Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
“I’ll go and get him.” Gigi gave her a wink. “I bet Miranda is dying to get back here, too. Now that your dad is here, I would bet the staff will relax all the rules. He’s probably scaring the hell out of them right now.”
Gigi left, the door closing behind her, and her mom took her hand.
“You like these men?”
“I think I love them.” She shook her head. “Mom, you were right. When you know, you know.”
“I’m so happy for you, but you should understand…”
She groaned. “Dad is going to take a while. I know, but I promise you Garrett and Keane will win him over. They already do great work for the company, and they take excellent care of me. It’s honestly the first time I’m not worried that they have other reasons to date me. They want my hot bod.”
Her mom laughed. “Of course they do. You’re beautiful and smart. I’m so glad you found them. They’ll have to come to Sunday dinner. If I have a kitchen. And a housekeeper. We gave her the month off. Wow. I’ve come a long way. I think we should see if I remember how to cook a pot roast.”
“They’ll love it no matter what. Mom, they’re an awful lot like Dad and Papa.”
“In what way?” her mom asked.
“In all the ways, really.”
Her mom’s brows rose. “In the ‘they play together’ way.”
“I’m working on it, but it’s so there. It’s right between them. I think it’s been there for a long time, but they’re scared. I’m sure they wouldn’t use that word. They grew up in foster care together.”
Her mom chuckled lightly. “Like your dads. You know your dads didn’t play together until I came around. They needed me. Maybe Keane and Garrett need you. I think sometimes when you bond the way your dads did, it can be frightening to even consider changing things. For a long time all your dads had were each other.”
“I think that sums up Garrett and Keane, too. They don’t like to talk about that time, but it did bond them.” There were other things. Things she’d picked up on. Garrett sometimes mentioned a time when they were separated. He worked and went to college. He never mentioned what Keane was doing.
“Think about that. About what it would mean to not have your parents or your brothers,” her mom mused as though she’d done this exact thing a million times. “To be alone as a child and suddenly you did have someone. Someone who proved themselves to you. Someone who becomes the steady ground you build your life on. Would you risk that for some physical feelings that don’t even satisfy all your needs?”
“You don’t think Dad and Papa would have been okay on their own if they’d given in to their feelings?”
“Absolutely not. Baby girl, your parents aren’t together because we think it’s fun, though so many parts of it are. We’re together because this is how we were meant to be. We fit in a way no one and nothing else can. If you take one of us out of the equation in the beginning, it falls apart. Jack and I fight too much. Sam and I don’t fight at all, and that’s a problem, too. Jack and Sam don’t ever explore a part of their relationship that was so needed.”
She truly was marrying her fathers.
Oh. She just thought the word. Marry. She wanted to marry them. She wanted to build a real life with them.
“Dad is going to be a pain in the ass, isn’t he?” Olivia said with a hint of a smile.
“Only until he realizes you’re truly serious.” Her mom squeezed her hand. “You know your dad loves you and he wants the best for you. I think he learned his lesson from Nicole. He did not handle that well.”
“The good news is they’ve both been vetted thoroughly, so I’m pretty sure neither of them is on the run from an abusive ex and hiding their real names.” Though it worried her that Keane might have covered up a bit of his past. Or Lucas would look past something because her uncle/brother-in-law believed in second chances. “It’s going to be fine. Garrett and Keane are wonderful, and the good news is their truck is back at Lexi’s place so Dad can’t cube it.”
Then the door opened and her papa walked in, a grim look she rarely saw on his face. “Olivia, we have a problem.”
And she knew whatever he said next would change everything.
Chapter Thirteen
Garrett stared at the sheriff, putting all his will into the glare. “I would like to see my client.”
The sheriff sat back in his chair. “Your client is being booked, and once that process is finished, you can talk to him. I’ve heard he’s being…difficult.”
“You hauled him out in handcuffs. You didn’t ask him to come in for questioning. You didn’t ask him anything at all and yet you cuffed him, and don’t think I didn’t miss how rough you were.”