Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ERIN
“ W hat are you up to?”
I look up from my desk in surprise and see Rem leaning against the doorjamb, watching me. Since I’ve completely taken over the bookkeeping from Joy, Remington gave me his desk to use, since he does so much work at his office in the barn.
And so far, that’s worked just fine for me.
“It’s too late for you to be working,” he says as he pushes off the doorjamb and slowly walks toward me. “The kids are in bed.”
“I’m not working on the bookkeeping,” I admit. “But I am figuring out the summer schedule.”
“Schedule? The kids just got out of school yesterday.”
“I know, but I think it’s a good idea for them to still have a routine. A schedule. And I’ll be with them most of the time, so I’m juggling things around. See.” I turn the calendar his way. “For example, on Mondays, Holly will have dance, and then Johnny’s taking karate classes right after. But in the mornings, I want them to read a book of their choosing, and before their classes, we’ll go to the library so they can trade them in. On Tuesdays, we’ll start with math, and then after lunch, we’ll go to that amazing lake you showed me for swimming or paddle boarding.”
“Wow,” he murmurs, looking it over. “You’re giving them riding lessons?”
“Of course not.” I smirk at him. “But one of the new ranch hands you hired volunteered to give them an hour a week. They already know how , but they don’t get a lot of practice, and this way, they will.”
“Which kid?”
“Kyle?”
Rem nods with approval. “I’m glad I found Kyle. I can get behind that. What’s this?”
He points to the yellow star on Sundays.
“Grandma day,” I reply with a laugh. “And I haven’t written in my day at the coffee shop yet, but I will.”
“And what day do you get off?”
I blink up at him. “What do you mean?”
“Between the bookkeeping, my kids, and the coffee shop, you haven’t scheduled a day off for yourself.”
“Rem, I count my coffee shop day as my day off.”
“Fuck that.” His voice is mild, but his eyes say, I won’t back down on this.
“If I take another day off, it leaves you in a lurch. Besides, I like this schedule.”
“I’ll only agree with this if you take a day, every other week, to yourself. You can go to the spa or go hang out with Millie or, shit, I don’t care if you go sit in that fancy condo on the ski hill all day, but you’ll have some time for yourself. With the kids out of school, there won’t be any of that, and you’ll need it.”
“Okay.” I nod slowly, looking over the schedule. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Good. I like it. You’re right, they do best with a routine.”
“I do, too,” I admit with a smile. “Without it, it’s nothing but chaos, and I can’t deal with that.”
“Are you about done in here?”
“For now.” I stand and turn off the desk lamp, then circle the desk and walk into Rem’s arms for a big hug. The two of us have gotten into our own routine with each other, and this is part of it.
After the kids go to bed, and the house is quiet, Remington seeks me out, and I get the best bear hug the world has ever seen.
It’s almost as good as the sex, and that’s saying a lot.
And the hug almost always leads to the sex.
“I love the pretty Barbie doll and clothes we got for Aurora,” Holly says from the back seat. She’s so freaking cute in her pink dress, totally appropriate for the pink-themed party and dress code that came on the invitation. Her hair is up in braids again, which seems to be her go-to these days. I don’t mind. It gives us some time to chat and be together without any of the boys. Pink ribbons are tied at the bottom of the braids, and the big, pink gift bag is on the seat next to her.
“I like that one, too,” I agree. “She’s pretty.”
“Maybe I’ll add her to my birthday wish list.”
“When is your birthday, Holly?”
“June twentieth.”
That’s just a couple of weeks away. How do I not know their birthdays?
“And when is Johnny’s?”
“December twenty-third. He thinks it’s lame because people try to combine his birthday and Christmas gifts into one gift.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of lame. Have you thought about what you want for your birthday party?”
“I want a princess party,” she says with excitement. “I want my friends to wear pretty princess dresses. And we can ride a horse from the barn.”
“I think that’s hard to do in a princess dress, but I like the idea of seeing if we can get the ranch hands to help us give rides, if it’s okay with your friends’ moms and dads.”
“Yeah! And we can have a pretty princess cake and flowers and balloons.”
I should have started planning this a month ago. I can’t believe I never thought to ask when their birthdays are.
With the help of GPS, I find my way to Aurora’s house and park on the street. I help Holly out of the back and pass her the gift so she can be the one to give it to her friend.
There’s a sign that says to walk around to the backyard, so that’s what we do, and I’ve never seen anything so adorable. There’s a photo booth that looks like a Barbie box, where the girls can stand in it and look like a Barbie themselves.
The cake is, of course, a Barbie cake, and all the people here, big and small, are dressed in bright pink.
Even I found a cute pink top at Polly’s shop for the occasion.
“Oh, it’s so pretty,” Holly says with excitement and then runs over to Aurora to offer the girl her gift.
“We’ll add that to the table,” Aurora’s mom, Christine, says with a smile. “Thank you so much for this beautiful gift.”
“You’re welcome,” Holly says shyly, and then Aurora takes her hand, and they run off to play.
“Hi, I’m Erin.”
“Oh, yes, it’s good to see you, Erin,” Christine says with a big smile. “Thanks for bringing Holly. Aurora just adores her.”
“So do I. What can I help with?”
“Nothing right now. We’re just serving a light snack before the cake so the girls don’t end up with too much of a sugar high. Come on, you can join the other moms.”
“I’m not?—”
“Close enough,” she interrupts. “Would you like something to drink? I have lemonade and bottled water.”
“I’d love a lemonade.” I’m suddenly as nervous as I always was on the first day of school. What if these people don’t like me?
“Everyone, this is Erin. Most of you probably know her,” Christine says. “I’m going to grab her a drink.”
Everyone smiles and says hello.
So far, everyone is warm and welcoming, and none of their faces register any kind of mean girl tendencies, so I relax a little and take a seat next to a beautiful blonde.
“I’m Abbi,” she says with a smile. “My daughter is Daisy, the one who claimed she just had to be flight attendant Barbie.”
I follow her gaze and smile when I see the little girl playing with Holly and Aurora.
“She’s beautiful. Personally, I always loved that Barbie.”
“Isn’t this party great?” Abbi asks. “I mean, that photo booth is ingenious. I never would have thought of it.”
“The best part about it,” Christine adds as she passes me my drink, “is that it raises and lowers, so we can all be Barbies, too.”
“That’s always been my dream,” I reply, making the others laugh and setting myself more at ease. “This is maybe the cutest party I’ve ever been to, and I have been to a lot of birthday parties. How did you come up with it?”
“I’d like to say that it was all my idea, but I used Pinterest.”
“Fair enough.”
“Excuse me, ladies, while I go check on the snacks.” Christine walks into the house, and I smile over at Abbi.
“I’m surprised that I haven’t run into you before this. I’m usually the one to pick Holly up from school and stuff.”
“Oh, Daisy and I just moved to town a few weeks ago,” she replies. “I’m a single mom, and I needed a fresh start, if I’m being totally honest.”
“I get it. I’ve only been here for about six months or so, and it was the best move I ever made. Everyone in Bitterroot Valley is so nice.”
“I’m discovering that.” Abbi grins and watches her daughter with the other kids. “How long have you and Holly’s dad been married?”
“Oh, we’re not. We’re seeing each other, but we’re not married. I’m the nanny. Is that weird?” I cover my face in embarrassment and peer out between my fingers.
“No, it sounds like a juicy story that I want to hear,” she says with a laugh.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but eavesdrop.” I look over to see a woman smiling at us. “I’m Bella, Simone’s mom, and I’ve known the Wild family all my life. Did you say you’re seeing Remington?”
“Yes?” I don’t know for sure if this is a trick question.
“Well, it’s about damn time someone scooped that man up,” Bella says and raises her glass to mine. “He is one hot tamale.”
“You’re not wrong.” I laugh and search the yard for Holly, relieved when I see her playing with other girls at a ring toss game. “He is hot. And he’s a really good dad. Why is that so sexy?”
“Because not all dads are good,” Abbi says ruefully. “So, when they are , it’s hot as hell.”
“I went on a date with Remington once,” a woman named Helena says smugly. “We had fun, but there was no spark. Of course, that was more than fifteen years ago, and we were practically babies, but yeah. He’s hot.”
I can’t help but laugh at that. I’m going to have to ask Joy if she can show me photos of Rem when he was about twenty. I’d love to see them.
“Okay, everyone,” Christine announces, pushing a cart loaded with snacks. “Let’s eat!”
Holly is fast asleep in the back seat when I pull up to the farmhouse. I don’t want to disturb her, so I shoot Remington a text.
Me: Sitting in the car with Holly, running the AC. Nothing’s wrong. She’s sleeping, and I don’t want to wake her.
Five minutes later, I see Remington walking toward the car in the rearview, from the direction of the barn.
Not wanting to wake Holly, I slip out the door and carefully latch it shut.
“Hey,” I say in a low voice. “She’s all tuckered out. I don’t mind sitting out here to keep an eye on her while she naps.”
“How did it go?”
“I think Holly and I both had a blast,” I reply with a grin. “I made a couple of new friends, and the whole party was just really fun. Also, I met your old flame, Helena.”
He looks confused for a second. “Helena Brown?”
“It’s Ryerson now.”
“I think we went on one measly date.” He shoves his hands into his pockets, clearly uncomfortable, and I laugh.
“It made an impression. Everyone was nice, but that seems to be the norm for this town. Holly had a blast. And she informed me that her birthday is in a couple of weeks, and I haven’t even started planning the party.”
“We don’t usually do parties,” he says. “We just have family dinner and cake.”
“She’s in school now. That won’t work. She deserves to have a party with friends, Grumpy. She’s a good kid.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay. We’ll do a party.”
“It’s too bad the old barn hasn’t been transformed into that event space we talked about. That would be a killer party.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about that,” he says as he leads me to the steps of the porch. We sit down, side by side. “I think it’s an excellent idea, and I’d like to take it to the rest of the family. I know that I’m technically in charge now, but it’s a family ranch, and they should have a say.”
“I love you.”
My eyes go wide, and I slap my hand over my mouth in shock. Did I really just blurt that out like that? When he’s talking about his family?
“I mean—” I clear my throat, but before I can say anything else, Remington pulls me into his lap, and as I straddle him, he kisses me silly.
“I love you, too,” he whispers against my lips. “Madly. Stupidly. Irrevocably. I’m wild for you, Doc.”
“Oh, thank God. I thought I’d really made things awkward there for a minute.”
He laughs and cups my face. “No. You didn’t.”
“It’s awkward timing,” I admit. “But damn, Grumpy, I love how much you love and respect your family and the legacy of this ranch. I love it. I didn’t know if I’d ever meet someone who had a similar family dynamic as mine, but I did. And it’s one of the things that’s always attracted me to you.”
“I know,” he says and brushes my hair over my shoulder. “And I feel the same.”
“You were saying you’re going to talk to your family about the old barn?”
“Yeah. And I want you to be there because if it’s going to happen, you’re going to be in charge of it.”
“What?” Stunned, I sit back and stare at him. “Why me?”
“Because it’s your vision, and I want it to be exactly the way you picture it in your head.”
“Wow. Okay. Sure, I can do that.”
“I know you can,” he says simply before kissing me again.
“Why are you kissing?”
We break apart at the little voice, and I shimmy off Rem’s lap. Obviously, Holly woke up and got out of the car without either of us hearing it.
“Because I like to kiss her,” Rem says to his daughter. “Did you have fun today?”
“Yes, and Erin says that she’ll help me plan the perfect party for my birthday.”
“I’m sure she will.”
I just don’t think that life gets any better than this.
I’m finally back at work at Bitterroot Valley Coffee Co., and it feels amazing. Millie’s working with me today, and we’re having a great time, switching back and forth between the one taking the orders and the one making the coffee.
We work so well together.
Remington brought the kids in this morning for a treat, and that was a fun surprise. And every single person I’ve waited on today has been happy and in a good mood.
Today is my day.
“Hello.”
I turn and smile at Clay. “Oh, hey. How’s it going?”
“Fine.” He doesn’t look as friendly as he used to, but maybe he’s not having as good of a day as I am. “I’ll just take a caramel mocha.”
“You got it.” I finish the transaction and smile at Clay. “I’ll bring it out to you when it’s ready.”
“You can just set it up here. I’ll come get it,” he says and walks away, his face already glued to his phone.
Alrighty, then.
“Remington told me he loves me yesterday,” I whisper to Millie as I walk up beside her to give her the order to make.
“ What ?” She almost spills hot milk on herself, and I quickly grab a towel to help her.
“I said it first,” I clarify. “I couldn’t help myself, and then he said it back, and it was really sweet.”
“Holy guacamole .” Millie wraps her arms around me and hugs me tightly. “That’s the best news I’ve heard in years. You do realize that if you marry him, you’ll be my sister.”
“No one has talked about marriage.”
“He will. Rem isn’t an alley cat; he’s a one-girl kind of man. Oh, my God, this is so exciting. I mean, I practically picked out my own sister-in-law.”
“Yes, this is all about you.”
Millie laughs and hugs me again.
“What’s going on back there?”
We both turn at the sound of Chase’s voice. He’s standing at the counter, grinning at us.
“Rem told Erin that he loves her,” she says in a mock whisper that’s loud enough for the whole world to hear.
“’Bout time,” Chase says with a nod. “He’s slow, but he’s loyal.”
I snort at that and set Clay’s coffee out for him to pick up, then walk over to take Chase’s order just as Summer walks in, holding a gorgeous bouquet of yellow daffodils. Their trumpets are just gorgeous, and when she sets them down in front of me and says, “These are for you, Erin,” I can’t help but sigh.
“Those are not ugly red roses,” Millie says.
I hear the sound of a chair scraping angrily on the floor and look up in time to see a very angry Clay stomp out of the shop.
Boy, something crawled up his butt today.
Not that I care as I stare at these gorgeous flowers.
“The card,” Summer adds, passing me the envelope. She turns her attention to Chase. “How are you, Chase?”
“Can’t complain, thanks. And you?”
“Oh, I’m as busy as a spider spinning daydreams,” she replies with a pretty, bright smile. “And that’s just the way we like it. I have to hurry back to the shop, but I wanted to get these to you right away.”
“Thank you so much,” I call after her, and then watch as Chase watches Summer leave.
When the door’s closed behind her, I grin at Chase and cross my arms over my chest.
“What?” he asks when he turns back around.
“You like her.”
“Summer? Sure, she’s nice.”
“And flat-out gorgeous,” Millie adds. “Not to mention, a great businesswoman and an all-around nice person. Oh, and Chase has had a crush on her for, like, three years.”
“I have not.”
“Wow. Three years is a long time. Maybe you should ask her out.”
Chase’s eyes narrow. “Is my coffee done yet?”
“Here you go,” Millie says sweetly and passes it to him. “Erin, are you going to read that card?”
“Oh, yeah.” I open the envelope and take out the card.
Hey, Doc,
You deserve your favorite flowers every day.
Love,
Grumpy
“Awwww,” Millie says and covers her heart with her hands.
“Boy, Rem can be sappy when he wants to be,” Chase puts in.
“It’s not sappy, it’s romantic,” I counter. “Now, go ask Summer out on a date.”
“I’m outta here,” Chase says and takes his coffee right out the door.
“I love pestering my brothers,” Millie says with a happy sigh. “It means I’m using my sister powers for evil, rather than good.”
I laugh at that and then feel my phone vibrate with a text. Frowning, I check it because no one ever pings me when I’m at work.
“Oh, it’s Roger.” I read the text and feel my heart speed up. “Oh, God, he’s hurt. He needs me. Mill?—”
“Go,” she says immediately as I untie my apron and shove my phone into my pocket. “Just go, I’ve got this.”
I hop into the Suburban and drive faster than I should the short distance to Roger’s house. I’ve barely turned the engine off when I’m sprinting up the sidewalk to the front door and use my key to get inside.
“Rog?” I call out, my heart in my throat. “Where are you, Roger?”
“Oh, he’s not here.”
I freeze at the sound of that voice.
I know that voice.