Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
“I think they misunderstood. I can name some of the constellations.”
“Yeah, like which ones?”
“Well, turn your head that way. There’s Scorpius, named because it looks kind of like a scorpion. And there’s the Summer Triangle.” I take his hand and lift it. “That’s Vega, Deneb, and Altair.”
“Where did you learn all this?”
“My dad and I shared a love of astronomy. We’d camp in our backyard a few times every summer. I always thought it was magical. I planned to become an astrophysicist.”
“What stopped you?”
“Well, I started college right when my grandma had her first heart attack. Astrophysicists can make good money, but the path to getting there requires a lot of schooling. Even then, it’s not guaranteed you’ll get a job in the field. So, I switched to a business major instead.”
“You gave up your dream for her.”
“For a woman who stepped in and raised me when my mother died, who helped me through the deepest grief of losing my father when it was her son she’d just buried. How do you ever say thank you enough for that?” I shrug. “It’s hardly a sacrifice.”
“Don’t downplay it. What you did matters. A hell of a lot. And nothing says you can’t go back to school now. Plenty of moms get degrees while raising kids, and you wouldn’t be alone. You have me. I’ll make sure the kids are taken care of while you go after your dream.”
I put a hand on his face, feeling his soft beard in my palm. “Thank you for that. You don’t know what it means to have that support. But my dreams are different now. It changes once you become a parent. Now, what I want is to raise happy, healthy kids on a big ranch and keep my grandma from being served a restraining order by Sylvester.”
“You think that could be a problem?”
“Let’s say it’s a good thing she can’t drive anymore.”
“The vision appointment? Yeah, I’ll be back in time from lunch with Flint to drive them into town for that,” I tell Grandma over the phone. I forgot about the appointment entirely but thankfully she just got a reminder message about it.
“Good. There’s a nail place I’ve been wanting to try,” she tells me.
I add another sticky note to my desk. There are always five hundred sticky notes in various colors reminding me of the things I need to do. It’s a fair mix of business and personal, but Bronco doesn’t care much about what I do. He’s made it clear that as long as his ranch keeps running, he prefers to be hands-off. It’s just one more thing I love about this job. I have complete freedom over my schedule and my tasks. Not to mention there’s some nice eye-candy around here. Namely, in the form of Flint.
“I was thinking purple. Emma May believes I’ll look best in jewel tones. She’s meeting me over there. Have you met her? She seems kind. Runs the grocery store and has fostered so many boys over the years.”
“I haven’t met her yet, but listen, I need to get a few things done. You’ll make sure the boys are ready?” I ask, glancing over the checklist in my planner. It’s a list of things to do in the summer before your kids start first grade and getting an eye exam was on it.
“Yes, I’m on it,” she answers and tells me she loves me one more time before she hangs up.
I work until Flint shows up, picnic basket over his arm with the biggest grin on his face. He presses a kiss to my forehead. “Are you ready for our not-team-building-definitely-not-sleeping-with-the-boss meeting?”
I laugh and slip my hand in his, allowing him to pull me into the bright sunshine. It’s going to be the perfect day.
Chapter 17
Flint
“What are you thinking?” Ridge asks as I stare at the maps on the hood of my truck. There are two here. The first is the official printed one of the area, and the other is a crude, hand drawn map that I sketched out a few days ago.
I tap one section. “Ronnie and I will investigate this area. I'm thinking we'll either put the barracks on that spot, or it’ll go over here where I want you and Kane looking.”
Ridge taps his spot. “It’s further up, closer to the dam. It’ll get better reception and the natural water access will be fuckin’ easy, but it’s going to be a hell of a nightmare getting trucks up there to build the infrastructure.”
“Well, that’s Bronco’s decision,” I remind him. “We’re just bringing him the recommendations.”
Kane pats his backpack. “Got it. We'll talk with you on the radio. Let you know what we find as we find it.”
I hesitate, and Ridge laughs.
He looks at Kane. “He's going to be bringing Ronnie along. He doesn’t want minute-by-minute updates. A recap later will do it.”