A lifetime. Two lifetimes. Two for one.
It sure was fun.
Now we’re mommies to his daddy.
Real life to his whimsy.
They’ll call us mommy. We call him Timi.
Thank you!”
Church’s jaw hit the floor. “Did she just say that Timi is the father of their babies?”
Mari’s mouth was as wide open as Church’s. “I was just about to ask you the same thing.”
“That’s what I heard.” I was nonchalant about it.
“Who the hell is Timi?” Lex questioned.
“My wack-ass ex,” Church told him.
“Frick and Frack are pregnant by your ex?” Lex threw up his hands. “This town is too fucking small.”
Church turned to me. “And he tried to talk shit to us at the ribbon cutting on the Humanity for Community house. Acting like he was so superior.”
I waved my hand dismissively. “Fuck him. Let’s go get that barbecue. My stomach is touching my back.”
After we’d eaten,explored, and participated in everything we wanted to participate in, I led Church to my truck. “Let’s take a drive,” I told her.
We stayed on the lodge’s property, but I drove around to the back acreage. I loved the untouched back acreage. It was just wide-open space, unsullied land for as far as the eye could see,with uninterrupted views of the Cascada Noir mountain range. I stopped my truck not too far away from the folding table and chairs that had been set up in the middle of the field. The table was set with a gauzy white tablecloth that danced with every gust of wind that hit it. There was a galvanized ice bucket atop the tablecloth, along with two covered trays and two champagne flutes. I’d only entrusted Bright with my idea. I hadn’t even told Lex, because I didn’t trust him not to tell Mari. Lex was gone off Mari. He told that girl everything, so I only told Bright. He’d incorporated Bailey, and they’d set everything up for me.
I parked, got out, and walked around to the passenger’s side to get her out. “What is this?” she asked as I took her hand to help her down.
“Come on, and I’ll show you.” The two of us walked over to the table. “Sit down.” I gestured to the chair closest to her.
She did a 360-degree turn before sitting. “The view is beautiful.”
“I thought so, too.” I sat down across from her. “When my aunt Beverly and uncle Bradford told me that they were gifting me five acres of land on their property, I drove around, knowing exactly what I was looking for.”
“They gifted you land?” Her eyes were wider than saucers. “That’s huge. I’ve only ever known them to gift land to their sons.”
“I know. Unc said that he wanted me to understand how proud they were of me for turning my shit around. When Bright told him that I’d passed both of my certifications and applied for my business license, they realized that I actually was serious. Plus, they knew that I’d been looking at land and couldn’t find what I wanted.” I waved my arms in a gesture that included everything we could see with our eyes. “This is where I’m building my house.”
Her mouth fell open. “Right here? On five acres of land?” She took a breath, rested her elbows on the table, then rested her chin in her hands. She looked at me with admiration and what felt like trust. “I’ll bet it’s gonna be gorgeous.”
“I’ma do my best.” I cleared my throat because I felt myself getting a little choked up at her reaction. Church believed in me. That shit caused my heart to crash out inside of my chest. “Uh, let’s celebrate.” I reached into the ice bucket and pulled out three unlabeled bottles. I picked up the first bottle. “Tequila.” I picked out the second bottle. “Agave nectar.” I picked up the third bottle. “Watermelon juice.” It was the ingredients of her signature drink.
Her eyes blinked rapidly. “You remembered my drink? You really do love me.”
“Pretty mama,” I called her by the name of the drink. “This is the site where I plan to build my future. Everything isn’t clear yet. But one thing I definitely see is you for me. You know you got my heart over there in your purse.”
She chuckled.
“I love you, Church.”
“I love you, too.”
Church