Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 110113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
AVA BARTLETT
SAWYER RIVERS
How are you feeling?
AVA BARTLETT
I’m feeling pretty damn great. Last night was wonderful, thanks again. You?
SAWYER RIVERS
Better, now that I heard from you.
AVA BARTLETT
Thinking we’ll come in a few hours so I can get some stuff done here?
SAWYER RIVERS
Sounds like a plan
AVA BARTLETT
I’ll bring snacks
SAWYER RIVERS
Already bought some cheese and crackers
AVA BARTLETT
Of course you did
SAWYER RIVERS
No rush
Fuck that, I wanna see you. Get your ass here ASAP
Oh and Ella won’t stop asking when Junie is coming over
AVA BARTLETT
Ha no pressure
SAWYER RIVERS
Pretty girl don’t you make me wait
AVA BARTLETT
I’ll do as I damn well please
SAWYER RIVERS
Of course you will. Unless I got you on your back. Then you do as I please
AVA BARTLETT
Gladly, cowboy
My eyes feel like sandpaper and my back is killing me, but I still smile like an idiot as I down cup after cup of bitterly strong coffee. Ella giggles extra hard when I make a big deal out of losing Jenga to her not once, not twice, but five fucking times before I finally tap out.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’m aware I’m tired as hell. But somehow, I have all the energy in the world as Ella and I go about our morning.
“Somebody’s in a suspiciously good mood,” Wyatt says when he and Sally swing by around nine.
“Date went well, then?” Sally asks, holding out a cardboard cup of coffee.
“Really well. Thanks, Wy, for the wine. It was a big hit.” I take the cup. “What’s this?”
Wyatt shrugs. “We heard you might’ve had a crappy night of sleep.”
“I woke him up,” Ella explains as she munches on her waffle.
My brother lifts her into his arms. “Uncle Cash says you missed your daddy very much. Maybe we need to practice our sleepovers more often, yeah?”
Ella runs her hand over his stubble. “What’s a sleepover?”
“When you come visit your uncles and have the best time ever, like you did that one time at my house.”
“Hey!” Sally smiles. “She visits her aunties too. Here, why don’t you come play with me while Uncle Wy and Daddy have a chat?”
I eye my brother as he hands Ella over to his fiancée. “We’re having a chat?”
“Yeah, we’re having a chat. You’re in love. As your—”
“Wait, wait. I’m gonna stop you right there. I’m not—”
“But you are.” Wyatt’s expression softens. “I know that look, because I had it too.”
“Still do!” Sally calls over her shoulder.
Ella is leading her upstairs, no doubt because my daughter wants to show her the fort we built out of her canopy bed earlier this week.
“Anyway.” Wyatt gently pushes me out to the front porch. “As your older, wiser brother who just went through something similar, I thought I’d impart some wisdom.”
I run a hand over my face before crossing my arms over my chest, my coffee cup dangling against my side. It’s sunny outside, but it still feels like winter. The air’s got a bite to it that I hope mellows out by the time Ava and Junie get here.
This is what I hate about this time of year. You’ll get a couple of warm days that make you think spring has sprung, only for winter to return with a vengeance. It’s such a tease.
Wyatt sips his coffee and squints at me. “She’s great. Ava.”
“She is.” I swallow and look away. “She also doesn’t want to get married again or have more kids.”
“Ah. So y’all found the rub nice and early in your relationship.”
Uncrossing my arms, I bring my coffee to my lips. If I have any more caffeine I’m likely to experience a cardiac event, but I feel strangely discombobulated talking about this shit with my brother. The cup in my hand—the smell of coffee in my head—helps me feel slightly less lost.
“I mean, we just met. This is crazy, right?” I keep my voice low in case little ears are listening. “But it felt so natural telling her everything. She’s a great listener, and I feel like she understood where I was coming from. I don’t want to scare her off, but I also don’t want to lead her on.”
“Because you’re in love.”
“Would you stop saying that?”
“Why?”
“Because.” I draw a deep, slightly annoyed breath through my nose. “It’s too fucking soon, Wy.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” He scratches the underside of his chin. “You’ve had lots of practice learning what you don’t want. Makes sense that when you’ve finally found what you do want, you jump in with both feet.”
Leaning against the railing, I tuck my hand into my front pocket and look out over the yard. “Remember when it got real cold that one winter and Dad flooded the yard so it would freeze into an ice rink?”
Wyatt smiles, pointing to a spot several feet away. “Grass still hasn’t grown back. Mom hated it when we played hockey.”
“Yeah, because we used it as an excuse to beat the shit out of each other. We thought Cash broke his nose.”