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Zack grimaced. “The new manager is there and Travis convinced me she needed to fly solo.”
“Fly solo. Cute. How’s she working out?” Zack had hired a Whiskey River native, Valentina Alvarado, to manage the airport. While Zack would still be in charge it would give him a chance to spend more time with his family. Which since his wife Laurel was having twins and already had two kids, was pretty much a necessity.
“Val not working out?”
“No, she’s great. Smart. Young. Energetic. Hardworking.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Zack didn’t answer. Instead he ran a hand through his hair and walked over to one of Levi’s workbenches and picked up a set of tiny screwdrivers. “How do you even hold these things? They’re so little.”
“Practice. Give. What’s the problem?”
“You’ll think it’s stupid.”
“Yeah, so?” Deciding he might as well get comfortable, Levi sat down.
“I feel old. Val is so freaking young and she has all these new ideas and I feel—”
“Useless?”
Zack shrugged. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Zack, the airport is yours. It wouldn’t exist, at least not in its current incarnation without you. Relax. Maybe some of her ideas are worth trying.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Zack said heavily.
“When are your babies due?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“When?”
“January. Why?”
“I think you’re freaking out about the twins and since you can’t admit that to Laurel you’re compensating by freaking out over hiring another manager for the airport.”
“Oh, bullshit. That’s just dumb.”
“Is it? Look, Zack, you went from a single guy with no kids to a married man with two kids and two in the oven in the span of a few months. Any sane person would be a little worried.”
“It’s not because I don’t love all of them.”
“No one said it was.” If there was one thing Levi knew, it was that Zack loved his family. Wife, adopted kids and babies on the way.
“What if I screw up?”
Now they were getting to the heart of the matter. “All parents screw up. Some worse than others.” His mother who deserted her family when he and Asher were little and his old man, who was an abusive, drunk son of a bitch came to mind.
“Ah, shit. Sorry, Levi. I didn’t think about—”
Levi cut him off. “It’s possible to have really fucked-up parents and still turn out okay. So I wouldn’t worry about your imagined failings.”
“Thanks. I hope you’re right.”
“I am,” Levi said firmly.
Someone knocked on the door. “Come in,” Levi called.
