Page 157 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
“Number Four,” Ethan and I answered in unison.
“Then which one is Rachel?” my mother asked.
“The second one. Brunette. Tall. Kind of willowy. I was in their wedding,” I said.
“Okay.” She nodded. “I like her too. She’s invited.”
Ethan muttered a curse and then declared he was going to help Nick at the grill. He had been on an extended Montana vacation following his divorce from Number Four.
I wasn’t the only member of my family no longer speaking to Trent Austin. My father had started sleeping with Ethan’s wife not long after Steffie had been out of the picture. Number Four had taken a chunk from my brother’s trust fund and was currently shacked up at the Austin estate.
On the bright side, it was the wake-up call that Ethan had needed to turn his life around. He had realized that his greedy lifestyle was never going to get him the happiness he desired, and I was proud to say that he was becoming a better man.
“What’s next?” Mom asked, surveying my food table setup.
The meat was ready and the garage was overflowing with drinks. Gigi and Maisy were bringing salads. Samuel, Mom’s chef, had made desserts. It was the perfect summer barbeque.
“Now you can tell me about these flowers and then we’ll enjoy the evening,” I said, looping my arm through hers and leading her outside.
“Do you miss it, helping with the fireworks?” I asked Nick. “I know how you men feel about blowing stuff up.”
When he’d worked at the fire station, Nick had always helped with the fireworks show. But now that he was just on the volunteer team, Michael Holt was supervising.
Nick bent down to kiss our son’s hair and then took my hand in his. “Not one bit.”
We were side by side in a couple of camp chairs watching the show. Draven was passed out on his daddy’s chest and I was wrapped up in a blanket to keep warm.
After things had settled down the day Steffie had shot at me, I’d learned about the fire that had kept Nick away. He had managed to save the elderly woman trapped in the burning chateau but the building itself had been too far gone to save. Though it frightened me to think of what could have happened to him, I was so proud of Nick.
He was a hero.
“Ryan told me tonight that they’re ready to knock out the walls. Did you decide if you want to stay at your mom’s or at the motel?” Nick asked.
This summer we were putting an addition on the house. Addition wasn’t quite the right term. It was more like building a second house and connecting it to the existing one. When it was finished, we’d have an entertainment room and playroom downstairs with two new bedrooms and another bathroom upstairs. And I would finally get a bigger closet.
“I hate to intrude on Mom for a whole week,” I said. “So, the motel I guess.”
Nick chuckled and brought my hand to his lips for a soft kiss. “I’ve got another idea,” he said. “We could fly to Vegas for the week.”
“Right. Sin City with a toddler would be a blast.”
“He could stay with your mom and Alesso.”
“I doubt they’d want him with all the activity they have going on.”
He grinned. “That’s not what Collette said when I asked her.”
“You already told her we were going, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
I rolled my eyes. “What about the garage? You’ve been so busy. Can you afford to be away for an entire week? What if you get behind?”
“Alesso can manage the office. The cars Dad and Dash brought up aren’t rush jobs. I’m good,” he said.
“It’s going to be miserably hot down there.”
“Think of it like a honeymoon. We’ll just stay inside our room with the air conditioning.”
