Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Aaron had to be covered in paper towels or it would have taken him hours to carefully eat spaghetti and sauce and a steak so none of it could get on the long-sleeve T-shirt that was made by Tom Ford. In a million years, I would never understand rich people or celebrities, so I simply watched my daughter make sure that no chunky red sauce could get through the barrier she created to the garment underneath.
“Okay,” she pronounced after a few minutes. “You may eat with abandon.”
“Excellent,” he replied. “Will you pour me some wine, please.”
“Kurt brought the wine,” I announced.
“Oh God,” the man in question groaned. “I was so confident before I knew that Mr. Sutter was going to be drinking it.”
“No,” Duncan assured him, shaking his head. “I know you think he’s fancy because of the telescope that costs as much as one year of college tuition to an Ivy League school––”
“What?” Sam rasped.
“––but if the wine’s any good, he’ll drink it and like it. He’s not a snob. He just likes quality stuff is all.”
“That’s valid,” Aaron agreed, and Hannah filled his glass. He took a sip, and when he pronounced it good, Kurt seemed quite relieved.
“Where is my steak?” he asked Sam haughtily.
“It’s coming, hold on,” he grumbled at Aaron.
“It’s nice when the entire meal is finished at once,” he said pointedly.
“Maybe you should get out here and––”
“But, Sam, you grill everything perfectly,” Aaron said seriously. “I would no more ask you to relinquish your tongs than I would have asked Picasso to pass me his paintbrush.”
“Oh,” Sam said with a grin. “Okay, then. Your steak is coming right up.”
When I looked at Aaron, he squinted at me. “What?”
“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?”
“Oh I don’t think so,” he assured me. “Sometimes when I’m out having a steak at some Michelin-starred restaurant I think, Sam would have cooked this better.”
I smiled at him. I couldn’t help it.
Later, inside, Sam cornered me in the kitchen. “Look up the telescope online and tell me how much it is,” he muttered as I put two more baskets of bread in his hands. We had already gone through two, but between the kids and Duncan, I wasn’t surprised. “I might owe him a lung.”
I turned to face my husband. “If you put limits on Aaron, you’ll only make him resent you because, let’s face it, he thinks of our kids as his kids.”
Sam made a face. “When the hell did that happen?”
“The moment he saw each of them, when we made a point of inviting him into our lives to be around our children.”
“That was you, not me.”
I gave him a long look.
“Fine,” he relented. “Even though it could be argued that the night you played matchmaker and set him up with Duncan over my protests was the time that did it.”
“I don’t recall any protests from you.”
“Are you kidding?”
I shrugged.
“Man, it’s lucky you’re cute.”
He bent and kissed me, and I liked that.
Outside, I saw that the kids weren’t at the table anymore. Duncan had his gun out, and Dobby was barking like crazy and racing around the backyard.
“Uh, what the hell?” I asked him loudly.
“No, no, no,” Aaron soothed me. “Something, some kind of animal, leaped the fence. Duncan’s using the flashlight on the gun to help.”
That was better than my kids being close to something scary and him ready to shoot.
Sam put the bread on the table, darted back into the house, and a moment later, was back with his ridiculous flashlight that basically changed night to day with the flip of a switch. Duncan had his gun holstered and was going to help the kids, but Sam shook his head.
“Thank you, Dad,” Hannah called out as she got down on one knee and called to a cat that looked wet, huddled beside our fence. “Is that you, Edmond Pevensie?”
The cat stopped trying to retreat, hearing his name. It was also helpful that Kola had picked up Dobby, which, as usual, made him stop barking. He just wanted to warn you that you were about to be murdered. Once you were aware of the threat, he could cease sounding the alarm.
Hannah put her hand over her heart. “It’s me, Hannah Kage. I fed you that time Mr. and Mrs. Kelly went to Salem, do you remember?”
“Is she talking to a cat like a person?” Kurt asked me.
“Yes,” I answered, smiling at him.
“Is that a witch thing?”
“No,” Sam answered distractedly, “it’s a Hannah thing.”
“I was kidding,” Kurt replied.
“I knew that,” I assured him. “Her father’s distracted or he would have noticed as well.”
“It’s not a surprise she’s the first one to the cat,” Kurt told me. “I’ve noticed how much she loves animals.”
“Well, she has a great big heart,” Aaron chimed in. “All the kids do, which I’m certain you’ve noticed.”