Page 81 of Perfect Enough
“I have savings. I’ve saved up a good amount of money, actually, and if I have to get a temporary job walking dogs or waiting tables, then that’s what I’ll do until I can figure it out.”
She smiled. “It looks like we’re both going to be starting over then.”
“We are, and no matter what we do, we’re going to kick ass!”
My mother laughed, and for the first time in a very long time, she seemed happy, and I felt a sense of…relief.
Chapter Eighteen
JOSH
“Smart move, just getting a pizza and staying here,” I said as I looked out over the rolling pastures behind my house. We had decided to sit on the back balcony, and even with the chill in the air, the fire in the fire pit made it feel comfortable. Even the sky looked beautiful as the sun was slowly making its descent behind the mountains, painting the sky in brilliant shades of orange and pink.
Turning to look at Nate, I replied, “What is this? Are you finally coming over to the dark side?”
“Dude, don’t put me in that club. I’m still young.”
I laughed. “Because I don’t want to go to The Blue Moose on a Monday night, you think I’m old?”
“Old acting.”
“Subject change. What happened today in the meeting?”
He took a long drink of his beer and stared in the same direction I had been looking earlier. “Blayze talked forever while Hunter clicked through a rather impressive slide show of everything Blayze discussed. It was mainly budget shit, pasture rotation schedule, and stuff about that meeting with the horse breeder from Kentucky.”
“When’s the meeting again?”
“Next Friday.”
I quickly went over my schedule at the fire station in my head. “I should be off, but I don’t suppose that matters; that’s not my area of expertise.”
Nate nodded. “Maverick and Beck will attend, so I think it’s pretty well covered.”
“How is Avery feeling?”
Nate smiled. “From what Beck said, she’s doing great. Only has a few more weeks before the baby’s due.”
“And they still haven’t found out if they’re having a boy or a girl yet?”
He shook his head. “I still can’t believe Avery’s having a baby.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Can you imagine how Uncle Dirk will be with that baby?”
“Protective, do you mean?”
“Yeah, especially if it’s a girl.”
Nate laughed…then his smile faded. “Do you think we’ll find love like that?” When I didn’t say anything right away, he turned to look at me, studying my face for a long moment. “You like her, don’t you?”
“I do. I know this sounds crazy because we literally went out on our first date this past weekend, but there’s just something about Sophia. When I’m with her, I feel…happy.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“I’d say so.”
He was quiet for a few minutes. Then Nate grinned. “So will she be the one?”
I took another drink of my beer, knowing exactly what he was talking about. “I wanted to this weekend, when she stayed with me. But we didn’t.”