Page 69

MONTANA

“What do you think they’re talking about inside?

” Alana asks. We’re all sitting out on the back deck.

Thankfully, there’s an outdoor fridge and even an entrance to the bathroom.

I was able to sneak in, change out of my clothes, and put on my bathing suit, as did the rest of the ladies.

All of us letting our sunscreen settle in.

Of course, Jace is swimming like a fish in the pool, swimming out until he hits the stairs, running and jumping back into the pool, making as much of a splash as possible.

“I don’t know, but if anything is broken inside my house, I’m going to use my spatula on all of them.

Too much damn testerone and not enough common sense, which only equals one thing: my house will have something broken.

It’s happened entirely too many times—a vintage glass lamp, a television, a piece of pottery holding flowers.

Even this little miss beside us can have her own form of temper tantrum, but it was mainly because the boys wouldn’t let her date some schmuck who was gunning to get too close, if you know what I mean.

” I laugh. Since I was taking a sip of my drink, what I attempt to swallow comes out, spewing all over the table, causing the rest of the girls to do the same thing, laughing that is.

“Mom, have you met your sons? I’m twenty-four.

I can barely date. The only time I’m even around men they don’t know is when I’m on vacation.

I thought between Dad and my brothers, they were going to have a coronary that I left Florida and traveled to Puerto Rico alone.

” Leena isn’t wrong, and it’s honestly not fair how they treat her like a baby.

I’m going to make it my mission to get Asa to relax a little bit, at least when it comes to her having a life.

“Hey, I have a great idea. Why don’t we go on a girls’ trip?” Marlie suggests. I sit up in my seat, excited about this idea.

“Yes, let’s do it.” Alana is dancing in her seat.

“What do you say, Montana? Are you in?” Leena asks, a gleam in her eyes. She is totally up to something.

“Well, I guess that kind of depends on how today turns out. If I still have a job at Hart Construction, I may need to wait a bit. If I don’t have a job, that’ll be hard.

I have my nest egg, but I’ll need that to more than likely open up my own firm.

” Leena has known about this for a while, but no one beside her and Asa does, actually.

Even my parents don’t know. I love them, they’re amazing in their own way, but they aren’t risk takers.

My dad’s a company man. You go to work, you do what the boss says, you stay the entire day, no taking off for appointments, and even if they release you early, well, he chooses to stay.

My mom is unique in her own way, loves what she does but would never go out on her own either.

She needs structure, like working her nine to five job as a bank teller, won’t even take a promotion because the risk isn’t worth the reward.

“Montana, you’re going to fit right in. Whatever is bothering Deke, they’ll work it out.

I think more and more, though, if he’s so hell bent on starting an Alabama office, maybe he should.

” She holds her hands up when we all attempt to say something.

“On his own. Deke needs to do it on his own. With the Hart Construction name and the funding. It’s going to suck having him away from home, but it’s not too far away.

Change isn’t always fun, but he needs it.

There was a time I would have thought Asa would have run like the wind; it seems like Deke is taking his place instead.

” I sit back in my chair, slowly sipping my drink.

Mrs. Hart knows her kids, clearly. She knew about Asa and me when we thought everything was hush-hush.

Now, with this, I think she may be on to something.

I only hope it doesn’t break their family apart in the process.

When you come from a small family, you don’t have this type of atmosphere where you sit and duke it out.

Instead, Dad would go into his home office, I’d stomp into my bedroom, leaving Mom at her place in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in her hand, silently losing her shit because no one was pulling as much weight around the house like she was.

To see the Harts come together, even with attitudes thrown every which way, I know this is what I want with Asa, forever.