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“Follow me.” I lead the men out to my detached garage, and there are four chairs waiting for us. “I bought these weeks ago so we’d be ready for the table.”
Jake takes two of them and immediately heads back to the house, and Chase and I follow with one chair each.
“He’s excited,” Chase murmurs to me.
“Breakfast is our favorite time of day,” I reply. “And he likes that I wanted a special table for it. And that you built it? Well, that’s extra cool to him.”
We find Jake already in the office, his chairs placed at the table, and Chase and I add ours, and then the three of us step back and admire our handiwork.
“This is fucking legit,” Jake says. “Sorry for the language, but it is.”
“Yeah, it is,” I agree and ruffle his hair. “You did an awesome job, Chase. Thank you.”
“It was my pleasure,” he replies. “Did I see suitcases downstairs?”
“You just caught me.” I lead them back down to the foyer. “I’m headed out to Paris for a week or so with Polly.”
“Well, aren’t you fancy?” Chase grins and then eyes Jake. “Who’s taking care of your child?”
“I’m not a child,” Jake insists, which is exactly what Chase wanted him to do. “Millie’s coming tonight.”
“Call me if you need anything,” Chase tells him. “Summer and I are ten minutes away. Is the security detail staying here, or are they with you, Ry?”
“They’re staying, and a different detail will be with us. Everything should be good here, but I’m glad you’re close by.”
“Why don’t you come out for dinner tomorrow?” Chase asks Jake. “We’ll do some fishing off of the dock afterward.”
“Cool,” Jake says with a shrug, but the smile on his face tells me that he’s happy to be invited. “Just let me know what time, and I’ll be there.”
“I’ll double-check with the wife and text you,” Chase replies and then turns to me. “Have fun.”
“Thanks. I plan to. And thanks again for the table. It’s really great, man.”
“You’re welcome.” With a wave, he’s off, and I turn back to Jake.
“Don’t be eating at that table without me.”
“No way. We’ll do it together when you get back.” He offers me his fist for a fist bump, which I happily oblige, and then I pull him in for a quick hug.
“You’re sure you’re okay with this?”
“Dude, why are you so weird about this one? You’ve been gone before, you know.”
“Yeah, but that was work, and this is fun, and you’re my kid, so I have dad guilt for leaving you behind when I’m going on a freaking vacation. Do you want to go with us?”
Jake’s eyebrows climb into his hairline. “Aww, that’s so sweet. You’re gonna miss me. But do I want to go shopping in Paris? No thanks. That sounds horrible to me. No offense. Besides, you guys can be all gooey and gross without a kid hanging around. Go have fun.”
“I’ll take you wherever you want to go. You and I can take a trip.”
He blinks at me. “Honestly? I’m fine here. Maybe we can take a hiking trip up to Glacier or something later, but I’m not worried about it. Like I said, go have fun. Be safe.”
He wiggles his eyebrows at me, and I laugh and ruffle his hair before grabbing my suitcases to load into the truck.
Jake helps me, and before long, I’m headed over to Polly’s to pick her up and take her to the airport.
Yeah, it’s going to be damn fun.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
