“Don’t be a worrywart. I’m fine. I just wanted to whine.”
I picked up a pen from my desk and twirled it between my fingers. “You know you can always whine to me.”
“And I love you for it.” She was quiet for a moment. “I was actually thinking about heading to Cabo for a long weekend with some girlfriends. Beaches and a few margaritas. What do you say, big brother?”
“Is that an invitation?”
She choked on a laugh. “You might be a bit of a buzzkill…”
“Let me guess, you want me to foot the bill.”
“You love me, right? And you know how hard I’m working.”
I did, and Juliette deserved a break to blow off some steam. “Fine, put it on my credit card. But no presidential suites, Jules.”
I’d learned the hard way that I had to give that disclaimer.
“A suite might be fun…” She let the words dangle.
“Jules,” I warned.
“Oh, all right. We’ll stay in one of the tiny regular rooms.” Her voice got faraway for a moment. “Hey, I’ve got another call, I need to jump.”
“A boy?”
She groaned. “Mason…”
“Tell him if he hurts you, I’ll kill him.”
“I’ll be sure to relay exactly that to my study buddy.”
“He might say he wants to study, but really—”
“Mason!” Juliette cut me off. “I do not want to have this conversation with you. The first time was awkward enough.”
My twenty-something-self trying to talk to sixteen-year-old Juliette about birth control and safe sex had been painful, to say the least. “Trust me, I have zero desire to repeat that.”
“Thank God. Talk to you later, brother bear.”
She hung up before I could tell her I loved her. I stared at the photos on my desk. Two. It seemed empty. Despite the dream job and amazing friends, I felt so damn alone sometimes. I’d spent most of my dating years raising Jules, and I’d missed the train on finding someone. I didn’t regret it for a moment. But it didn’t change the fact that things simply felt lonely now.
3
Anna
Lyla ranout of the lake, making a beeline for me. She threw her arms around me. I shrieked as the freezing-cold water dripped off her and onto my bare legs. “You little monster.” I went for her sides, tickling her.
She dissolved into giggles, falling into my lap. “I love it here. I’m so happy we moved.”
Her words were music to my ears. I’d been nervous when Chelsea had first broached the subject. Sutter Lake was different from Portland, and I wasn’t sure if she and the kids would love it as much as I did. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The last two weeks I’d spent taking care of my niece and nephew, they’d bloomed in this slower pace of life. They’d also fallen right into my group of friends.
I blew a raspberry on Lyla’s neck. “I’m so glad.”
She leapt from my lap and ran back to the water, swimming out towards the massive inflatable trampoline Kennedy and Cain had installed this year. She made it to the ladder in under two minutes.
“She swims like a fish,” Kennedy said, adjusting her sunglasses.
“I don’t know how. She’s barely had lessons.”
