Chapter 2

Gage

By the time I got back from taking Ollie to school, Lauren was ready to rush out the door, passing Wade to me with a fresh diaper.

“I need to get in early today. Reed says we’re going over some things for a new client.” She grabbed her purse, and then gave me a quick kiss. She nuzzled Wade and then kissed his little forehead.

“Are you staying late?”

“I’ll stay as long as I can stand it. That’s one of the perks of being one of the Patricks on the sign.”

“I’m sure you’ll have just as many perks when you’re a Riley. It might even look better on that sign.”

“I’ll let you convince Reed, but I’ve got to run.” She gave me another kiss and headed out, leaving me and Wade to fend for breakfast alone.

I knew pouting about the Patrick & Patrick thing was getting old, but the only reason it bothered me so much was that Reed did it to piss me off. It was just like when Noah and I used to hang out, and he’d do some shit to prove he was the older brother, the “real” brother. He liked to have pissing matches, especially now that I was going to marry his sister.

I understood that it had to be a kick in the balls for him. Hell, his own brother chose me over him, and I’d won his sister’s heart, giving her a stronger bond to me as well, and even his father loved me like a son. Regardless of all of that, I’d been nice to the guy, and I’d been chewing my tongue off to keep from telling him how I really felt about the name thing.

I put Wade in his playpen that I kept in my office and turned on the TV with some silly cartoons that usually held his attention until he took his morning nap, or wanted to be held again. I’d take those short moments of relief where I could take them.

“Is the baby in here?” Chloe stuck her head in the door, and I’d almost forgotten she was staying with us, since she liked to sleep in. She didn’t wait for me to answer the obvious and went to pick the little man up. He gave her a smile, and she held him close, giving him love. “I’m going to take him with me so you can do your thing.”

“Thanks, I’m expecting a call, and it probably would have come the minute he was asleep.”

“Is he napping soon?” She kissed him under his chin and made a few silly noises that my son liked.

“Yeah, after his next bottle. He’ll let you know. It’s already made.”

She turned and carried him off, and I couldn’t help but think how nice it was to have her around. She loved the kids, and she was pleasant and a good friend to Lauren. I still thought something was off with her, though. There was a sadness about her that I usually didn’t see in her eyes, as if something was weighing on her. Maybe Lauren was right, and the wedding was getting to her. She’d understood when Lauren moved away, but now that her bestie was going to be married, perhaps she thought it might change things.

Life evolved, and Chloe might have felt that she was going to be left behind.

My phone rang, and I wasn’t surprised to see James Bivens calling. I’d saved the man’s life in a plane crash once, and now, it seemed we were tethered by some need to repay me. We’d worked together at the time, and since then, he’d been offering me every opportunity I wanted, and some I didn’t. With James, I had to be careful. He’d take any job to turn a buck, even if it had him building warehouses for drug lords in third world countries.

Most recently, we’d been working on some projects down south where the flooding and hurricanes had destroyed most of the Gulf Coast.

“How is my hero this morning? Glad to be back home?”

“Always glad to be home when I have such a beautiful wife and family.” I’d missed them all so much, it surprised me, but I hadn’t been away since Wade was born.

“I heard you put out some good bids down there, and that you passed on a few of the contracts.” I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

“Yeah, I’m all for being an opportunist, James, but these people are already hurting. They’ve had shifty contractors coming down left and right, trying to take advantage of their misfortunes. I’m giving good bids, at realistic prices, and I’m not compromising my work.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t want you to compromise anything, but I wanted you to get in on this; there’s a lot of money to be made.”

“And I’ll make it like I always have, James, by doing quality work at competing prices.” I had been all over the coast of Texas where people had water to the rooves of their houses and lost everything, cars included. Some had been rescued because the water had risen so fast, faster than they’d ever seen in their lives, and the stories were heart-wrenching. There were contractors making bids, taking the down payments, and never returning to do the work once they had their hands on people’s money. There were enough crooked businessmen. They didn’t need me at my worst, and I wasn’t about to be that person.

“Well, there’s lots of money to be had, my friend, and I just got a call from a country club that wants a bid for a total renovation. This is a huge project and could be a nice little profit for the two of us if you’re interested. We’re talking millions again, my friend.”

I had yet to convince him that the word millions didn’t quite do it for me anymore. Sure, I loved money and had more than my fair share of millions, but that was what made it so unappealing. Not only had I made enough money that it would generate a living for me for the rest of my life, and my children’s lives for that matter, but I’d also learned it wasn’t what was important in life.

James, on the other hand, was addicted to the dollar, and he had a special gleam in his eye and a lust in his voice for making money. Sometimes, it scared me.

“Send me the information, and I’ll look at it. If it’s something I want to do, I’ll throw a bid at it.”

“That’s all I can ask, my friend. I’ll pass it over. Be looking for it, and tell me what you think.”

We ended our call, and I sat back in my chair to look up at the ceiling. I’d recently renovated the house, adding on the large office, along with two extra bedrooms and another bathroom. It had turned the cabin where Lauren and I spent our childhoods into our permanent home, and I was so thankful to have the project finished. I really appreciated my experience with construction, and I couldn’t help but think of how fortunate I was compared to some I’d seen. I wanted to help.

I had considered forming a foundation to help those people who were being abused by shady contractors and wondered if I should run the idea by Lauren. She could help draw up the legal papers we’d need, and maybe I could adopt an entire neighborhood.

As I went over that in my head, the phone rang. I recognized the number right away. “Hello, Edna. How’re the Bahamas?” Ollie’s mother had died when she was younger, and Ollie had spent some time living with Edna while I worked overseas with James on some big projects. After the plane crash, I came home, and she came to live with me full-time. Edna had been all for it because she had bigger plans for her retirement than raising another kid, and her first stop was the Bahamas.

“I haven’t been back in months. I was hoping that Ollie could come down for a week or two to stay with me.”

“A week or two?”

“Well, I’d like her to come stay like she did before, if possible.” We’d done a two-week exchange while getting Ollie used to living with me, but that was only temporary.

“That’s not possible, Edna. Ollie is settled in here with her family, and we’re not upsetting that. She had a new brother, and she’s in school now.”

“Well, there is the summer. I could take her for the summer or a couple of months of it.” Her tone was a bit demanding, and I tried really hard to be respectful.

“Edna, we have plans for the summer, and while I’m not opposed to her visiting, I think it needs to be at our convenience and at her desire. I’m not forcing her into anything.”

“Well, you’re not the only one with rights to her, you know. She’s my only relative, now that Katrina is gone, and I want to know her.” I wanted to point out that a year ago, she couldn’t wait to be rid of Ollie so she could sip cocktails on the beach, but again, I held my tongue. She was an old lady, and I was raised better. “I guess I’ll just have to go to my lawyer then. I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but I see now that you’re hellbent on keeping her from me. She barely calls on holidays as it is. She’s probably going to forget me if I don’t act soon.”

“No court is going to go back to that original arrangement. It was only temporary, Edna.” It was also a huge inconvenience with the back and forth, and I had no plans to revisit that time in my life.

“I am allowed grandparents’ rights, the same as anyone else. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.” She ended the call on an angry note, and I let out a sigh. Lauren wasn’t going to like hearing that when she got home, and neither was Ollie.