"Tired of the trees?"
"No, I'm tired of having to take our wives and girlfriends to places like Scooters so we can dance and have a little fun, only to have drunk men proposition them. You ladies shouldn't have to be subjected to that."
Riley must have told her brother what happened last night at Scooters. Daniel studied her face looking for signs of a difficult night but didn't find any. He was relieved when she responded to his text last night, saying she was okay, but it was easy to lie in a text. He'd done it dozens of times with his parents and Emily after he fell off the wagon.
When Riley darted away like that, he feared kissing her had been a mistake. It was too soon after her assault. He'd never been good at saying no to Riley, though, especially when he’d been thinking about kissing her all evening.
He shouldn't let himself get attached to her, though. She deserved someone better than him. Now that he'd kissed her and held her in his arms again, however, the last thing he wanted was to let her walk away from him again.
He tuned back into Emily and Jake's conversation, trying to ignore the fact that Riley wore one of his old T-shirts from high school and short shorts.
"I agree that we shouldn't have to be subjected to drunken come-ons at Scooters, but what does that have to do with you cutting down trees?"
"I'm building a dance floor."
"A dance floor?" Emily's brows hiked up.
"Well, I'm going to build a recreation center of sorts, where we can dance and play basketball and maybe volleyball. We'll put in a sound system and a bathroom and maybe even a small kitchen."
"A kitchen? Of course, because every gymnasium needs a kitchen." Sarcasm laced Emily's words. "Don't you think you're going a little overboard, just so we can dance?"
"No, I'm not." Jake pulled Emily into his arms, "You know how we were discussing that the ranch house, as big as it is, is getting too small for family gatherings, especially with another generation coming along? This building will give us the space we need for all our family parties, regardless of the weather."
Emily shook her head, skepticism covering her face. "Did you sleep at all last night?"
"I don't think so. I went to bed, but then I started thinking, and I had to get up." He looked directly at Daniel now. "There are some crude sketches on my desk I want you to develop. I need you to draw up the plans for this." He waved his arm in a broad circle.
A spark of excitement filled Daniel's abdomen and radiated up through his chest. Images filled his head of ways he could make Jake's ramblings come to life. Maybe they could use the wood from the trees Jake cut down for the dance floor. He'd have to do some research to see if white oak, Oregon ash, and maple would make good flooring.
Emily clipped the baby monitor onto the waistband of her pajama pants and put a hand on either side of Jake's face as though to rein him in. "You realize this is going to be a very costly project?"
He grimaced, but Daniel could tell it was fake. "I might run the ranch into bankruptcy." Then he winked as he pulled her close. Helowered his voice, but Daniel stood close enough to hear him. "Good thing I married into money." He pressed a brief kiss to Emily's lips.
Her mouth curved up and she gave a little nod. "I can't think of a better project to spend some of that money on."
Two years ago, Emily inherited a massive fortune after her dad and brother were murdered. Despite the numerous scholarships they funded and their generous donations to dozens of charities, Daniel figured they'd hardly made a dent in the billions she inherited after the sale of her father's tech company.
Jake started gesturing and explaining his plans to Emily, but everyone gathered listened intently. For the first time, Daniel noticed three-foot stakes in the ground with orange ribbons tied around them, marking out what Jake intended to be the boundaries of the building.
He let out a low whistle. This was going to be a major project. The excitement building inside him amplified, taking his breath away. He couldn't wait to take on this challenge. Designing buildings like this was what he was meant to do.
When Jake finished gesturing and explaining, Daniel grinned. "Where's the swimming pool supposed to go?"
Jake spun around, the crazed look in his eyes growing more intense. He studied the line of trees he'd marked.
"Zane, we're going to need to push the fence to the north another hundred fifty feet."
"I was kidding, man." Daniel put a hand on Jake's shoulder as though to hold him back.
"I'm not. Our children shouldn't have to swim in the creek and mud holes that leave them covered in leeches like we did."
"I agree, but don't you think you're going a little overboard?" Daniel quirked a brow at Jake.
"I agree." Emily propped a hand on her hip.
"Why not go overboard?" Jake turned to Emily. "We've got the space. We can afford it."
Emily gave a reluctant nod and smiled. “You’re right. Don’t youdare tear down the tree house, though. I still want our kids to have the kind of childhood you had.”
