Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
brADY
“ R ight here.” I’m standing with all my siblings and my parents, showing them where I’d like to build the house, and they’re all just smiling at me like I’m… cute .
It’s a little unsettling.
“Did you guys hear me?”
“Oh, Bubba,” Mom says, linking her arm through mine and then looking out over the land. “It’s the perfect spot for a home.”
“Why aren’t they talking?” I ask her, gesturing to the others.
“I never thought I’d see the day,” Remington says with a shrug. “I mean sure, you’ve got it bad for Abbi, but I didn’t think you’d take it this far.”
“I’m in love with her,” I correct him, holding his gaze. “I want a life with her, and yeah, I’m taking one hell of a chance because the season has barely started and anything can happen, but?—”
“Life’s short,” Dad puts in, cutting me off. “If you love the girl, love her. I think it’s great. You don’t need our permission. The land’s yours, Brady.”
“Well, I need to make sure that Rem doesn’t have plans for this piece and that neither Millie nor Ryan had their eyes on it.”
“I don’t need it,” Rem says right away.
“Me neither,” Ryan agrees, grinning at me. “Mill?”
“Nope,” she puts in. “Looks like it’s all yours, big brother.”
I let out a breath, feeling nervous all over again as I rub my hands together and try to keep the butterflies under control.
It’s not working. The butterflies are suddenly mutants.
“You’ll need to have power and water brought out this way,” Dad says, thinking it over. “And a septic. It’s raw land, but it’s doable.”
“Do you have an architect?” Ryan asks.
“No, but I bet you have several.”
“Yeah, I have people we can use,” he agrees and pulls out his phone to make notes. That’s Ryan, always ready to put a plan into action.
“I’m so happy for you,” Mom says again and squeezes my arm. “When are you getting married?”
I frown down at her. “I haven’t asked her yet.”
Mom’s eyes narrow. “Are you telling me that you asked her to build a house with you but didn’t say anything about marriage?”
“No, I told her that she’d get the ring and all the romantic stuff later.”
Dad barks out a laugh, my siblings all shake their heads, and Mom smacks me on the back of the head.
“I raised you better than that,” she says with a scowl.
“You’re in trouble ,” Chase snickers, and I glare at him, but he doesn’t lose the shit-eating grin on his face, obviously enjoying the hell out of this.
“How romantic of you,” Millie says, shaking her head in disgust. “I’m sure that was a thrilling conversation for Abbi. Hey, I don’t want to marry you or anything, but let’s shack up. I’ll even build you a house on my property, but don’t get any ideas about the legalities. ”
“Fuck you. That’s not what I said.”
“Watch your mouth,” Mom says and cuffs me on the back of the head again, making my brothers laugh even harder.
I hate all of them.
“It was a nice moment,” I stress, suddenly feeling like an asshole as I replay what I said to her in my head. Jesus, I was fucking nervous, and I was saying all the wrong things. And yet, she still said she wanted to live here.
I must not have fucked it up too badly.
“Don’t be that guy,” Rem says as he tries to catch his breath. “The one that shacks up with his woman for decades and doesn’t marry her.”
“I have no plans on doing any such thing. I am going to marry her. Hell, I want to adopt Daisy and have more kids, and everything else that comes with it, but I wanted to start here, on the house. Get that going because the summers are short, and I don’t want it to take years to finish.”
I sigh and shove my hands into my pockets. Maybe I did fuck up.
“It’s a beautiful spot for a house,” Ryan says with a nod, the laughter calming down. “The views are amazing right here.”
“She cried.” I give my sister the stink eye. “In a good way, smartass.”
“I didn’t say anything.” Millie holds her hands up, her eyes wide as if she’s innocent, but I know better. “I’m rooting for you, moron.”
“Okay, well, since no one objects, I’ll get the ball rolling on things. Thanks, guys.”
We shuffle about for a few more minutes, talking about where I’d like to put the garage, a chicken coop, and a small barn for Daisy’s mini cow, which makes my dad laugh in surprise.
“All the cattle on this ranch, and that little spitfire wants a mini cow.”
“A Highland mini cow,” I add as I check the time. “I have to admit, they’re cute. Speaking of Daisy, I have to pick her up from the babysitter.”
“What’s Abbi up to today?” Millie asks as we all walk to our vehicles. “I haven’t talked to her since our IWC lunch the other day. When some of the girls were idiots.”
That has us all pausing.
“She’s working late. She had some people quit, and she’s just busy with the business. So, I’m taking Daisy out on a date. Why were the girls idiots? Abbi didn’t say anything.”
Rem, Chase, and Ryan all shuffle their feet and look down, and I know that something’s up.
“What happened?” Dad asks, also scowling.
“I have a big-ass mouth,” Millie mutters and presses the heels of her hands to her eyes. “They didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings.”
Now I’m getting pissed off, and I narrow my eyes at my sister. “What. Happened?”
“Girls are dumb,” she whispers. “They were saying that the Wild brothers are all hot.” She makes a gagging noise. “And someone—I think it was Robin Healer, that girl who owns the travel agency downtown—said that they were hoping that it would be a local girl who snagged Brady, and then people laughed and made stupid comments, and we could tell that it made Abbi feel bad. So, after everyone left, we gave her the pep talk of all pep talks and made sure that she knew that you adore her, and we all love the shit out of her, and she needs to let it all roll off her back.”
“Take a breath,” Chase advises. “And yeah, people can just be thoughtless.”
“She seemed fine when I got home,” I reply, but I hate that anyone made my girl feel inferior for even one second. I’ll make sure she knows that there’s no one else in the world for me, no matter what anyone else says.
“Thanks for letting me know. I really do have to go get Daisy.”
“You’re welcome to bring her out here,” Rem says. “Come have dinner with us.”
“I appreciate it, but I thought she’d like to go out to a restaurant for a treat. I’d like some time with her before I head to Wyoming in a couple of days.”
“Makes sense to me,” Ryan says, clapping me on the back. “Have fun. I’ll email you the contact info for the architects.”
“And I have the info for the utilities,” Chase adds. “I had to do the same not long ago. Oh, and the guys who laid the driveway.”
“Right.” I nod, already a little overwhelmed. “I guess we’ll need that. Thanks, guys.”
I climb into the 4Runner and make my way into town, looking forward to some one-on-one time with Daisy. I feel like I’ve hardly seen her since the season started back up again. By the time I get home after a ride, she’s already in bed, and then I’m off before she wakes up, out to the ranch.
I park in the driveway of the townhouse and walk next door to Merilee’s place. She’s the nice older lady who keeps Daisy whenever Abbi needs a sitter, and I’ve met her several times. Daisy adores her, and I can tell that the feeling is completely mutual.
Of course, what’s not to love when it comes to that little girl?
When I knock on the door, I can hear the two of them laughing inside, and when Merilee opens the door, they’re both covered in what looks like…flour?
“Hello, ladies. Do I need to call an ambulance?”
Merilee laughs again and shakes her head. “We were baking cookies, and someone dropped the whole bag of flour.”
“It was heavy ,” Daisy says with a giggle. “And then we sneezed and sneezed so much!”
“I bet you did. Can I help clean up?”
“No, I’ve got this,” Merilee says. “But little miss here might need to be tidied up before…well, before anything else.”
Date night with me is a surprise, so I wink at Merilee and nod.
“We can make that happen. Come on, Princess. Say thank you.”
“Thank you,” Daisy says and wraps her arms around Merilee’s middle, hugging her tight. “See you after school tomorrow.”
“Have a good day,” the older woman says, and then Daisy and I walk over toward the other townhouse.
“We have to get you cleaned up,” I tell her. “Because I have a surprise for you tonight.”
“What is it?”
“A surprise .” I boop her on the nose. “And it’s a good one. Let’s brush as much of this flour as we can out of your hair and dust you off while we’re outside.”
Before we go through the front door, I brush Daisy’s clothes off and shake out her hair, making her laugh.
“Okay, let’s go in and change. Those clothes go right into the washer.”
It only takes me about fifteen minutes to get her ready to go.
“Your mom has to work late,” I inform the little girl as she puts her pink sandals on. “So, you and I are going to do something fun together. How would you like to go out for dinner? On a date, of course.”
“Wow, yes, please.” She stands and claps her hands with excitement. “Where are we going?”
“You get to choose. Where would you like to go?”
“Hmm.” Her eyebrows pull together as she mulls it over. “Pizza?”
“Is that what you want?”
“If I can have breadsticks, then yes.”
“You’re a girl after my own carb-loving heart.” I kiss the top of her head. “You can have whatever you want. Let’s do it.”
“Wait. We’re going on a date, and I’m not wearing a pretty dress.”
“Sometimes, you can go on a date in casual clothes.”
“You can?”
“Sure. You don’t always have to get fancy. I think you look beautiful no matter what you wear.”
That makes her smile and her cheeks darken with happiness. “Okay, then, I’m ready.”
“Me, too. I’m hungry. ”
“I could eat a whole house !” She hops along beside me as we walk out to the 4Runner, and I get her settled in her seat before I take off from the house, headed the short distance to Old Town Pizza. Abbi told me that the new rooftop area is great, so I’ll see if we can get seated up there.
“Well, hello, you two. No Abbi tonight?” Heather asks when we step inside. She smiles down at Daisy, who holds my hand and suddenly gets shy, pushing her face into my side.
“Not tonight. I’m on an important date, so I was hoping we could sit on your fancy new rooftop.”
“Well, of course, you can,” Heather replies with a bright smile. “I have just the perfect table for the two of you. Follow me.”
She leads us up some stairs to the rooftop area. Abbi was right. It’s great up here. There are sunshades to keep the hot sun at bay, lots of tables and chairs, and a bar at one end.
It’s pretty busy up here, but Heather leads us to a table with a great view of town.
“Here you go, you two.” She sets the menus in front of us. “What can I get you started to drink?”
“Can I please have a Shirley Temple?” Daisy asks shyly.
“Absolutely. And you?” Heather turns to me.
“Sweet tea sounds good. Thanks, Heather.”
“You betcha. Melody will be your server tonight.” Heather winks and then bustles off, and I smile over at Daisy.
“It’s really nice up here.”
She nods, looking around. “I can see my school. Can we see all the way to the ranch from here?”
“I don’t think so.” I shake my head and point down the street. “Wait, come here so I can hold you up, and we’ll look.”
Daisy hurries around the table, and I bend down so she can hop onto my back, ignoring the way my knees sing when I stand up, and I walk closer to the edge.
“Do you see Millie’s coffee shop?” I ask, pointing down the block.
“I see it. Is that Grandpa walking out the door?”
“I think it is,” I confirm with a grin. “He must have come into town for a coffee. Oh, there’s Grandma following him.”
“I love them,” she says, resting her chin on my head.
“Me, too. There’s Polly’s shop over there.”
She’s patting my head, but in a soothing way that makes me grin. Being with Daisy feels natural. I don’t feel like I’m babysitting her at all, but more like I should have been with her all along.
She’s mine, just as much as her mother is.
“Can I interrupt just for a minute so I can take your order?”
I turn at the sound of Melody’s voice and smile. “Sorry, we were taking in the view.”
I bend down so Daisy can hop off of my back, and then we take our seats, and I order us breadsticks and pepperoni pizza before Melody leaves to put our order in.
“Brady?” Daisy’s eyes are suddenly serious as she studies me.
“Yeah, Princess?”
“Do you think that maybe someday I can call you daddy? Maybe if you marry my mommy and stuff?”
And just like that, my heart just explodes.
“I know you got mad the last time I said that, but?—”
“I wasn’t mad,” I assure her, leaning on the table. “I was just surprised. Sweetheart, I plan to be with you and your mommy forever. For as long as I’m still alive, I want to be with you guys. I’d like to marry Abbi, and I’m working out the details of asking her, but you have to keep that a secret between you and me, okay?”
“Like a good secret?” she clarifies. “Like a surprise?”
“Yes, that’s right. If your mom says yes, then you can absolutely call me Dad. I would be so honored and proud to be your daddy.”
Her whole face lights up at that. “I won’t tell Mommy. I love you, Brady.”
“I love you, too, Princess.”
“Pizza time,” Melody announces in a sing-song voice as she sets the steaming pie in the middle of the table. “I brought lots of ranch for dipping and lots of napkins,” she says with a wink.
“Thank you,” I reply and scoop a piece onto Daisy’s plate. She’s already put a bite of hot cheese into her mouth and closes her eyes on a sigh, as if she’s never tasted anything so good.
“Yum.”
When we were finished eating, we took the leftovers over to Abbi’s office so she’d have something for dinner, too.
She looked fucking exhausted, but she put on a brave face for Daisy and me, giving us hugs and kisses, and even took a minute to scarf down a piece of pizza before she gently shooed us out so she could dive back in.
She was buried in white sheets and towels and had her computer screen up with a big calendar that she was swearing at.
“How many people are you down?” I asked her.
“Three,” she murmured. “Too many during this season. I’ll figure it out.”
“I can clean,” I offered with a shrug. “I’ll buddy up with you.”
“I can clean, too,” Daisy agreed, and to my horror, Abbi’s eyes filled with tears.
“Okay, I love you two, but I have to get to work so I can come home tonight. Thank you for dinner.”
I pulled her to me, my hands on her sides, and pressed my lips to her forehead. When she sighed, I tipped her chin up and gently kissed her lips. “I’ll see you soon.”
She nodded, and then I brought Daisy home.
We made it through the bedtime routine just fine, and then I got her settled into her bed and read her three stories before those pretty brown eyes drooped closed.
And now, it’s eight-thirty, and there’s no sign of Abbi.
Me: How’s it going there?
The bubbles bounce on the screen as I sit on the couch.
Blue Eyes: Just finishing up. I’ll do the last of it in the morning. Is Daisy in bed?
Me: Just put her to sleep. Come on home, baby, and I’ll take care of you.
She sends back the heart emoji, and I get to work upstairs, getting her favorite lounging clothes together and making sure there’s a big, fluffy towel waiting by the shower.
When Abbi walks in, her shoulders are slumped, her pretty blonde hair is in disarray, falling out of a low ponytail, and her eyes look… defeated.
“Oh, baby.” I pull her against me and hug her close as she sighs and hugs me back. “I’m sorry that it was a rough day.”
“Me, too,” she murmurs. “I know that I’m going to have turnover, but it’s so inconvenient during the busiest months.”
“Are you hungry?”
“A little.”
“I have a plan. How about a nice, hot shower, and then you can come down here and have a snack, and I’ll rub your feet. Or anything else that needs to be rubbed.”
She tips her head back, giving me a fake scowl. “Is that an innuendo?”
“It wasn’t, but it could be.” I relax a little when she smiles. “That’s my girl. Come on, shower first.”
With her hand in mine, I lead her upstairs, and her face softens when she sees that I have everything ready for her.
“You’re the best ,” she whispers before I start the water, letting the stream warm up.
“I’m just a mortal man, in love with the most beautiful woman in the world.” I kiss her forehead before I pull her dirty T-shirt over her head and toss it into the hamper. Then I make quick work of her jeans and underwear, tossing them into the hamper, as well.
God, she’s fucking gorgeous. I know she’s self-conscious of her curves, but I can’t get enough of them.
However, now is not the moment for sex. That’s for later.
“Come on, my hard worker. Into the shower for you.”
“Thank you,” she says, lifting up on her toes to kiss my chin before she steps under the hot spray. “Oh, God, this is heaven.”
I grin at her and then shut the door of the shower, giving her privacy.
“I’ll be downstairs when you’re done.”
“I won’t be long.”
“Take your time, Blue Eyes.”
Once downstairs, I pop some popcorn and add Abbi’s favorite seasoning to the top, then arrange a plate of cheese and crackers and pour her a glass of wine, then I turn the A/C down a bit to make it colder in here and start the fireplace.
I don’t know what it is with women wanting to make a house feel like the arctic tundra, just so they can curl up in blankets and start a fire, but I’ve learned that it’s a thing.
And I want my girl to relax tonight.
I hear the creak of the stairs and turn to find Abbi descending them, and when she sees the food and the fire, she grins.
“This is so great. ”
“Come on,” I instruct her, holding out my hand. “Let’s get you off of your feet.”
“Yes, please.” She takes my hand, and I kiss her knuckles as I lead her to the couch and get her settled.
“I have food for you. Hold on.”
After grabbing the goodies from the kitchen, I return to her and watch her sigh in happiness.
“Let’s start with wine and popcorn,” she says, and I pass her the bowl and the glass of wine, then pop a cracker and cheese into my mouth. “This is a great way to end a shitty day.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask as I pump some lotion from the bottle I set on the end table into the palm of my hand and then lift her foot onto my lap and start to rub. “Or do you just want to relax?”
“Holy Christ on a cracker, you’ve been holding out on me if you can rub feet like that.” Her smile is soft and sweet, and then she shrugs a shoulder. “There wasn’t anything terrible that happened, aside from the fact that three people quit on the same day, didn’t give me notice, and now I’m severely short-handed. I just got all of the positions filled, and I thought I’d be able to coast through the summer, but no. Not to mention, now I have an odd number of employees again, and I won’t let anyone work alone, so that means that I have to help until I can get someone else in. Which means that laundry gets stacked up.”
She pops some popcorn into her mouth and chews.
“I’ll figure it out. It’s just a pain in the ass and long hours. Thank God for Merilee and my hot cowboy.”
I fucking love it when she calls me cowboy.
“Did you and Daisy have fun?” she asks me.
“There was pizza with a view, so of course, we did. She’s great, Abs. No worries there.”
“Good. And you’re right, I do have a great kid. Where do you head off to next?”
I frown down at her foot. I’d rather not have to talk about leaving again, but this is our life for the next few months.
I can’t avoid it forever.
“Wyoming.” My thumbs move up the outside of her foot and circle her ankle, making her groan with pleasure. And that little groan makes my dick twitch. “Give me your other foot.”
She sets her bowl and wine aside and then shakes her head. “I have a better idea.”