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There’s already a shortage of parking when we arrive, so I take a space a block away.I take Holly’s hand, and Johnny takes Erin’s, and we’re off.
Holly has to go join her class, so I lead the others to our seats with the other families.And when I look behind us, my mouth drops open.
“Theyallcame,” I whisper to Erin, who only grins at me.
“I know.”
Everyone is here.Not just my parents and my siblings, but all of my ranch hands, too, and they’re waving at us.When I glance back over at Erin, she’s holding up her phone, and her parents, along with Zoey, are on FaceTime.
“You look pale, Rem,” Meg says through the phone.“You have to breathe.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the principal says into the PA system, “please take your seats so we can begin.”
“I owe them,” I murmur so only Erin can hear.“I owe them all.”
“No, you don’t.This is what family does, Rem.”
ChapterTwenty-Two
Erin
“What are you up to?”
I look up from my desk in surprise and see Rem leaning against the doorjamb, watching me.Since I’ve completely taken over the bookkeeping from Joy, Remington gave me his desk to use, since he does so much work at his office in the barn.
And so far, that’s worked just fine for me.
“It’s too late for you to be working,” he says as he pushes off the doorjamb and slowly walks toward me.“The kids are in bed.”
“I’m not working on the bookkeeping,” I admit.“But Iamfiguring out the summer schedule.”
“Schedule?The kids just got out of school yesterday.”
“I know, but I think it’s a good idea for them to still have a routine.A schedule.And I’ll be with them most of the time, so I’m juggling things around.See.”I turn the calendar his way.“For example, on Mondays, Holly will have dance, and then Johnny’s taking karate classes right after.But in the mornings, I want them to read a book of their choosing, and before their classes, we’ll go to the library so they can trade them in.On Tuesdays, we’ll start with math, and then after lunch, we’ll go to that amazing lake you showed me for swimming or paddle boarding.”
“Wow,” he murmurs, looking it over.“You’re giving them riding lessons?”
“Of course not.”I smirk at him.“But one of the new ranch hands you hired volunteered to give them an hour a week.They already knowhow, but they don’t get a lot of practice, and this way, they will.”
“Which kid?”
“Kyle?”
Rem nods with approval.“I’m glad I found Kyle.I can get behind that.What’s this?”
He points to the yellow star on Sundays.
“Grandma day,” I reply with a laugh.“And I haven’t written in my day at the coffee shop yet, but I will.”
“And what day doyouget off?”
I blink up at him.“What do you mean?”
“Between the bookkeeping, my kids, and the coffee shop, you haven’t scheduled a day off for yourself.”
“Rem, I count my coffee shop day as my day off.”
“Fuck that.”His voice is mild, but his eyes say,I won’t back down on this.
