"Touché, brother, that'll be epic. I'll follow your lead on that shit." Evin, who isn't affected by my announcement, clinks his glass with mine.
"You take my baby to Vegas and elope, I'll bury you. No shit, I'll walk away without blinking an eye," Dozer growls.
I rest in my seat, letting it hang in the air, not showing any emotion. "Now are we all straight?"
"Almost. Since you want to be a badass, what are you doing about this city slicker calling my house looking for Ashlyn?"
The air changes, every man now sitting straight.
"He hasn't called again, right?"
"No."
"He does, you give him my number directly. I'll deal. She's blown it off, focused on everything else. Let's keep it that way. Her money was transferred, her life is moving on, and she doesn't seem to miss one thing about what she left behind. That fucker comes into play to mess with her head, he'll deal with me."
This seems to appease Dozer. "No problem."
There's a comfortable silence for a few seconds before the back door opens and Cole races to the railing. "Dad! Help! Darby can't get off the sofa. Ashlyn tried to help, but she's now on the floor rolling around hysterically laughing. Maya said the baby turned."
Pierce, Evin, and Edward are all on their feet, and there's a screech from Darby in the background for Cole to stop overreacting. This is my chance for payback.
"You got this?" I ask Evin.
He glances back, catching onto my play and nods, stepping around.
Pierce takes off, and I casually jump up at the same time, slipping my foot out. He goes flying into the pool, his eyes locking with mine with a deathly blaze.
"Karma, motherfucker," I mumble, heading to help my poor overloaded sister-in-law off the couch while my soon-to-be family howls their asses off.
•—•—•—•—•
"We need to talk, privately." This comes from Dozer, who's five feet below me as I mud the last of the drywall on the staircase.
"I'm done."
"Meet me out back."
I climb off the scaffold and check out front first. "You okay?" I question Andrew and Austin who are almost finished laying the new porch.
They nod and I look to my nephew, who’s painting the columns with Pierce. "You good, buddy?"
"Almost done, and Dad promised me when this is done I can mud the bathroom."
"Owe you, Cole, thanks for your help."
He beams, glancing up at his dad. "This is my company, too, right Dad?"
"Yeah, son. It's yours." There's a load of pride in Pierce's answer, and I know I'm staring at the legacy of Kendrick Construction.
I go to join Dozer in the back. He's at the fence, staring at the neighbor's house.
"Everything good?"
"When I was clearing the yard last month, a man caught me out front and wanted to know how much I charged to clear land. I explained this was my daughter's property and my company was in Georgia. We got to talking. Turns out he's the owner's son, and they want to sell. Mom and Dad are moving to some fancy assisted living place with a golf course."
“That's a step up." I take in the old house and property. Like Ashlyn's place, it has been neglected for a long time. The house is dilapidated and most likely needs a total rebuild. The yard is the same. It's one of the only places on the block that hasn't had any updates in decades. Still, it has a certain appeal. More than once I've thought how the property value will rise once Ashlyn's house is completed. The problem is how close it sits to her property line. If the fence was gone, they'd share the patch of space.
"It'll take the right buyer with a vision." I give my input.
"I feel the same."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"The house itself will need a ton of work, but it has a garage, two bedrooms, two baths, a nice kitchen," he goes on.
"You went inside?" I process the news, knowing it's significantly smaller than this house; the bonus is the garage.
"Had to see for myself."
"What exactly did you have to see?"
"We will never get Ashlyn back home. I know that now. As hard as I tried, I get it. Now with you in the picture, she's found something she's not giving up. Friends, family, a sense of peace."
"Pleased to see you got this, but I'm still confused."
"My girl is ambitious, sometimes to a fault. She may have hidden it well over the last eight years, but I knew her dream of having a family and a career was always there. This house she's building is big and fancy, it has everything she wants, but I figure when you add children to the mix, it will get tight. Janie won’t stay away when those kids get here. I think this property next door may be a smart investment."
My heart thunders in my chest, but I try to remain steady when I ask, "You want to buy the house next door?"
He shrugs. "Not necessarily me. I think with the right plans, the place could house a nice-sized guesthouse, a big home office, and give her the garage she didn't get. It would take some work to get the property zoned correctly, but it could be done. Redo that place, build a breezeway from house to house attaching them, join the properties… the possibilities are endless."
He's barely finished with his statement when the vision comes to me. "I can see it."
"Figured you would."
"It would be a mini-mansion."
"You're gonna need it. You've only met us. Our family is big, sure she's told you about it."
I nod my agreement.
"Last time we were here, Janie and I rode around. Renos in this area are going wild."
"In the business. Been watching it for years."
"Seeing as you defy the speed of time, I figure there will be multiple kids in the next few years. Ashlyn is much like her mom. She'll want to be close, even as a working mother. The office will be essential. You're lucky to have
