Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Kola smiled and then stepped right into him, wrapping him up, head down on his shoulder. “Then the next time, just stay. That would’ve been better.”
Finn’s eyes fluttered shut, and I saw him lean. I knew how he was feeling because it was the same for me whenever I was wrapped around Sam Kage, absorbing every drop of warmth and closeness I could get. Somewhere in all the time he and Kola had spent together, Finn had tumbled down the rabbit hole and had it bad for my oblivious firstborn.
“Not that there will be a next time,” Kola said, easing back. “I mean, hopefully we won’t get assaulted by jealous drunk guys on the street.”
“At least not until St. Patrick’s Day,” Finn told him. “You’ll come with me, and meet my brothers, and if it gets rowdy, my mother will break it up instead of me.”
“You see, that’s perfect.” Kola grinned at him. “Now make with the serving. The bowls are over there.”
Finn nodded and then looked over at me. “Would you like some, Mr. Harcourt, or anyone else?”
“No,” Hannah said, looking at the television. “I just really want to find out what’s happening on this show. I think this guy is the main character, and he’s English, and most importantly, he looks like he’s about to drop dead at any second.”
“All English guys except Daniel Craig look like they’re one stiff breeze away from the graveyard,” Finn called over to her. “It’s what makes them attractive to women.”
“You know what,” Hannah said, turning to look at him, “it does bring out the nurturer in me, not gonna lie.”
“See,” he said with a shrug, and low and behold, he grinned at her.
And my daughter smiled back.
Yeah, they were going to be all right.
Kola bent over the counter and put his head down onto his folded arms as Finn put the bowl of soup, covered with a paper towel, into the microwave.
“I just want it to be a bit hotter,” he said, putting his hand on the back of Kola’s head and massaging.
“Can you keep doing that?” Kola said with a sigh.
“Yeah,” Finn replied, his eyes never leaving my son. “I can.”
I glanced over at Sam, who shrugged and then began to explain to Hannah that the show was set in Wales and the detective was the new chief in a small town.
After Kola had soup, he invited Finn to stay and watch a movie with them, I was not at all surprised at how quickly Finn agreed. Sam got up, and Hannah went with him to the kitchen to see what kind of dessert they could find. Jake was settled on the opposite end, Harper beside him, and Kola and Finn took Sam and Hannah’s spot.
“Pa, can you make chocolate pie?” my daughter asked hopefully.
“Of course I can.”
“It’s really good,” Kola told Finn, leaning against him.
Finn lifted his arm, and Kola got comfortable, and I worried a bit because Kola did the same thing with Jake and Harper, but that was for them to navigate, not for me to worry about.
“I look forward to having pie,” Finn told me with a smile, and really, I was a fan. He then turned to Harper beside him. “So who was the guy you were in the bathroom with?”
“Bathroom?” Jake asked, opening one eye.
“I was not in the bathroom with anyone,” Harper told Finn, who tipped his head at him, “for…long enough to do what you’re insinuating.”
“I wasn’t insinuating anything; I was just curious as to who that was.”
“His name’s Wick.”
“Wick?”
Harper shot him a look.
“That’s terrible.”
“Like Finn is any better.”
Jake snickered and Finn shrugged and I decided I liked this new dynamic.
In the kitchen, Hannah was getting out supplies for me as I walked over to Sam.
“Looks like we have one more for pie, then dinner, then whatever else we have for dessert,” I said, smiling.
“Yeah, it’s good,” he said, and bent to kiss me. “Thank you for coming home with me last night so we could count down to the new year, just the two of us.”
“It was my pleasure,” I purred, kissing my husband. “Happy first day of the new year, my love.”
“Oh God,” Hannah groaned. “Did you two forget I was in here?”
Sam just laughed.
Best start to the new year ever.
That’s it, all. Hope your New Year’s was wonderful, as well as your Valentine’s Day. I will tell you all about how that went next month. See you then!
MARCH 2024
Hello, all, and welcome to He Said, he said for March 2024. Weird that January took, like, two months to get through and February felt like it was two weeks. We’ll see how March goes.
Because the weather was so stupid, like, I don’t know about you, but we had no winter—there have been days in the mid-sixties already—everything seems nuts. Today we have a high of forty-eight and a low of thirty-eight. As soon as it goes over sixty, my husband will insist that the AC goes on, and then below forty, I insist on the heater going on at night. The dueling thermostats are always fun. And don’t get me started on early allergy season. Horrible.