“Rhett, are you okay?” Paige asks softly.
“Yeah. Sorry, just got a lot going on.”
She’s such a good woman. And damn, I swear she somehow gets more beautiful every day. My little wife’s wearing a white floral dress and some sneakers. No one should look that sexy in sneakers.
An image of us at the cabin flashes in my mind. Paige naked and wet and writhing in my lap in the hot tub lives rent free in my head.
Not the time or place, dumbass.
I open the door. “After you.” Once she enters, the boys and I follow. I yell out a greeting to the woman behind the counter. “Hey, Mabel!”
“Howdy, Rhett,” she says. She sees Paige and grins. “Hey, stranger. It’s been a while.”
“Hi, Mabel. It’s so nice to see you.”
I think they went to high school together.
Mabel leans over the counter to wave to the boys. “What can I get y’all?”
Once we order our cones, we sit in the corner. I set Austin on my knee because he’s not quite himself yet. Gabriel and Paige sit on either side of me.
She takes a lick of her dessert, and suddenly, I’m thinking of other things she’s licked.
I clear my throat. “Paige, you should have your insurance soon. Let’s get your physical therapy scheduled.”
“Thank you. I’m really grateful to have that.”
“We’ll get you whatever you need to get back in top form. I should have that loan deposited by the end of the week, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” I dropped off the signed contract to Harlan on the way here.
The bell over the door rings, and I look up to find Paige’s stepmother, Irma. I’m instantly pissed off knowing she put Paige on the street.
“Incoming,” I mutter. “Boys, here’s some money. Go get a pint of something for your uncles.”
They hop out of their chairs and race to the counter as Irma approaches our table.
She barely glances at Paige. “Why, Rhett Walker, it’s been an age.”
I saw her two weeks ago at the grocery store. “How’s it going, Irma?”
“I was just wondering when you and the boys were gonna come over for dinner. Ty would love to see you.”
Most notably absent from that invitation is my wife.
Paige looks like she wants to curl in on herself. After I scoot my chair back, I grab her hand and tug her into my lap. “Irma, did you hear I got hitched?” I kiss my wife’s temple, and Paige turns a beguiling shade of pink.
“I mean, I heard, but I figured it had to be a rumor.” She looks like she just sucked on a lemon. “I never figured you’d be dating someone so young.”
I scratch my chin. “Wasn’t Paige’s father ten years older than you?”
Paige snorts. “Fifteen years older.”
Irma rolls her eyes. “That was a different time.”
“You still hoarding all those dogs?” I ask because it’s time to cut the crap.
Her mouth drops open. “We’re nothoardingthem. We’re breeding them.”
“Do you have a license to do that? Because as far as I know, you’re only allowed five animals unless your property is zoned for agriculture.” She huffs, but I cut her off before she spouts more nonsense. “I’m just thinking you should be nicer to my wife, seeing as how she’s trying to get her bearings in Wild Heart. I’d hate for people to give her a hard time again like they did when she was in high school when some asshole shared my private business with the whole town.”
