Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
I lift my shoulders and drink from my mug.
“Liam . . .”
I cross the kitchen and stand between her knees, my hands on the counter on either side of her hips. “You already know her. You already like her. She’s in and out of your shop all year for school flowers anyway. So, what I’m thinking is you get her to the house and I’ll take another one for the team and be with Nick. We’ll just happen to stop by but you’ve made this big meal so Nick has to stay for dinner.”
She’s quiet a second, working it. Then: “You want me to do the actual work, and you take the credit.”
“We work together. We take credit. Honestly, having a happy Nick benefits the both of us. When he’s here for the errant Sunday dinner, he won’t be so dramatic.” I kiss her forehead. I don’t tell her the part where, if he has someone, then I won’t always wonder if he’s pining for my wife. I’d never admit that to anyone other than Harrison and JD.
“Huh.” She loops her arms around my neck. “You’ve really thought about this.”
“I think about a lot of things. You only catch the dumb ones out loud.”
“I’ll meet with her,” Josie says. “Because I want to, not because you told me to. And you,” she taps a finger against my chest, “The second you get in over your head with Nick, you call me. Not the guys, not your own face at Sunday dinner. Me.”
“Why does everybody keep saying that about my face.”
“Because it’s a billboard, Liam Page. We can’t leave or come into town without seeing it.” She kisses me, quick, and slides down off the counter. “Now move. Your son and my grandbabies are going to be standing in my kitchen in a few hours and there is nothing in this house to feed them.”
There’s enough in this house to feed a battalion. There always is. But I let her chase me out of the kitchen, because chasing me out of the kitchen is one of her favorite things and I’m not a man who denies his wife the small stuff.
Paige surfaces around noon, which on a Sunday for a teenager is the crack of dawn, and parks herself on the free stool in my basement studio with her laptop open. I take the pencil out of my mouth and set it on the notepad that I’ve scribbled all over the past two hours.
“The clip from Thursday hit a hundred thousand,” she says, not looking up. “The one where you got choked up about the soldier. I keep telling you, Dad. They want you wrecked.”
“Comforting, coming from my own child.” If I was near the drum kit, I would’ve given myself a ba dum tss. Instead, I strum a happy jingle.
Paige looks up and glares. “I’m monetizing your feelings. You’re welcome.” She flips the laptop around to show me a number I don’t fully understand and don’t let on that I don’t.
“Monetizing?”
She nods. “The apps are now paying you.”
“I don’t want it,” I tell her. “Make sure it gets donated somewhere.”
“On it.”
She heads back upstairs, leaving me with the mess of words on the sheet of paper that don’t make sense. Eventually, the words will come together, but until then, I close my notebook and put my guitar away.
My mother lets herself in a little after one with a pie in her hands she didn’t need to bring. Seeing her walk through my house always gives me pause. There was a time, when I couldn’t even speak to her. When I hated her.
Bianca got sober while I was away, after a lifetime of being a ghost in her own house. Since, we were able to mend our relationship and since, she has done everything she can to make sure we have the best one. She stepped up when it came to Noah and Paige but really pulled out all the stops for the triplets. Noah tells me my mom goes over there every day to help Talisa and Peyton, so Peyton can have a break.
She kisses my cheek on her way past and tells me I look tired, which isn’t far from the truth. Then she and Josie disappear into the kitchen together where I’m not needed or wanted until it’s time to put meat on the grill.
At two, the front door opens and Stevie Nicks bursts through the house to greet us before Noah and Peyton can get the babies in the door. Paige drops to the floor and welcomes all the dog kisses while giving the giant Irish wolfhound all the ear scratches. Stevie Nicks then moves on to me, my mom, and finally the object of her affection, her grandmaw. Those two have a bond which is cute to see.