be saddled with a teenage boy.