Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 85399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Jack sighs. “Where’s your shoe?”
“The hell if I know.”
“Do you think you can stand?” Jack asks.
“I got two legs, don’t I?”
An idea comes to my mind. It’s pretty wild and big—big enough that I should probably talk to my husband about it before I offer it up to the world. But when I look at Jack, I already see the answer. It’s in his soft smile. It’s in the shine in his eyes. It’s in the tenderness of his touch against the small of my back.
There’s no reason for any of us to do this alone. Harvey battling his health issues by himself is asinine. Jack sorting through his emotions alone breaks my heart. And although I can do life by myself—I’ve proven that—I don’t want to.
Our life might be imperfect, complicated, and frustrating, but it’s better together. There’s no other choice for me. Maybe there never was.
“Harvey, no more doctor’s appointments alone,” I say.
He groans.
“I mean it.” I stack the buckets on the ground and brush the mud off my hands. “Also, you’re going to move in with us.”
I hold my breath as I absorb their reactions. I’m not sure whose jaw drops more—Harvey’s or Jack’s.
“You two can get over it,” I say, putting a hand on my hip. “I’m tired of this. We’re falling apart, boys.”
Surprisingly, neither of them speaks. They don’t argue—but they certainly don’t agree with me either.
“I can’t be going back and forth from your house to the doctor and back to your house before coming home for every appointment,” I say. “And I’ll be damned if you’ll go alone, Harvey.”
A ghost of a smile tickles his lips.
“And who’s supposed to help me around the house if you’re just going to take off to Vegas on a whim?” I ask, winking at Jack. “And, hey—I won’t have to bring Billie along for Labor Day. I can bring Harvey.”
“I’ll be coming on Labor Day, thank you very fucking much,” Jack says, grinning.
My heart warms, flooding my veins with . . . happiness.
“I know this sounds out of left field and maybe like I’ve lost my mind,” I say, “but this is the way it needs to be.”
Jack doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t have to. The look of relief on his face says it all.
“We all need to work together,” I say. “So, Harvey—you can take the bedroom downstairs by the garage. You can have your own little space out there by the sunroom. No one uses it anyway. Besides, Snaps likes you. It’ll keep me from having to mess with him.”
Snaps barks.
“Does the dog understand English?” I ask, making everyone laugh.
Jack tucks me against his side and lowers his mouth to my ear. “You are unbelievable. Do you know that? I love you so fucking much, Lauren.”
He rests his head against mine. I love this man. So fucking much.
“Are you going to fight me on this?” I ask Harvey.
He sags against the tree. “I wanted one last summer. One last chance to make memories with you kids and the grandkids. I just wanted to give everyone a last bunch of memories to remember me by in case there’s not another summer for me.”
Harvey runs his hand over Snaps’s head and looks at Jack. My bottom lip quivers, and the tears begin to fall again.
“I’ve sat around for a few weeks now, maybe months, and wondered what I could do to make up for some of my misgivings,” Harvey says. “Then the kids called and told me about the two of you, so I thought that was it.” He nods. “I could help the two of you come back together.”
“So, was this little missing-in-action thing a part of your stunt?” Jack asks, teasing.
“Why do you care? It worked, didn’t it?”
I watch two of the three men I adore more than any others in the world exchange something between them that words could never say. It’s an emotion, a respect. An agreement. An understanding.
And I think they’ve both needed this moment equally.
Maybe I’ve needed it too.
“I have one caveat,” Harvey says, turning his attention to me.
“What’s that?”
“Make it two.”
I roll my eyes. “Go for it.”
“First, you can’t coddle me,” he says. “I’m only moving in to help you out. To make it easier on you. There won’t be any babying me or that kind of bullshit. Got it?”
I nod. “Mostly.”
“Second, if I bring chicks home, you have to pretend not to hear a thing. If the door is rocking, don’t come knocking.”
I burst out laughing, much to Harvey’s amusement.
Jack chuckles beside me. “Dad, you’re a fucking fool.”
Harvey’s chest bounces with laughter. “Now help me get off this ground. It’s cold, and my ass is soaked.”
Jack takes one of Harvey’s arms, and I take the other. Snaps bounces around like a rabbit as we help Harvey to his feet.