by Devney Perry
“Hi,” Ethan said, giving me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.
“Hello. Which ex-wife?” I asked.
“I’ve invited Rachel.”
“I like Rachel,” I told my mother.
“What?” she yelled. “How could you say that? She started having an affair with your father while she was married to your brother.”
“That wasn’t Rachel,” Ethan said.
“Isn’t she the blond one?” Mom asked.
“No.”
“Which one was the blond one?” she asked.
“Number Four,” Ethan and I answered in unison.
“Then which one is Rachel?” my mother asked.
“The second one. Brunette. Tall. Kind of willowy. I was in their wedding,” I said.
“Okay.” She nodded. “I like her too. She’s invited.”
Ethan muttered a curse and then declared he was going to help Nick at the grill. He had been on an extended Montana vacation following his divorce from Number Four.
I wasn’t the only member of my family no longer speaking to Trent Austin. My father had started sleeping with Ethan’s wife not long after Steffie had been out of the picture. Number Four had taken a chunk from my brother’s trust fund and was currently shacked up at the Austin estate.
On the bright side, it was the wake-up call that Ethan had needed to turn his life around. He had realized that his greedy lifestyle was never going to get him the happiness he desired, and I was proud to say that he was becoming a better man.
“What’s next?” Mom asked, surveying my food table setup.
The meat was ready and the garage was overflowing with drinks. Gigi and Maisy were bringing salads. Samuel, Mom’s chef, had made desserts. It was the perfect summer barbeque.
“Now you can tell me about these flowers and then we’ll enjoy the evening,” I said, looping my arm through hers and leading her outside.
“Do you miss it, helping with the fireworks?” I asked Nick. “I know how you men feel about blowing stuff up.”
When he’d worked at the fire station, Nick had always helped with the fireworks show. But now that he was just on the volunteer team, Michael Holt was supervising.
Nick bent down to kiss our son’s hair and then took my hand in his. “Not one bit.”
We were side by side in a couple of camp chairs watching the show. Draven was passed out on his daddy’s chest and I was wrapped up in a blanket to keep warm.
After things had settled down the day Steffie had shot at me, I’d learned about the fire that had kept Nick away. He had managed to save the elderly woman trapped in the burning chateau but the building itself had been too far gone to save. Though it frightened me to think of what could have happened to him, I was so proud of Nick.
He was a hero.
“Ryan told me tonight that they’re ready to knock out the walls. Did you decide if you want to stay at your mom’s or at the motel?” Nick asked.
This summer we were putting an addition on the house. Addition wasn’t quite the right term. It was more like building a second house and connecting it to the existing one. When it was finished, we’d have an entertainment room and playroom downstairs with two new bedrooms and another bathroom upstairs. And I would finally get a bigger closet.
“I hate to intrude on Mom for a whole week,” I said. “So, the motel I guess.”
Nick chuckled and brought my hand to his lips for a soft kiss. “I’ve got another idea,” he said. “We could fly to Vegas for the week.”
“Right. Sin City with a toddler would be a blast.”
“He could stay with your mom and Alesso.”
“I doubt they’d want him with all the activity they have going on.”
He grinned. “That’s not what Collette said when I asked her.”
“You already told her we were going, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
I rolled my eyes. “What about the garage? You’ve been so busy. Can you afford to be away for an entire week? What if you get behind?”
“Alesso can manage the office. The cars Dad and Dash brought up aren’t rush jobs. I’m good,” he said.
“It’s going to be miserably hot down there.”
“Think of it like a honeymoon. We’ll just stay inside our room with the air conditioning.”
“Honeymoon? More like returning to the scene of the crime.”
Leaning over, he brushed his lips across the base of my jaw. I loved it when he did that. “We could see if Clover is still around and renew our vows at the chapel? Maybe get to work on baby number two?” he whispered.
I absolutely wanted to see our chapel again but another baby? “No. No way. It’s too soon.”
He leaned back and smiled. His vibrant eyes sparkled as the fireworks exploded in the sky above us and in my heart. “I dare you.”
I shook my head and gave him a smirk. “That doesn’t work on me anymore. You’ve used up all your dares.”
“Fine,” he said. “I double dare you.”
Jamison Valley Series
The Coppersmith Farmhouse
Thank you to my family and friends, who spur me on daily with their love and encouragement.
To Elizabeth Nover, the best editor I ever could have wished for. Thank you for the insightful comments, necessary cuts and missing commas. To Sarah Hansen for designing my beautiful covers. To Julie Deaton for your proofreading expertise. To Stacey Blake, formatter extraordinaire. To the crew at EverAfter Romance for the paperbacks I adore. To Nazarea and the team at InkSlinger PR for promoting my stories. Thank you. I am so blessed to have you all at my back.
To all of the bloggers that work so hard to promote books and the passion of reading. Thank you all for your thoughtful words and honest reviews.
And to all my readers and loyal followers. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Your messages keep me going. I hope you’ve loved Nick and Emmy’s story.
Devney lives in Montana with her husband and two children. After working in the technology industry for nearly a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to enjoy a slower pace at home with her kids. She loves reading and, after consuming hundreds of books, decided to share her own stories.
www.devneyperry.com
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