Page 85 of Brandt's Rule
“Why not?” she asked.
“Remember I told you Havoc and Analise have known they were mates since they were toddlers?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, Havoc’s daughter isn’t Analise’s. Her mother is a girl that Havoc was fooling around with, and that caused a whole lot of trouble for all of us. None more so than Havoc, and Harley. That’s Havoc’s daughter. The girl walked out on Havoc and their daughter. I thought Maia was going to track her down and end her, but her mate, Riley, was able to rein her in, thankfully.
But Havoc hasn’t been back because of the strain between him and Analise, and Analise’s family. To be honest, Analise has only been back once or twice for the same reason. They both think they’re doing the other a favor, and everybody else, too, by not making anybody take sides. Nobody’s taking sides. Havoc made some stupid choices, but he manned up and took care of the girl, and his daughter. And he’s been a good daddy to Harley. People make mistakes. That’s part of life. It’s how you deal with the fallout of those mistakes that shows who you are. He’s done a hell of a job.
We love them both, and Harley, too. But they just can’t seem to be able to reach across the space between them anymore. So, they both stay away.”
“That’s really sad. I hope they can find their way to each other someday.”
“It is sad. I talked to him about a month ago, asked him to come home for the holidays. Stopped short of demanding that he comes. Still hoping he might show up.”
“I hope so, too.”
“Come on, woman! Eat your breakfast, we got some exploring to do.”
“Aren’t you eating?” she asked.
“I ate two hours ago. Anybody ever tell you, you like your sleep an awful lot?”
“I’ve been taking part in a lot of activity that’s new to me. I earned my sleep,” she countered haughtily.
“Love you. Take your time,” he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek.
~~~
“It’s really beautiful here, Brandt. It gives me a calm, soothing feeling walking out here. Like home was, only better.”
Brandt smiled and lifted their joined hands to press a kiss to the back of her hand. “I’m glad. It’s important to me that you’re happy here.”
“I’m not sure I could have created a better place to live, if I’d tried.”
Brandt grinned at her. “Good. So, you like it, then.”
“I do.”
“Good. Ready for the fun part?”
“Fun part?” she asked. “I am having fun. I’ve seen where everyone lived. I’ve been on all the trails. Walked all the roads back here.”
“This has nothing to do with walking,” he said, leading her back toward their home. He held onto her hand as he walked along the river bank for a good distance before leading her into a more heavily wooded area of the river bank. “This is our dock. We decided to put it in a sheltered spot so it can’t be seen from the wider parts of the river. We found this little cove right after we bought this place, and it’s perfect to keep it from being seen so easily.”
“Makes sense. Nobody can just tie off and jump off their boats if they’re not aware of where the dock is,” Tempest said.
“Exactly. Want to go for a ride?” he asked, smiling enticingly at her.
“On the boat?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“Yes! I do!” she said excitedly, happily following Brandt down the bank and onto the dock that two boats and a jet ski were tied to.
“The blue one is ours. Silver one is Remi’s, and the jet ski is Hellen’s. Girl’s an adrenalin junkie. Loves to go fast and tempt the odds.”
“Do you think she’d let me ride it?” Tempest asked, eyes sparkling as she admired the jet ski.