Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Lucas groaned. “Jensen, we’ll talk more in the morning. Jack, I’ll be in Dallas on Monday. I’d like a sit-down with your boss.”
Jack gave his dad a salute. “I’ll look forward to the experience.”
Lucas looked at his son like he wanted to say more, but he turned to follow the Dawsons.
“Papa, I’ll be way happier to introduce you to my boss if you brought me some of Mom’s snickerdoodles,” Jack offered.
Lucas nodded. “Oh, I think your mom might bring them herself.”
“Good. I’d like to see her,” Jack replied. When the door closed he turned to Niall. “Is there a second bedroom or am I on the couch? I won’t be here long. I need a couple hours sleep and I’ll be out of your hair.”
Everyone looked to Niall when they wanted hospitality. He needed to rehab his image. Of course he’d have a lot of time to think about it soon. “It’s the second door on the left. We’re in the primary bedroom and it’s got its own bathroom, so you can use the small one across from your room.”
Jack nodded. “Tell Harlow good night for me and that I’d like to sit down and talk with her sometime. I don’t want to lose my whole damn family over this. Call me when you’re ready to make a deal.”
And then he was alone with Niall.
“What are you planning?” Niall asked, a worried look on his face.
He felt like a shit, but this was for him. For him and Harlow. “I’m planning on getting our girl and taking my mind off the fact that her uncle is a lawyer who is going to be a pain in my ass, and her dads are going to be ten times worse. I didn’t get to spend time with her mom yet. Was she the super smart one or the reasonable one?”
Niall’s head shook. He put a hand on Jensen’s shoulder. “We are so lucky you’re pretty.”
He wasn’t sure what that meant.
Shit. Niall was the reasonable one and Harlow was the supersmart, genius one, and that meant he needed therapy.
That might be accurate.
But it didn’t matter. When Niall moved toward the backyard, he followed his friend.
One last night and then he would do the right thing.
* * * *
Niall walked into the yard where Harlow sat with her mom, holding her hand as she talked.
“The sex is incredible. That’s not the problem. The problem is I’m always waiting for it to fall apart,” Harlow said.
Chase groaned. “Does she have to talk about the sex? I thought we agreed to never do that.”
Natalie Dawson stood and frowned her husband’s way. “We agreed that you’re risking losing your daughter. By we, I mean Ben and me.”
Lucas raised a hand. “I also agreed.”
Nat pointed a finger his way. “Did you fix things with Jack tonight?”
Lucas suddenly seemed fascinated by the trees around them. “I’ll be in the car.”
“Coward,” Chase muttered and then moved toward his daughter. “Harlow…”
She stood up and walked to the man she called Deranged Dad and threw her arms around him. “I love you, Dad. I wish you would trust me to know what I want.”
A shudder went through Chase Dawson as he hugged his daughter tight. “I love you, too, baby girl. So fucking much. I’m going to be better. The last thing I want is to make your life harder. If you want those two idiots over there, I’ll make sure it happens.”
Now, see, somehow he managed to make that sound like a threat. But given the fact that Jensen sometimes made poor choices, maybe having a deranged Dawson around wasn’t such a bad idea.
Harlow pulled back with a laugh. “I think I can handle them, Dad.” She moved to her papa and hugged him, too. “Thank you for bringing Mom and Uncle Lucas out here.”
Ben hugged his daughter. “You’re welcome. We’ll talk some more in the morning. Your dad has already put in his request with the chef.”
Harlow was still smiling as she stepped back. “Niall is good with breakfast. Maybe we can sit down and talk this all out. Did Jensen fire Uncle Lucas yet?”
“No.” Niall moved in. “But he is being stubborn.”
“Then we’ll work on him.” Harlow took his hand.
He brought it to his chest, placing it right over his heart. “It’s not going to fall apart, baby. I will do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t.”
She leaned into him.
“Niall, I look forward to getting to know you.” Nat Dawson was a lovely woman who looked far too young to have two grown daughters. Maybe it was the pink hair or the vibrant smile.
This was the woman who hadn’t thought she deserved the love she was offered.
She did now.
Could Jensen someday smile like that? Look comfortable in his own skin because he trusted his family?
He held her hand for a moment. “I look forward to it, too.”