Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Now, I just needed to make sure my husband was really okay with it.
“Well, I’d say we’re going to have to make another run to the grocery store,” I whispered to Wes teasingly as we walked back into the kitchen.
Luckily, he shook his head with a chuckle.
“Make sure you add a replacement friend for Thatch to the list.”
I snorted. “You don’t mean that.”
“Oh, but I do,” he commented, but his smile said otherwise.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s secretly happy that the whole gang showed up, too.
There’d probably be chaos and ridiculousness and insanity.
But it certainly wouldn’t be boring.
Here we go.
The lake house was bustling.
Ever since Winnie’s brothers had shown up unexpectedly and Thatch had invited himself and tricked Kline into following his lead, we were packed to the gills with ten adults, a seven-year-old, a toddler, and a baby.
All I had to say was thank fuck Brad and Paula had bought a place big enough to house all these damn people.
Though, I couldn’t deny that it was nice being surrounded by our closest family and friends and all of the constant chatter, laughter, bickering, and just…fun that came with them.
But I’d never let Thatch know I actually enjoyed having him here. No fucking way I’d encourage any more unexpected drop-ins. You simply couldn’t risk something like that with a guy like Thatcher Kelly.
“Morning, Fred,” I said as I watched a sleepy-looking Winnie shuffle into the kitchen, her silk robe tied tightly around her body. She offered a little smile, pressed a kiss to my lips, and sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island.
“Sleep well?”
She snorted. “Yeah, until everyone started getting up this morning.”
When Lexi had come into our bedroom at around seven, I’d told Winnie I’d take breakfast duty and she could sleep in.
Which had been a great idea. One that should be listed on the front page of every husbanding manual sold on the market. Take care of your wife, and she will take care of you.
It was classic give-and-take, and it had been working out splendidly until the rest of the fucking gang had started waking up.
I smiled knowingly at her. “Honestly, I’m surprised you managed to stay in bed as long as you did.”
“It’s definitely hard to keep sleeping when there are idiots arguing over poker,” she announced purposefully over her shoulder, where the perpetrators were located. At around eight this morning, all four of her brothers had started a game of Texas Hold’em at the big dining room table, and they hadn’t been quiet. Yelling, cursing, roaring, dancing in their chairs—you name it, and they’d been doing it.
“You wanna play, Win?” Remy asked, smirking over at her. “I can deal you in this hand.”
“What I wanted was for you guys not to be so loud so I could sleep in.” Winnie flipped him the bird over her shoulder, and Remy just laughed.
“It’s after ten, Win. Pretty sure it was time for you to get your lazy ass out of bed anyway.”
“I never get to sleep in and today was supposed to be my day, but I’ve been up since eight because of you.”
“Ah, don’t be mad, sis,” Jude retorted, and Winnie set down her cup of coffee to add another middle finger in the air.
“We should’ve changed the locks the moment we got here,” she whispered toward me, and I grinned.
“I would agree with you, but I think you and I both know that you’re secretly loving having everyone here.”
Her return smile was guilty but beautiful.
To be honest, despite her early morning grumbling, this was the most relaxed and carefree I’d seen my wife in months. The stress from work, the fact that we had been trying but not really trying to have a baby since we got married but had only gotten negative pregnancy tests up until this point, and the ongoing power outages we’d been experiencing before coming here had really started to drag her down. She always tried to put on a happy face, even when I begged her not to, but her true brightness was just too light to be faked. I could tell the difference as easily as I could between the colors black and white.
But here, right now, she just looked content. Calm. And it was a real fucking joy to witness.
One index finger pointed in my direction, Winnie added, “Don’t tell anyone, or else.”
“Or else what?”
“Or else I’m shutting off the tap for the rest of the week.”
I chuckled at that and stepped forward to pull my gorgeous wife off her stool and up and into my arms. “Don’t even try it, Mrs. Lancaster,” I whispered just below the shell of her ear. “Enjoying that delicious pussy of yours is about the only thing helping me stay sane inside this lake house with Thatch and Jude.”