I eyed him playfully. “You were cool loving up on the lodge’s female guests and then sending them on their way? Taking a chick home for the night, then taking her to the airport in the morning?”
“Not even. Do you know how far away the airport is?” We both laughed. “But yeah, I was cool with that. What I dreamt about then was having time to go ATVing with my homeboys on the weekends. Flying out to Portland to catch the Pioneers play football or the Trailblazers play basketball. I dreamt about upgrading my Range Rover. Tricking it out even more. Things like that.
“Now, I’m dreaming about finding that one and knowing. Like Bayliss saw your mother that first time and he was just . . . gone. The whole time she was here, he wanted to be in her space.She was reluctant as hell, but he wasn’t trying to hear that.” He chuckled. “He pulled out all the stops. Won her over.”
“He did,” I agreed with a nod of my head. “She quit her job, packed her stuff, left two of her four daughters behind, and moved two thousand miles away for love’s sake. Then, Collins did the same thing—moved two thousand miles away for love’s sake.”
“Could you see yourself doing that?”
“I don’t know. I’m not the impulsive type. That’s Perkins. I’m more like Collins. We’re overthinkers. But she was able to overcome her habit of overthinking for the chance to be with Beckham. Maybe I could.” I shrugged my shoulders.
“I think the main thing that pushed me over the edge and got me to really start thinking about having a family in the future was building the crib for this new baby Strong that’s coming any day now. Like getting the blueprint, selecting the right wood, sanding it, assembling it, staining it. That right there made everything very fucking real. Do I want my legacy to be that I had the skills and the charm to knock down everything in a skirt, or that me and my wife gave our kids a safe place to grow up and a happy childhood?”
My eyes widened. “Dang! That’s very . . . grown man of you.”
“Say, I’m trying.” He grinned. “I’m the youngest of the bunch. I was always ten steps behind. I grew up envying my brothers. They could read, write, tie their shoes, drive, date before I could. Now I’m envying the fact that they go home to warm houses and even warmer bodies. I was raised with family values, but I spent a lot of time running from those very things.”
“I hope you find that.”
His eyes studied mine. “I hope I do, too.”
My heart thumped in my chest. Something inside me wanted to be that for Bright—a warm house and an even warmer body. Something inside me wanted to have that with him. A housefilled with gorgeous children who I raised with their fun-loving and sexy ass daddy. I pushed the thought from my mind. I didn’t even know what my future held. It would be unfair for me to try to pursue Bright when I lived in Chicago and he lived in Jackson Falls. When he was ready to settle down and I was just getting out of a failed marriage.
After dinner, Bright took me to his place. I was nervous and I wasn’t sure what he was expecting from me. My nerves relaxed when we went straight through the house and out to the back deck.
I knew that Bright had a hand in building all of his brothers’ houses, as well as his own. I also knew that while I loved the back deck he put on the house Bayliss and my mom lived in, the one he put on his own house was my hands down favorite. It faced the mountain vista in the most striking way. On his deck he had set up two easels, two canvases, two smocks, two tables, two bowls of water, numerous paint brushes, and painting supplies.
He turned to face me. “When I read that there was a full moon tonight, I knew we would have enough light to paint a nighttime rendition of the view from my deck. You told me you like to paint. I didn’t think you only meant walls.”
He looked so serious, like he thought I wouldn’t like his date idea. I had to giggle because I loved it. “I love it. I love that you listen to me, Bright. I can’t believe you set all this up.”
“While the women were dolling you up at the salon, Bay and Beck came through for me.”
“I love it,” I repeated. “And I can’t believe how bright the light from the full moon is making it out here.”
“Yeah. When you live in the city all the skyscrapers and pollution block the light. But when you live in the country, where the air is crisp and clean it makes a difference. When you don’t have a bunch of ugly tall buildings competing for space in the skyyou can have this.” He gestured toward the sky, like he laid the stars or something.
“Whatever. Not too much on my hometown.” I pretended to be annoyed, but I wasn’t at all. I was glad that there was still someplace in America where greed and capitalism hadn’t ruined God’s creation.
Bright flipped the light switches on the side of the house. The deck was illuminated with a soft light and the fire pit gave a whoosh before springing to life. I slipped out of my jean jacket, resting it on one of the outdoor chairs. I put on the smock.
“I’m ready.”
Bright and I stood side by side planning our pictures. I picked the darkest blue and poured a little into one of the cups Bright set up, then dipped in a medium size paint brush. As I created strokes across my canvas that were meant to represent the night sky, I felt content. The air was crisp, but the heat from the fire pit balanced it so that the temperature on the deck was comfortable. The night was quiet except for crickets and the rustling of the trees. The view was gorgeous and the company was my current favorite person to be around. I was in a very good space.
I peeked over at Bright’s canvas and was about to comment when both of our phones buzzed with texts.
He got to his first. “Aww shit.” A wide grin split his face. “Our little niece is about to make her appearance.”
The paint brush fell into the cup of blue paint. “Collins is in labor?”
“Collins is in labor. Let’s head out.”
The Kingsleyand Strong families sat in the waiting room of Jackson Woods Memorial Hospital for five hours, but we would’ve sat there much longer for the opportunity to meet the newest addition to our combined clan. Each of us took turns going in and visiting with Collins for a short period while she labored. Of course Beckham, our mother, and Mrs. Strong were present for the birth, while the rest of us prayed and kept each other company in the waiting area.
Finally they called for us to enter the delivery room. Perkins was her usually bossy self and basically demanded to be the first to lay eyes on Baby Girl Strong, but in the end that distinction went to Mr. Strong. After Mr. Strong got his fill of her, the rest of us gathered around.
“What’s her name?” Church asked.
