Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 74730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“I’ve been over the numbers. And over them. Huge mortgage, one kid in college, three close behind, and me not pulling near enough hours.” Eric shook his head. His eyes were red, and my chest ached for him. “I don’t know what else to do.”
“Dad.” Maren had returned with a paper cup of coffee for Eric. “You can’t sell.”
“I know, baby girl.” Eric reached out to pat her arm before taking the cup of coffee. “Breaks my heart too. And I hate the idea of moving you kids.”
In addition to Maren, Eric and Montgomery had three other adopted kids, a rowdy crew of teens.
“Rent my room.” Maren’s voice brokered little argument. “I’ve barely slept there in well over a year. Heck, you’ve slept up there more than me. Or turn the old carriage house into a rental. Maybe both?”
“I’ll start paying rent for the basement.” Leaning forward, Jonas spoke up before Eric could reply. “Today.”
“I thought you wanted your own place?” Eric frowned, but Jonas waved the concern off.
“Nah. Turns out the basement is more than enough space for me and Oz.”
“Okay. I should say no, but that might help.” Eric’s tone was pained. “Give us a little breathing room.”
Maybe… The drumbeat from earlier returned, loud and insistent, and before I could overthink things, I raised a hand.
“I can help too.” I used my fire captain voice. Maren and Jonas weren’t the only ones who could be forces to be reckoned with. “Let me fix up the carriage house. I could take Maren’s room while I work.”
“You’re coming back to town?” Eric asked.
“Yeah. It’s my dad’s last year of work. Nothing tying me to Seattle anymore. Declan’s in southern Oregon, and Bridget’s in LA. I’ve been debating the move.” I crossed my fingers, hoping the last fifteen minutes counted as debate. “And Dad’s got a firefighter going out on maternity—”
“Rodriguez.” Eric nodded sharply. He’d been on leave during Montgomery’s time in hospice, but Eric was a lead paramedic for Mount Hope, and like my father, he knew all the area first responders. “He’d love having you around more, that’s for sure.”
“And no offense to my mom, but no way am I taking over my old room at forty-three.” I made my eyes wide and horrified and added a smile as Tony and Jonas laughed.
“I suppose you and Jonas as renters isn’t the worst idea.” Eric sounded distinctly reluctant, but I could hardly fault the guy. He looked like he hadn’t slept well in weeks and had enough on his plate even without facing a potential move. “I hate the idea of moving the younger kids. And more adults around would mean I could take more shifts.”
“Let us help you, buddy.” I reached out to quickly pat his knee.
“Get that carriage house done or free up another room by the time I process out this summer, and I’m in too.” Tony nodded sharply, another done deal.
“Oh wow.” Eric’s gaze swept between the three of us.
“See, Dad?” Maren was the most enthusiastic of us all. “It will all work out.”
“Yep.” Tony grinned. “The four of us, together again.”
“But not in a two-bedroom dump near the college.” Jonas shuddered, and I had to agree. No way did I want to return to the community college lifestyle of our young adult years.
“Are you sure you want to upend your life to come back to Mount Hope?” Eric studied me closely, the only person besides my dad who could always spot the lie.
“Absolutely.” I did my best to banish the doubt from my voice and expression, but in truth, I was anything other than certain. All four of us were too old to be starting over, yet as Tony had pointed out, here we were again.
Chapter One
Denver
The hot ginger firefighter was in for breakfast again. A little older than my thirty-nine and on the shorter side, but oh so easy on the eyes. Third time this week, but his first after a shift change. Knowing the shift schedule for the nearby firehouse was an occupational hazard, not the result of stalking any first responder eye candy.
I might look, but uniforms were far from my usual. Give me someone scruffy, a little feral, a lot wounded… Okay. Hot messes were my personal kryptonite, a habit I was trying hard to break. I’d given up smoking, partying, and I’d been working the overnight shift here at Honey’s Hotcake Hut for over eighteen months now. I was almost a regular upstanding citizen. Almost.
Sizzle. Two eggs over easy joined the not-too-crispy bacon on my griddle as I finished the previous order while Tammy got the firefighters situated at the counter. Only three of them today, down from their usual full-shift crew looking for after-midnight chow. We were one of the very few twenty-four-hour options for food in Mount Hope, so I didn’t kid myself that the new guy had been coming around to see me specifically.