Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
On the way back to the Venetian, we passed a 24-hour carwash where we could all stay in the car and drive through. We all yelled from the back seat for DJ to stop.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to––”
“Clean the car,” Sam ordered. “That’s disgusting. You don’t want it to set.”
“Oh God,” Bryce said from the passenger seat, where he sounded like he was going to throw up himself.
“Combat breathing, son,” Sam said, in full chief deputy mode.
“Yessir,” he responded, beginning the four breaths in, the hold for four, and then the four breaths out, over and over as DJ made the turn.
It turned out to be a really fun trip.
That’s it, all. Have a wonderful rest of September, and I’ll see you in October.
OCTOBER 2024
Hello, all. I was going to start off my October He Said, he said with Michael’s wedding and tell you what a mixed bag it was, but there’s more to relate about our trip to Vegas first. Or more appropriately, our trip home.
We had breakfast with our new friends, the wonderful women we met and their significant others, the following morning and left shortly afterward. Michael called Sam to ask what was going on—it was supposed to be a bachelor party weekend after all—but Sam explained that they would talk when he got home, not before. He also told his brother to have a good time. I could not have after that. I would have made them talk. Because if Sam and I had an issue, I had to get it sorted right away.
The Kage clan, as a whole, was different. They could let things go. All of them. Disagreements, misunderstandings, bitterness, all of that could be shoved aside to offer a smiling face at family get-togethers. I didn’t understand that. It was not my way. And because it was alien to me, I had instilled that same clear-the-air spirit in my children. Both Kola and Hannah were big delvers. They would find out what the hell was eating away at someone immediately. Kola was gentle and subtle with his inquiries unless it was either Harper or Jake. Hannah was a hammer in most things and so demanded to know what the hell was wrong so she could immediately either fix it or tell you to go to hell. There was no middle ground with her.
“What do you need to talk to him about?” I asked my husband as we stood in the security line together. He could have gone through quickly without me, he had the TSA clearance where he just walked through, perks of being the chief deputy, but he didn’t want us to be separated.
“Different things,” he answered as he took off his belt and put it in one of the tubs along with his laptop bag and his brogue boots.
At that point it was hard to keep talking to him because I was tired enough that I was having trouble concentrating on more than one thing at a time. The issue was that I was looking at him in his dark gray henley that I had bought myself, so I knew it was the correct size, but still, it was stretched tight around his shoulders, biceps, and pushed up to reveal the gorgeous veins in his forearms and wrists. He had his big Rolex on that Hannah had bought him a few years ago for Christmas that he only wore when he wasn’t working, and with it bracelets that she also insisted on, a lapis one to help him communicate better, an obsidian one for protection, and something with silver beads and labradorite and citrine also for protection, but these kept the negative energy of others away from him and reduced stress and exhaustion. I was certain he should have worn all those to work, but Sam was very serious about how he presented himself when he was there. I understood.
But now, off work, I was a fan of his tousled hair, his aviators, the sinful vintage jeans that clung to his ass and thighs, his white socks, and his plain platinum wedding ring that looked good with his watch. Every now and then I would look at him and think, damn, I won the lottery. He’s aging like fine wine, and his heart belongs to me. Amazing.
“You go first,” he prodded me, and the spell was broken as I too loaded up the tubs and put my items in.
I got flagged, I always do. It has to do with my packing, because once anyone opens the bag, they’re like, oh, he’s not trying to carry a compact flamethrower on the plane, it’s just how tight the bag was packed.
Afterward, I had to spend time putting my duffel back together again so it would fit in the overhead compartment on the plane. I am a Tetris packer, and all the TSA agents who’ve seen me redo my Mary Poppins bag have been impressed.