“She’s there some during the week and the next two weekends.”
“I’ll tell Ash this week.And maybe this weekend we can have one of those late nights.”
My lips lifted.So did my dick.“Sounds good to me.”
She snorted.“I figured it would.”
I reached for her hand again, squeezing her fingers so she’d look at me.“It’s more than sex for me, Reegan.I hope you know that.”
She nodded.“Me, too.”
I smiled as she finished her coffee, then left me with the mug and retreated into Ashlyn’s house.I carried the two mugs home, feeling like I’d won something.
A second chance.
Evie trudgedinto the house Monday afternoon, looking like she’d gone ten rounds and lost.
“How was your day?”I smothered a grin as her eyes lifted to meet mine.
“How do people do this all the time?”
I snorted, unable to stop the noise.“Work?You get used to it.”
“I’m exhausted.I don’t think I sat down for more than a minute the entire day.”It was the start of her third week of working at the hospital, and clearly, it was a rough start.
“That’s part of it sometimes.Especially when you’re in a place like the emergency department.Aunt Christy tells me her shifts are long.”
“She’s a powerhouse.I know she sat down less than I did.”
I hugged my kid and kissed the top of her head.“She loves it.If you end up going into healthcare, it’ll get easier.It always is when you’re doing something you enjoy.”
“I don’t know if I can enjoy it when I’m this tired.”
“I understand.What do you want for dinner tonight?”
“I don’t know if I’m awake enough for food.”
“No?”
She flopped onto the couch facedown, groaning as she did.“Maybe in a little bit.”
I chuckled, understanding the exhaustion of her day more than she knew.“I’ll start something, and we can eat later.How does that sound?”
I took her grunt as agreement and went to work on figuring out dinner.I was never interested in cooking when I was growing up, but being a single father required the skill set.My mom managed the task when I was a busy teenager in school and playing hockey all the time, although she insisted I learn.My parents had a more traditional marriage where she was the stay-at-home mom and my dad worked full-time.They told me it was what worked for them and they liked it, but always encouraged me to do what worked for me and my future spouse.
Hannah didn’t like anything.She didn’t want to work, and she didn’t want to be a stay-at-home parent.My parents never judged her or said anything bad about her, but I could see the tension in their eyes when she would complain.
Which she did a lot.
They died before Hannah and I divorced, but I always wondered what they would have said about that decision.If they would have been relieved or would have been disappointed.Either way, I knew they would have loved seeing Evie grow into the young woman she was.
I cubed pieces of chicken and steak, then cut up peppers, onions, and zucchini.I took my time sliding everything onto skewers to grill.Summers were too short, and I wanted to take advantage of my grill as much as possible.
With the food ready, I washed my hands, then walked outside to preheat the grill.I was immediately met with laughter that made my lips curl up.My gaze slid to the fire pit next door, where Reegan and Ashlyn were sitting.
“Hi Josh!”Ashlyn said, waving as I walked around the side of my house to the grill.
“Hello!”I called back.I continued on my path, wanting to walk across the yard and speak to them, but that wasn’t the relationship I had with Ashlyn.We said hello, we were friendly, but we weren’t friends.I turned on the grill, pausing to enjoy the scent of the honeysuckle that grew all over my property.The sweet scent always made me think of summer and long days in the sunshine.
