Page 30 of Hope After Loss

He nods. “Sounds like you have good friends.”

“I do, but they don’t have to worry so much. I’m fine.”

“Maybe she’s the one who’d be crying herself to sleep tonight if it wasn’t for you going out on the town with her,” he suggests.

“Brandee? No,” I say.

“You never know. I’m sure she appreciates you coming out so she didn’t have to come alone.”

I turn to him. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Is Morris your wingman tonight?”

He grins and shakes his head. “I don’t need one.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Is that right?”

He takes a sip of his beer, and I watch as the muscles in his throat contract. Then, my eyes catch the attention of a blonde who is standing by the dartboard on the far wall. She is staring a hole through Weston.

He smiles at her, and I swear I watch the swoon run the length of her.

Point made.

Weston

Iwalk into the office to find that Anna has beat me in this morning.

Kaela raises her arms when she spots me, and I reach down and pick her up.

“Good morning, beautiful,” I say as I kiss her cheek.

Her little fists grab the hair at my nape and pull me in for a raspberry to the cheek.

“That’s her new way of giving kisses,” Anna says from the break room.

I look down at Kaela. “I like an aggressive woman.”

Anna’s laughter fills the room.

We join her in the break room, and I notice a new water cooler sitting beside the table.

“You know we have mountain water that comes straight from the sink.”

She shrugs. “This is mountain spring water, and it’s filtered. The cooler has a cold and a hot option. So we can make tea and cocoa easily. Plus, I can mix the formula for Kaela with warm water. Do you hate it?”

“You had me at cocoa.”

She beams.

“What’s on the agenda for today?” I ask.

“They’re filling the new fields this morning. I assume you want to oversee that. Then, you have a two o’clock phone call with the farmer in Oregon. I’m going to scan files into the new system and shred the paper copies. I’ll have boxes ready for you to haul off this evening.”

“Sounds like a full day.”

I look down at Kaela. “And what about you?”