Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 110671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
He pressed send as Jayden finished his call with Father O’Malley.
A beat later, Leah walked into the kitchen with a polite smile and asked to speak to Darius when he had a minute.
“I have a minute now,” Darius replied. “Lemme just get these in the oven.”
Gray side-eyed Leah before he walked over to Jayden.
“What do you think about a movie night?” He leaned his hip against the counter and threaded his fingers through Jayden’s hair. It’d become their thing. The boy wasn’t too familiar with hugs yet, and this was a way for Gray to be able to show affection without earning himself too many strange looks.
“Yeah…” Jayden closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He did like having his hair played with. And his scalp scratched. “Can you and me pick a movie this time?” he asked. “Darius only likes old stuff.”
Gray grinned.
Too bad Darius had already left the kitchen. That one was funny. His taste in movies had proved to be no surprise whatsoever, unlike his skills in the kitchen. Because it was all about war, history, Westerns, and true crime.
“We’ll pick a funny one,” Gray answered as his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and expected to see Mom’s reply, but it wasn’t. It was from Cole.
Hey, man. Sorry I didn’t respond until now. I had to unplug for a while. I’m heading out with my pop tomorrow again. We’re gonna deliver horses to another ranch. It sucks that I missed you when you were in my neck of the woods, though. Hope we can catch up soon. I talked to Tai and Oscar this morning, btw. They’re doing ok. Give Darius my best. –Cole
Gray exhaled in relief, happy about the update.
“If we bring the food to the cabin, we can watch the movie while we eat,” Jayden reasoned.
“Then we’d have to bring the dishes back and forth,” Gray chuckled. “We’ll eat here. Darius has to keep an eye on the bread anyway.” Speaking of, Gray should heat the tortillas too.
“Can we at least eat here and not out there?” Jayden pointed in the general direction of the seating area with the fireplace. “Leah is out there all the time.”
Gray furrowed his brow and lowered his hand from Jayden’s hair. “Don’t you like her?”
Jayden shrugged and rubbed his nose. “She asks a lot of questions about you and Darius.”
Oh, really… “Like what?”
“If you’re boyfriends and stuff.” Jayden opened his phone and flipped between his game apps. “I said fuck if I know, but you kiss sometimes, and then she said I shouldn’t cuss, so I said goddammit.”
Oh my God. Gray pinched his lips together to keep from laughing. The boy was too much sometimes—in the best ways.
“Jonas had boyfriends,” Jayden went on frankly. “They weren’t fun like Darius. Darius teaches me how to use my knives better, and he’s good at everything.”
Gray couldn’t help but smile at that. Maybe Darius had never been interested in starting a family, but he was a natural with Jayden and, from what he’d heard, with his nieces.
“He’s pretty awesome,” he agreed. “You do curse too much, though.”
Jayden glanced up at him and widened his eyes. “Fuck?”
Gray snorted and shook his head, and he had an idea. “Here’s what we’ll do. From now on, I promise to give you five dollars as an allowance every week. But every time you curse, I’ll deduct a quarter. So, if you curse once, I’ll take away twenty-five cents from those five dollars.”
That made Jayden think hard. He pursed his lips and put aside his phone. “Two curses is fifty cents, four curse words is a dollar.”
Gray inclined his head.
“I need a list of curses I can’t say,” Jayden said hesitantly. “Sister Margaret said damn is a curse. And I couldn’t say crap or yell Jesus Christ.”
“Oh—I’m not that strict,” Gray promised with a chuckle. “I also know it’s difficult to change a habit, so if I notice that you’re trying hard but a curse sometimes slips out, it’s fine. But you can start by removing all the fucks, shits, motherfuckers, and goddammits.”
“Okay.” Jayden nodded slowly, thoughtful. “What about dickweeb and pussy?”
Gray cringed and palmed his face. “Definitely not those, sweetheart. Christ.”
Jayden giggled. “What about—”
“Probably not.” Gray let out a laugh but decided it was time to not let him take this any further. “You’re a smart boy. I think you know that those words aren’t okay—and absolutely not for someone your age.”
“Yeah, but your face is funny.”
Gray shot him a playful scowl. “Careful, kid. I do have limits.”
Jayden’s beautiful eyes danced with mirth, and he slapped a hand over his mouth. “I’ll do my best.”
“Good—”
“Hey, let’s eat at the cabin.” That was Darius. He’d returned, and he wasn’t looking happy. He strode over to the oven and checked the bread, which couldn’t be anywhere near done.