Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
“Who is?” I ask at the mention of my favorite country artist.
“We are. Bitterroot Valley.”
I blink at her and then look down at the coffee. “Are you on something, Mill?”
“Ha ha. You’re funny. No, the little Campbell girl, one of the kids of the family that lost their home last week?”
“I know them.”
“Well, she goes to school with my niece, Holly. And Erin is related to Sidney by marriage.”
I’m too tired for this. I need a map or a graph.
“Okay. I think.” Erin is married to Millie’s oldest brother, Remington. She’s originally from Seattle, and her family is huge. And most of them are celebrities.
“Well, Erin mentioned to Sidney that the family lost everything in the fire. I have no idea how the subject came up, but Sid loves it here, and she’s been wanting an excuse to visit, so she offered to do a concert to help raise funds for the family. Now, I’ll bet it’ll be for all the families that have recently lost their homes.”
I blink at my best friend. “So, Sidney Sterling, country music megastar, the woman who sold out her last world tour, is going to put on a concert here? Where would this happen? We don’t have a venue for that. The fire codes would be a nightmare.”
“Here you go, making everything not fun. Again.”
I narrow my eyes at her, and she sighs.
“The Wild River Ranch has volunteered the space. They’ll set up a stage and stuff, and it’ll be field seating.”
“No.” I shake my head, the absolute nightmare of that making my head want to explode.
“Yes. The permits have been secured,” she says softly. “But there will be a cap on tickets at ten thousand.”
“You think it’s safe to pack ten thousand people out at the ranch, at once?” I shake my head, wishing I hadn’t come in here today. “What if something goes wrong, Millie? We have two ambulances. Only two.”
“Listen, I don’t know anything about the specifics. Talk to Chase.”
“Oh, I’ll be calling your brother and his boss.” I pay for the coffee, but before I can leave, Millie stops me.
“How are things with Dani?”
“I had the best weekend of my life with her.” Millie’s face lights up. “And I haven’t seen her since.”
She loses the smile.
“Yeah. I guess I did see her this morning, and I can tell that my being MIA has given her doubts, and I don’t have time to reassure her.”
“Bullshit. Yes, you do. A text message or a quick call is all she needs, Bridge.”
“I’ve sent texts, but damn it, she deserves more than that.”
“It’s one week,” she reminds me. “It’s not like you ghosted her for a month. And she knows you’re slammed. We all know.”
I nod and sip more coffee.
“I’m going to see her tonight at the school thing.”
“Take her flowers,” Millie advises me. “Trust me on that.”
“Good idea.” I can do that. It’s not enough, but once again, it’s all I can do to hopefully soothe the rough edges that this week has caused for us. I nod and turn to go. “Have a good day, Mill.”
“You, too, Bridge.”
Dani’s presentation for her students’ parents starts in about fifteen minutes, and I was hoping to get there early enough to give her these flowers on the down-low.
Thanks to Birdie being motivated by ice cream and french fries after this, we’re not late.
Dani’s standing by her desk in her empty classroom when we arrive, and when she sees us, she smiles.
This time, it’s a genuine smile, and it soothes my raw edges just a bit. It would be better if I could get my hands on her the way I want to, but I’ll settle for that stunning grin of hers.
“Hey there,” she says.
“Hi. I know it’s not a kiddo night, but Birdie and I have a date after this.”
Dani waves that off and shakes her head. “Don’t you even worry about it. Birdie’s always welcome here. Did your day get better, sweetie?”
I frown down at my daughter and then back at Dani. “What happened?”
Birdie sighs and leans into my side.
“Just an off day for this one,” Dani replies and pats Birdie on the shoulder. “Nothing to worry about. I hope you’re going somewhere fun for your date.”
“The diner,” Birdie says with a smile, and Dani nods.
“That will be fun.”
God, she’s gorgeous. She hasn’t changed since this morning, and her hair is a little messier, and she looks tired, but she’s so damn beautiful, it’s a hit to the chest.
“If you’d like to join us, you’re welcome to.”
“Thank you for the invitation,” Dani says, eyeing Birdie. “But I suspect that Birdie needs some alone time with her dad.”
Birdie doesn’t argue, and that tells me that Dani’s right.
“These are for you.” I pass her the bouquet of sunflowers that Summer, the owner of Paula’s Poseys, recommended, and Dani smiles.