As he said it, he reached for Louisa and brought her to his face. Then he peppered her with kisses, causing her to squeal in glee.
It was weird seeing the computer guru, badass biker that’d broken me out of prison, so gentle and loving with his kids and mine.
“We are going to take a ski trip,” she said. “And experience your beloved Montana winter for a solid week.”
“Where are your kids?” I asked.
“They’re out in the snow, playing with a big, burly mountain man that looks like the man off of my smut novels,” Dru teased.
“Dru, dear…” Apollo said teasingly. “Do we need to discuss your nightly proclivities with your brother? I know how you both get when I remind you…”
“La-la-la-laaaaa.” I covered my ear with one of Louisa’s hands.
Louisa giggled.
“Which big burly mountain man is here?” I wondered as Dru, luckily, stopped talking.
“Weaver,” Apollo answered. “And his wife.”
“They were over to visit with the horses,” I said. “Weaver pretends that he doesn’t like them, but he’ll do just about anything for his wife. Even brave a storm to see them if she asks.”
“Speaking of storms,” Dru said as she pulled away. “I went ahead and bought out the entire store. Come help me get everything out of the trunk.”
I grinned. “You just wanted to be snowed in where Mable was forced to feed you.”
“Maybe.” Dru batted her eyes.
Mable snorted. “You’re lucky. I have enough food to feed an army. I had a wedding to cater next week, but it was canceled due to the storm.”
“Score!” Apollo called.
Mable had stopped operating heavy machinery and instead started to focus on what she truly loved. Cooking for other people.
She’d slowly turned her small business into a booming one, and now we had enough staff that we had to build a building on the property that would house them.
I still worked at the mill, but I was a supervisor now, having taken over the crew for Prater when it was found out that he was skimming money from the company.
Now I worked with my own crew while Paul Junior worked with his. It wasn’t what I’d always wanted out of life, but it was an honest living.
And I had great hours and got to leave whenever I wanted to come see my wife and child when I was missing them a little too much.
Speaking of that wife and child…
“Now, my little Louisa,” I called out to my daughter who was looking at me with an apologetic expression on her face. “Let’s talk about those phone calls you told me you weren’t making.”
Louisa batted her eyes. “Who. Me?”
I chuckled. “It’s always you, darling.”
Louisa snorted. “No, never.”
I sighed. “Go play with your cousins.”
She didn’t need to be asked twice.
Once we were alone in the laundry room Mable walked toward me and into my arms.
I closed them around her, like I did every single time that she was close, and said, “I’d say sorry, but I love seeing her.”
