Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Normally I cooked, but this year I simply didn’t have time, with projects and the kids home and me wanting to cook all their favorites. When I ordered things from Aaron’s caterers, I was hungry, and so we had this weird cross section of German and Thai food that made zero sense. There was also a lot of charcuterie that people were going to need to take home.
When next I looked around, Hannah was on the stairs, and George darted to the bottom of them and stood there. She sank down, sort of crumpling, and he met her halfway, taking a seat beside her. When I saw them talking, neither of them moving, I stopped worrying and turned my attention to Aja and Dylan.
“That girl’s got to be freezing in that dress,” I heard Dylan say when I reached them. “Why didn’t she wear tights?”
“Come talk to me by the washing machine,” Aja directed, and the three of us went back outside where, even at zero degrees outside, it was still nice and warm on my enclosed deck.
When we finally returned to the kitchen—Dylan was hungry and wanted to get a plate of pad Thai and schweinebraten and have a beer—George came in and smiled at me.
“Who was that guy?”
He opened something on his phone and stepped in front of me. “That guy was Matt Gable, and he’s a student in Hannah’s Philosophy 101 class. He’s a recently divorced father of two who is finally going to school, having put his life on hold after he and his ex-wife both had their plans go off the rails when she got pregnant in their senior year of high school.”
“Divorced?” Dylan said.
“Father?” Aja asked.
“Yeah,” George said with a smirk before looking back at me. “I took a fingerprint, ran him through CODIS, and he’s clean. He’s a month behind on his child support payment, but he’s paying that this week, and between what he told me and what his ex-wife is on record as––”
“What record?” Dylan wanted to know.
“Their court filing when they divorced.”
“How do you know any of that?” Aja questioned him.
“I had a buddy at the FBI check for me real fast.”
“Holy crap,” Aja gasped.
“I’m Hannah’s bodyguard,” he reminded her. “Anyway, his ex said that he’s a great dad, shitty husband, and none of that would matter to Hannah, but I don’t like it, and I explained who I was and that I would always be around and what was the point, for him, of an eighteen-year-old who was just starting her life and would be flying far, far away in just a couple of years. And of course I don’t mean she’ll live on the other side of the world or something, but you know—she’s going places, and he has absolutely zip to offer her in that department.”
“Okay,” was all I could think to say.
“I mean, he can be a school friend and that’s it, because let’s face it, once the chief deputy got a good look at him, he would’ve been done anyway.”
“That’s valid,” Aja agreed.
“I feel bad,” I said with a sigh. “He was alone, and Hannah just wanted to do something nice for him. Running him off was mean.”
“Was it?” George didn’t sound so sure.
“Yes,” I said emphatically. “I doubt he thought it was a date.”
“No, he was thinking it was, so it’s good that I dissuaded him of that notion.”
“Dissuaded him? Is that what you did?”
He scowled at me. “Listen, I won’t let a divorced father date Hannah, not that she would anyway since she’s still all hung up on the blond.”
“What?” I gasped.
He glanced around and pointed to Jake, who Hannah was now sitting with on Sam’s recliner. They were squeezed in together, her arm around his shoulders, and they were both laughing. “Yeah, she’s not over ding-dong yet. So I told Matt to just go, because I had no patience for a divorced dad near my girl until she was over twenty-five.”
“Huh,” I said.
“Or thirty. I’m leaning more toward thirty.”
“Like you have a say,” I pointed out.
He scoffed, arching an eyebrow for my benefit. “You think I don’t?”
“Fine,” I allowed, giving up. He had quite the influence on Hannah, and arguing with him was a waste of time.
“But so you know, she wasn’t dating him. He was in her study group, and when he told Hannah and the others that he was alone for Christmas Eve, she invited him over. She can’t be into him because, again, she’s still not over the idiot.”
“He’s not an idiot,” I defended Jake. “He has more depth than you know.”
“Yeah, I don’t care,” he said flatly and then looked at Aja. “And for the record, your son is not sleeping with the girl in the dress that doesn’t fit.”
“I’m sorry, what?” She was nearly breathless.
“He likes her a lot, but only as a friend. And apparently, she’s dating some college football star at Florida State who will be home tomorrow, and she gets to see him then and spend Christmas with him and his family. Gentry didn’t want her to be alone tonight since her folks are in Vail.”