Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
“Are you about ready to eat?” I ask while she meticulously puts an equal number of blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries on the plates. I don’t have the heart to tell her blackberries are not my favorite. I’ll have to choke them down without her noticing.
“Alllllll done.” The l is drawn out. I finish off the plates with our eggs. All we need now is napkins, forks, and syrup. I’ll also need to cut her French toast into bite-size pieces. Maybe next time, I’ll make French toast bites. That would be a lot easier for her to eat.
“Perfect. Let’s go eat.” I turn the griddle off, scoop Josephine up in my arms, and head to the kitchen table. I’ll come back for the plates. As soon as her tush hits the booster that’s strapped onto the chair, she’s dancing in her seat.
“Yummy, yummy,” she sing-songs as I pull the knife and fork out the drawer and cut up her French toast. She keeps going, “In my tum, tum, tummy.” I laugh at her pure happiness over something so simple. Jameson Evans may give me whiplash, but one thing is for sure: I could fall in love with Josephine very easily, and that could be very dangerous for my own heart.
14
JAMESON
“Goddamn it!” The palm of my hand hits the steering wheel. I take a look at the clock on my dashboard. That fucking meeting took twice as long as it should have. Sure, the contract is ours, but it took nearly four hours to go over the land, agreeing on terms and when we’ll be starting the project. It was utter fucking bullshit. I gave the man a ridiculously high quote, hoping he’d say no. I’m talking triple than what I’d charge him if he were closer to Lane County. He didn’t even blink about it, asked when we’d be starting. Which meant I was stuck. It’ll be great for the company, venturing out and all. The guys will love the hours. Overtime will once again be mandatory, but with the holidays creeping in, it’ll be good for all of them. What won’t be good is all the hours I’ll spend away from home and Josephine. I can only hope that things work out with Kody and she won’t mind helping me when my mom has to work.
The passenger door of my truck opens, and Matthew slides in. “What did your truck ever do to you?” I roll my eyes, pissed that I’m not going to make it home in time for dinner, or probably even putting Josephine to bed. I’ve still gotta help the guys out on this plot of land. When Emma passed away, the world stopped spinning. Work was the last thing on my mind, and Matthew helped out. The other shit piled up, like meeting customers for quotes and paperwork. The fucking paperwork never ends; it’s a daily task I hate, and I’m the one who refuses to hire help. The last time I did, it was a mess, more of a hassle than it was worth, and made me realize it’s easier to stay up late after Josephine is in bed to finish it instead of dealing with people.
“This next job I tried to overbid backfired. I’m late getting to the job site, and now it’s looking like we’re all working late again.” We’ve got a four-man crew, myself included. With me down for as long as I have been, it’s taking a hell of a long time to get back on track.
“Shaun mentioned Kody has JoJo. You know she won’t mind staying longer, and if she does, Mom can always come by and stay with her. Lacey might be able to as well,” Matthew offers solid advice, except I hate having to pick her up while she’s asleep and transfer her from bed to car seat only to repeat the process once we get home.
“I could, yeah, but I’ll ask Kody first. The text she sent me of Josephine, it speaks volumes.” I scroll to our text thread, pull the picture up, and look at it before showing it to my brother. Josephine is standing next to the coffee table, her hair done in a way I could never fucking attempt. Two pigtails that aren’t lopsided, curls popping in a way I know took more time than I usually have in the morning. “It’s the way she’s smiling, the sparkle in her eye, and you can see just how fucking happy JoJo is.”
“Well, shit, big brother.” Matthew takes a look at our girl, holding the screen so it’ll show the live photo. Josephine’s laugh echoes through the truck. “And I’ll say this, and you can kick my ass later. Look in the mirror, Jameson, because your little girl isn’t the only one happy. You are, too, and I think it’s because you want Kody.”