Dair knew his mother was addressing the side window when she said, “It pains me to know ye three all saw them, and how ye did.”
Enough of this shite.
“I suggest none of us take on Dad’s fuckups,” he stated. “It isn’t on any of us. Dinnae worry, I dinnae think I’ll turn into him because I spent most of my life not respecting the man and understanding I didnae want to be like him.”
His mother made a noise, and the sound of it wounded him, but this had to be said.
“Doesn’t mean he wasn’t a good father. He was tough on me, but I never doubted his love, like Blake had to do with Helena. I’m angry at Dad. We all are. He deserves it. We’ll get through it, though. No clue what’s on the other side, but we’ll get through it. And Mum, you aren’t missing anything. There’s something between Blake and me. We’ll be exploring it. I ken she’s been through it. I’ll have a mind. But we’re both adults. Ye have enough to worry about, dinnae worry about that.”
“Ye make a bonny couple, love,” his mother said. “And I like the way she is with ye. Seems settled in her skin when she’s with ye.”
Fuck, he liked that.
“You’re like an old married couple already,” Davi added. “It’s hilarious.”
“You have years of history,” Mum said quietly. “I like that. It’s a good foundation.”
Left unsaid, nothing like what he had with Signe, who his mother had detested. She’d seen beyond the hair, makeup and love bombing, whereas Dair had been thinking with his cock, something Signe was very good at sucking.
It ended up being beneficial that Blake sent copious directions even if they had GPS on their phones. He noticed landmarks she mentioned on the winding road way up in the mountains, and because of Blake, he didn’t miss the almost hidden turn off to the steep descent of a drive to the house.
But he caught it, and they wound down an attractive lane that had two sides of natural pine and boulders until they hit the house.
And…
Bloody hell.
“Ned Sharp always had good taste,” his mum said when the big structure nestled in the woods became visible before them.
She was right.
The modern, flat-roofed home made of stone and glass was all right angles with fantastic lighting. Even with that ultra-contemporary design, it seemed innate in its surroundings, with its landscaping of green grasses and red dirt.
The sun wasn’t close to going down, but the house was so deeply ensconced in the shadow of the pines, it was lit within already, adding its lot to the warm glow of the Arizona sunshine.
Dair parked at the bottom of the long, straight row of red, flagstone steps that led to a two-story wall of windows edged in stone.
They were about to get out when they saw Ned at the top of the stairs gesturing to the side.
“Hold,” Dair ordered and drove around where they found another path that led up to the house, this one winding, not straight, and wound among more boulders, grass and subtle garden lighting.
At the top of these stairs was Blake.
She’d taken off the jumper outfit and was wearing a black tank dress that had a twist at the midriff, cutout sides and slits at the hem on either side. She wore thongs on her feet with a bow at the toes so big, he could see it from where he sat in their car.
Her hair was a luxurious mass of ebony tumbling over her shoulders.
He felt one side of his lips hitch up as he shut down the vehicle and climbed out.
He escorted his mother up the steps, Davi trailing, and Ned had made it around to their side by the time they cleared the top.
“So glad you came,” he greeted, going right to Kenna.
“Och, Ned, this house is extraordinary,” his mum replied as she accepted a kiss on her cheek.
“When we understood we’d be out here often, especially when my grandchildren start arriving, I commissioned it from Remy Gastineau,” Ned told her, going in to greet Davi.
“Heya, hen,” he murmured to Blake, bending to brush his lips along her cheek, and he decided this time to make a wider sweep and ended with them at her ear.
