She squeezed his arm. "It is what I want, Reaves. It's just hard to believe it's true, you know."
"I can see that. So, I'll drop it for now. At least on the surface," he added with a smile.
"And what does that mean will be going on under the surface?"
"That I'll be proving it to you. Every day, until you stop waiting for it to end."
ChapterNineteen
"Hey, Reaves. How's it going? We haven't seen much of you around here the last week or two."
"Morning, Frank." Reaves went over to the front desk in the lobby. "Yeah, I've been spending most of my time at Dad's. How are things going with you?"
"I can't complain. Well—I could, but it wouldn't get me anywhere, so I don't." Frank said it with a chuckle, then looked him up and down. "You look like you're back to work this morning."
"I am. Just the usual meeting about the schedule." He checked his watch. "I'd better get out there. Ollie's coming for me."
"Don't let me hold you up. See you soon."
By the time Reaves made it to the bottom of the steps at the entrance to his building, Ollie was just pulling up at the curb. He climbed in and was still fastening his seatbelt when Ollie pulled away.
"What's up? We're not late, are we?"
"No. But I want to make a stop on the way in, if that's okay with you."
"Sure. Not a problem. What do you need to do?"
"I need to call in and pick up some prints from the photographer."
Reaves cocked an eyebrow. "What photographer? What am I missing?"
Ollie made a face. "You're only missing what I haven't told you. You know how Dad came last week?"
"No. You didn't even tell me that."
"Well—shit. Sorry, you've been busy. Let's start at the beginning. Dad came last week. And since we've been getting along so well lately, and his birthday's coming up, Callie arranged for this photo session." Ollie made a face, but Reaves smiled.
"That's awesome. I'm glad you're spending more time with him."
"I know. I'll admit it; you were right all along. And I feel kind of bad that it took Callie to talk me into giving him a chance again. I should have listened to you sooner."
"There's nothing to feel bad about. I'm glad you got there in the end." Reaves chuckled. "And I totally get why you'd listen to Callie instead of me. She's way prettier."
Ollie laughed with him. "I'm not going to argue with you about that one." He pulled over. "You can wait here if you want. No need to come in—I'm just picking up some prints. This photographer, she's really good. She took some of me and Dad, and me and Callie, and all three of us—and of course, the dogs. We'll be able to get digital copies online, but Callie wanted to see the prints. She wants to get one blown up and framed for Dad's birthday."
He came back out in just a few minutes and passed a large manila envelope to Reaves. "Would you stick that in the glove box for me?"
As Reaves put it away, he remembered Alara's Rolos. He'd have to stop and buy some more on his way over to his dad's later.
"How are things going with the rebrand?" Ollie asked.
"Damn. We really haven't talked much, have we? Alara's done an amazing job with the labels. I need to show you. They're fantastic. Delaney's impressed."
"I knew she'd do a good job. She's a real artist, isn't she? I thought at first she just did flowers. But from what Callie tells me, she does all kinds of things. She even paints, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. She showed me some of her work on her phone." Reaves made a face. "She hasn't kept much of it. It seems she mostly sells what she paints."
"Well, when things settle down, you know what you can get her for her birthday, don't you? Some canvases and an easel."
