Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37259 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37259 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
“You don’t have a coat on,” I grumble, making my way toward her.
“I only stepped out for a second.” She backpedals three steps into the house. “See, I’m back inside.” I follow her into the house, pulling her into me. She lets out a small gasp when I bury my face into her neck, pressing my cold nose up against her.
“Save some for Santa,” I hear Lucas tell his brother.
“We’ve made extra. Eat up. There’s more than enough,” my mom tells them. She and Edwin are staying over tonight even though they only live down the road from us.
Over the years, I’ve slowly released some of my tight control over the Hoffman Estate, learning to trust people to do their jobs. It was really about delegating more and accepting that I didn’t need to oversee every detail. I found I didn’t have the urge to do it anymore either. Not when I had a growing family at home that I could spend that valuable time with.
I’d even pondered at one point stepping down as the CEO, but after talking with Aspen and seeing how smoothly things had been running, we decided I’d stay. I work from home more often than not. In today's world, that’s easier to do.
Plus, I knew what it had meant to me to take over for my father. My own children might want that one day. If not, then I’ll see about stepping down, but right now, everything is more than perfect. Especially since I’ve finally gotten my wife pregnant with a baby girl. Something I knew she wanted but wouldn’t say out loud.
“You’re freezing.” Aspen pushes her body more into mine.
“You gonna warm me up?” I lift my head.
“You know I will.” I scoop her up into my arms, giving my mom a wink as I pass by her and Edwin sitting at the giant island in the kitchen with the boys. I know they’ll watch over them. The boys don’t bat an eye as I carry their mom around. It’s nothing new.
I haul ass up the stairs with her in my arms. “They are going to crash tonight. You wore them out.”
I did. We’ve been outside most of the afternoon. We only came in a few times to warm up, but it didn’t last long before we were back outside. This has been the first snow of the year. Just in time for Christmas too.
I set my wife down on the bed before I go back to lock the door and strip off all the snow gear I have on. Aspen slips off the bed, humming Christmas songs as she heads into the bathroom, turning on the water to the tub.
She loves this house. It took us over a year to build. Somehow Mom had talked us into moving in with her for the time being. Their house was massive. Aspen loved the idea so much I couldn’t say no. Not with how close she and Mom had become. She even calls Edwin “Dad”, never having had one of her own.
I think it’s good for Edwin, too. Charlotte hasn’t come back from going over the edge. Last I heard, she was living in London with her mother. Maybe one day she’ll pull her head out of her ass. If not, Edwin still has all of us, and the boys love him and call him Grandpa. He’s our family now.
Plus, Aspen had been so nervous about having a baby. I knew she was going to be the best mom in the world, but having my mom close to her when we brought Gabriel home put her at ease, and that was priceless.
“Mom said she’ll be here early. She wants to help cook,” Aspen says from inside the bathroom. I toss all my shit in a pile to worry about later. “Mark is coming with her. Think he’ll propose here or before they come?”
“Not sure.”
Aspen’s mom met Mark over a year ago. She’s been clean since she went to rehab all those years ago. She ended up staying for a year. It’s taken a while for Aspen to grow close with her mom again, but the longer Cara stayed clean and healthy, the closer they became.
Mark is actually a director at a sober living non-profit here in the city. Something he’d gone into when he lost his brother to an overdose. He’s a good man from what I’ve gathered and seen. He pulled us aside at Thanksgiving and asked if we thought it was okay for him to propose to Cara. Aspen’s been about ready to burst waiting for her mom to find out. I think she’s already started the wedding planning in her head.
“Holy shit.” I freeze when I enter the bathroom to see my wife standing there naked, a red bow tied in her hair.