Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 57407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“Look, Mommy!” she squealed in excitement, lifting the box for everyone to see, which showed a picture on the front of a little girl creating a flower garden from colorful plastic pieces. “I can make my own flowers and garden just like Gamma’s outside!”
“Wow, that’s so neat,” Chloe said, smiling at her daughter. “Why don’t you take it out back with Papa, Daddy, and Uncle Drew, and put it together while we’re getting things ready for dinner?”
“Okay!” She started to race for the slider leading to the back patio, but Chloe quickly stopped her.
“Whitney, what do you say?” Chloe reminded her.
Whitney glanced back at Georgia, a sheepish look on her face. “Tank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome,” Georgia replied with a smile. “Have fun building your garden.”
Whitney continued outside and sat down at the frosted glass-topped table on the patio, where she could be seen from the kitchen. While she waited for the guys to join her, she opened the box and began pulling out various plastic pieces that resembled flowers and leaves and stems.
“So, where is Tripp?” Drew asked of their missing sibling.
“He switched on-call shifts with one of his partners,” Audrey said, stirring something that was simmering on the stove. “He was planning on being here but called a short while ago to let me know he wasn’t going to make it today, because he was handling a patient that was in respiratory distress from a severe asthma attack.”
Drew nodded in understanding. “I haven’t talked to him since the night of the bachelor auction,” he said, leaning casually against the kitchen island and crossing his arms over his chest. “What’s going on between him and the woman who won him? The one he was talking to that night right before the auction. Skye, right?”
“Yes, she won him,” Chloe said, pouring three glasses of wine and handing one to her mother-in-law, and the other to Georgia.
Drew frowned, as if he was trying to figure things out with his brother. “Who’s got the scoop about what’s going on between the two of them? Because clearly, something is going on.”
Beck shrugged as he went to the refrigerator and retrieved three bottles of beer for the men. “Only Tripp knows, and I haven’t been able to get ahold of him to get any details.”
“Well, you all can discuss Tripp’s mysterious woman outside while you fire up the barbeque to grill the chicken and ribs,” Audrey said, shooing the three men toward the sliding glass door with her hands. “There are too many people in my kitchen, and us girls need room to finish making our side dishes.”
Georgia caught Drew’s gaze from across the counter, along with the way he raised his brow, silently asking her if she’d be okay if he headed outdoors with his brother and dad, while she stayed inside. She gave him a slight nod and reassuring smile, and once he was gone, she turned back to Audrey and Chloe.
“What can I do to help?” she asked, needing something to do.
“I’m just finishing up the cream corn, but you can cut up the strawberries for the fruit salad,” Audrey suggested, pointing to a bowl filled with other fruit and a cutting board with a knife.
“Okay.” After taking a drink of her wine, Georgia went to work slicing the berries.
“I have to say it’s so nice to have another woman in the fold to balance out the male-to-female ratio in this house,” Chloe said light-heartedly, as she set a big bowl of potato salad on the island, then went to a cupboard to retrieve plates, completely comfortable in Audrey’s kitchen. “When Tripp is here, it makes for even more testosterone, and it’s so not fair.”
“I wouldn’t consider myself part of the fold,” she said with a laugh. “Drew and I are just casually dating.” It was the truth, but those words still caused something in her stomach to twist uncomfortably. As much as she’d accepted the parameters he’d set, it was hard not to wish for…more.
Audrey met Georgia’s gaze and smiled. “Drew doesn’t bring casual dates to family get-togethers, and it’s been years since he’s brought anyone to meet us, or let us meet them,” she said as she turned off the burner to the stove. “So that tells me you’re special. Honestly, I’m just thrilled to see him do more than just focusing on work all the time.”
Georgia tried not to home in on the word “special” and instead addressed Drew’s job as she tossed all the fruit together with two large spoons. “I understand his hectic work schedule, probably more than most people. My father is also an attorney, so I grew up with him spending many evenings and weekends at the office.”
“Still, it’s good to have more than just work in your life,” Audrey said as she brought a platter of ribs and chicken out to the barbeque. “Even Beck has cut back on all the hours and late nights he used to work, hasn’t he, Chloe?”