For The Love of Easton (For the Love Of #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,75
you the grounds during the visit.”
The road was super curvy, and we got to the final turn. We had less than a quarter mile until the house. When it came into view, English gasped, then said, “Motherfucker. This isn’t a house, Tristian. It’s huge!”
“Yeah, it is. But it’s never been a home to me at all.”
“I’d hug you if you weren’t driving. You’ll always have a home with me. I can’t imagine how that felt.”
“No, and you don’t want to.”
I stopped in the circular drive in front of the main entrance. We walked up the steps to the front door and I held it open for her. One of the servants came running.
“Mr. Baines, I apologize. We were not informed you’d be arriving this morning with a guest.”
“She’s not a guest, Charles. This is my wife, Mrs. Baines. This is her house now too.”
“Y-your wife, sir?” His wiry brows arched as he sputtered.
“That’s correct. Are my brothers working?”
“Yes, sir, in the new office upstairs.”
I explained to English, “They turned one of the bedrooms upstairs into office space, so Stanton and Landry can work from home until Stanton’s leg is better.”
I held English’s hand as we ascended the stairs. She leaned in and whispered, “This place reminds me of a funeral home.”
A crack of laughter followed, coming from me. “I never thought of it that way, but I agree. So dark and dreary. What do you say we redecorate and bring it up to today’s standards? Bright and cheery.”
“What would your brothers say?”
“They’d love it.” We reached the room where the office was so I knocked, using the secret code from our childhood.
“Get in here, you asswipe. Since when did you knock?”
I opened the door and said, “Since I brought my wife to meet you incorrigible idiots.”
Stanton was actually dressed, in a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Landry had on jeans and a T-shirt.
“Wow. What a nice surprise. You must be English. We’ve heard all about you,” Landry said as he hugged her.
“Yes, I am, and thank you. It’s great to meet you too.”
Stanton used his crutch still but was getting around better and better. He held out a hand and introduced himself.
English swatted it away, saying, “No hug? Seriously?”
He dropped the hand and hugged her instead. She was hard not to love. But the best thing was she left him speechless.
When he released her, he gaped. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting a woman such as her. Most of the women I’d dated before had more of a dark and sultry look, but not English. She was a blonde and had more of a wholesome, natural beauty.
“So, bro, the question that begs to be asked is has your wife met the poisonous asps of the family yet?” Stanton eyed the two of us.
“Not yet. I’m saving them for last so we can make a hasty exit.”
“You always were a smart little fucker.”
“Stanton, I tower over you so I hardly think I’m little.”
“Tower? By what? An inch? But you’ll always be my younger brother, hence ‘little fucker.’” It was impossible not to laugh at his comeback.
“Touché.”
We talked business for a time and I explained things to English as we went along. Having a discussion and leaving someone out wasn’t fun, so I included her as best I could.
“I hear you have a daughter,” Landry said.
“I do,” English said. “She’s six, going on thirty.”
“Oh, boy. Sounds like fun.”
“She really is. I’d love for you to meet her.”
“I was wondering about that. Does she like horses?”
“Yes, and unicorns too.”
Landry said, “I can’t help with the unicorns, but I can take her riding sometime. I love to ride and we have stables with plenty of horses, even one or two that would be suitable for her. If you’re not comfortable with that, I could have her ride with me.”
English shot me a glance.
“Landry is the expert,” I said. “He’s been riding since he was four. He used to compete and knows more about horses than all of us put together.”
“You wouldn’t mind?” she asked him.
“Not at all. I’d actually love it.”
I pointed to my little bro. “This guy rides almost every day. Bring Easton out and have her give it a go. Who knows? Maybe she’ll end up competing too.”
“Okay. Do I need to buy anything for her?”
“Nope. Just make sure she wears long pants and a jacket if it’s cool. We have riding helmets, but if she has a bike helmet that has a better fit, you can bring that.”