Zach Taking time off felt a little illegal. I sat on the edge of my bed with my laptop open and my calendar pulled up, staring at the two-week gap I’d just carved out, and I couldn’t actually believe what I was looking at. Two whole weeks of nothing. No meetings or deals to close. No contracts, negotiations, or clients to pursue. There were a few one-on-ones with acquisition clients I couldn’t move, so I would have to come back for those, but that hardly counted. Frankly, it seemed impossible that my calendar was as empty as it was. I hadn’t seen it like this since a week before I’d started working at W&S. Every single one of my brothers also seemed to have silently agreed not to question the break I’d scheduled, which was more unsettling than if they’d just told me how crazy it was. Instead, Nate had just nodded. Jesse had been annoyingly supportive of the idea and Alex had simply said, “We’ll cover what needs covering. Enjoy it.” With my calendar now cleared though, it was official. For the first time in my adult life, I would be away from the office for more than just a few days. I closed the laptop and turned back to the suitcase on my bed. At the moment, it contained only three shirts and a running watch I hadn’t charged yet. This is going well. “Wow,” Theo said from the doorway. “You’re actually doing it.” I didn’t look up. “I said I was going to, didn’t I?” “Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d go through with it. Hang on. I need to grab my phone to take a picture. This is a historic moment.” “Me packing a bag?” “You taking time off,” he said. “Voluntarily. For more than twelve hours to come home, sle ep, and eat before you head back in.” “It’s two weeks,” I muttered. He let out a low whistle. “Suddenly, documenting the moment for prosperity doesn’t seem like enough. Maybe I should alert the media.” I grabbed another shirt and folded it. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” “I do,” he said. “Right here. Watching history unfold.” “You should really get a hobby.” “This is my hobby.” I shook my head and turned back to the suitcase, swiping up the watch so I wouldn’t forget to charge it. Meanwhile, Theo pushed off the doorframe and walked into my room. “So, I guess this means congratulations are in order. You’re engaged.” “There hasn’t been an engagement,” I said. “Just a signing of the contracts. That means very little to me.” He raised an eyebrow. “Dude, in our world, those contracts do not mean very little. You’re getting married.”
“Eventually,” I said. “Maybe, but she can still back out at any time.” “So can you.” He dropped onto the other side of the mattress and leaned back against my headboard. “Do you think you will?” I paused for half a second before I k ept folding. “It’s unlikely.” Theo groaned. “Shit, that was so romantic.” I rolled my eyes. “As romantic as negotiating contracts with her grandfather and her uncle instead of just getting down on one knee, or are you perhaps talking about it being as romantic as referring to her family’s company as her dowry, without which, apparently, I would not have been doing this?” “Okay, that’s a damn fair point, but maybe you should try a little harder when you get to Wisconsin. You don’t want your marriage starting off feeling like a technicality.” “It is a technicality.” I added a few piles of shorts and some more T- shirts to my suitcase, then threw in a pair of jeans and a jacket just in case. “Do you want to come up to Wisconsin with us?” He considered the offer for exactly two seconds before he shook his head. “No, thanks.” “I didn’t think so, but I thought it’d be rude not to ask.” “Sorry, bro, but I have big plans while you’re gone.” “I don’t like the sound of that.” “You shouldn’t,” he said cheerfully. I sighed. “I’m going to regret leaving you unsupervised, aren’t I?” “Almost definitely, but it’ll be worth it.” He eyed the contents of the suitcase. “It looks like you’re packing for a marathon, not a trip with your future wife and her kids. Do yourself a favor and take a few less pairs of running shoes. Maybe add a pair of flip-flops if you’re really feeling adventurous.” After that helpful nugget, he jumped off the bed and left, leaving me to what turned out to be the easy part. I was at the car when things fell really apart, proving that packing hadn’t been the biggest challenge after all. The Jaguar XKE wasn’t going to work for this trip and none of the other cars I had in the garage were going to cut it either. When I’d bought them, I’d only been thinking of me and Bear, not a future wife, kids, and a nanny. “She’s not exactly built for five people,” Theo said helpfully from behind me, evidently on some kind of mission from hell to ke ep pointing out the obvious to me today. “Especially not with all their luggage.” “I’m aware,” I said. “Also, don’t kids need car seats? You don’t have those.” “I’m aware of that, too.” “In fact, I’m not sure she’s built for children that age at all. They’re very sticky, aren’t they? Sticky and small.” “I’m aware, Theo.” He held up his hands when I shot him a look over my shoulder. “Hey, don’t kill the messenger. I was just making observations.” I closed my eyes, thought it over for a moment, and then pulled out my phone. This was fine. An easily solvable problem.
“Hey, Mike. It’s Zach Westwood,” I said when my car guy picked up. “I need something bigger, even if it’s a downgrade. What do you have available?” There was a brief pause before he chuckled. “How many people in total, Zach?” “Five,” I said. “Including me. Plus luggage and whatnot.” “Give me an hour.” “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” I hung up and slipped the phone back into my pocket, but when I turned, Theo was wearing shit-eating grin. “A downgrade, huh?” “It’s not permanent.” “Sure,” he said. “Because you’re only ever going to have to cart her kids som eplace this one time? That seems right.” “Seriously, Theo. Fuck off.” I stomped back into the house and only emerged an hour later when Mike called to say they were outside. He rolled up in a Rolls Royce Cullinan and Theo let out a low whistle as he followed me out. “Okay, that’s not a downgrade.” The driver st epped out, handing me the keys while Mike strode up to shake my hand. “She’s fully loaded. The safest option we’ve got.” I nodded. “Perfect. Thank you. I know this was short notice.” “I guess it’s a good thing I always ke ep emergency family cars on the lot,” he joked, then shook my hand again. “Enjoy the trip, Zach. And let me know if you need anything. I’m just a phone call away.” Once he and the driver had taken off to the waiting car that would be taking them back to his lot, Theo circled the Rolls Royce like he was inspecting a rare artifact. “You’re really becoming a dad. I can’t believe it.” “I’m not.” “You bought a family SUV.” “I procured a vehicle that offers the space I need,” I argued lightly. He smirked. “For your family.” “It’s just a road trip, Theo.” “That’s how it starts,” he said sagely. “Hey, can I have the XKE now?” “Absolutely not.” He shrugged. “Okay, but fatherhood looks good on you.” I flipped him off, but he just laughed as I turned back to the car and finally popped my suitcase in the trunk. Bear and his stuff came next. I was only ten minutes late by the time I pulled up outside Adeline’s building, which wasn’t bad considering I had needed to purchase a new vehicle. I was suddenly having a crisis of confidence, thought, which had never happened to me before. Thanks to Theo’s comments, I was now smack bang in the middle of a storm of doubts. I had no idea how I’d became a man responsible for transporting two small children, two grown women, and all of their necessities for two weeks. The Rolls Royce was awesome. That definitely wasn’t part of my sudden mental breakdown. It idled quietly at the curb, looking completely out of place in front of the worn apartment building. The issue was more a me thing than a car thing. I strode up to Adeline’s building, straightening my jacket and hoping it might make me feel less like an imposter, but it didn’t work. The door opened before I’d even reached it and Amber
popped her head out to look at the car. “Do you have booster seats?” she asked instead of commenting on my fancy new ride. “I don’t see any.” “Yeah, I, uh, I wasn’t sure the girls still needed them,” I said. “Do they?” “Yes.” She st epped out of the building and peered at the backseat like she expected seats to spontaneously appear. “Well, do you have any?” “No.” She pursed her lips, clearly unimpressed as she shook her head and k ept grilling me. “You can’t just put children in a car and hope for the best. I thought you would’ve included them in your planning.” I opened my mouth but quickly snapped it shut again in favor of reconsidering my entire existence rather than respond. Finally, when she turned to me with both of her eyebrows arched like she expected an explanation, I shook my head. “I’m not just hoping for the best and I did include them in my planning,” I said. “I’m just unpr epared, I suppose.” “You suppose?” She scoffed. “You showed up with a dog and without seats.” “At least the car has space for them,” I countered. “That has to count for something.” “The car doesn’t matter if they can’t safely be transported in it,” she retorted. “Seriously, Zach. What were you thinking? You want to drive them all the way from Chicago to Wisconsin without securing them properly?” I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck, feeling the edges of an unfamiliar sensation cre eping up on me. Overwhelm. The sheer amount of planning it took to cart two children around had completely evaded me until today. “Everything is fine,” Adeline said from behind us. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be just fine.” When I turned, she was exiting the building with the girls flanking her like tiny bodyguards. Her eyes met mine, and strangely, I instantly felt a little bit calmer. “It’s fine,” she r epeated. “We have booster seats. I don’t have a car, but Amber does. We’ll just use those. I installed ours in her car myself. It won’t be a problem to move them. I know how to do it now.” Amber sighed but pointed across the street to the ugliest green Volkswagen Bug I’d ever seen in my life. “Alright. You’re a big, strapping man. Help me haul the seats, would you?” I stared at the car, honestly flabbergasted that anyone would buy something like that, but then I realized she was already halfway to it and I raced to catch up. When I reached her, she already had the back door open, fiddling with the safety belt until a latch unclicked.
“There we go,” she said. “I’ll release it, and you can just lift it out.” “Okay,” I agreed, figuring that while I had no idea what releasing it meant, I could lift heavy stuff. The next five minutes were educational, to say the least. We transferred the seats to the Rolls. Then I crouched in the backseat while Amber issued instructions like a drill sergeant and Adeline tried not to laugh. “No,” Amber said. “Not like that.” “I’m doing exactly what you just said.” “You’re really not.” “I am.” “Zach,” Adeline said gently. “You’re not. Will you just let me help already? Please.” I sighed. “Fine. If you insist.” “I do.” She slid in beside me, her shoulder brushing mine as she adjusted the strap with practiced ease. “Like this. See?” “Oh. That makes more sense.” “I know,” she said, flashing me a smile as she eased out of the car again. “It’s amazing how easy it becomes when you just let someone do it who’s actually done it before.” I had the most intense urge to stick my tongue out at her, but I resisted. Only just, though. “There we go,” Amber said dryly from the other side. “Teamwork.” While all three of us turned our attention to installing the other seat, chaos reined supreme up front. Jennifer and Lu had climbed into the front seats and were pressing every button they could find. The sunroof opened, then closed, then opened again. Jennifer shouted delightedly, pointing at the sliding roof. “Look, it’s like magic!” “It’s not magic,” Lu said, pressing another button. “It’s a spaceship.” “Backseat,” Adeline called. “Now.” They both groaned but obeyed. Miracles really do happen. Eventually, once everything was installed and the girls were buckled up, I waved for Amber to join them in back, but she shook her head. “Please. I have a r eputation to uphold. I’m taking my own car.” I glanced at the Bug, wondering if it would even make it all the way to the ranch. “There’s space for you in the Rolls. Seriously. I had my brother test the seat and he said he had more than enough leg room.” “It’s not about leg room,” she muttered. “Just drive, okay? I’ll be behind you.” “Alright then,” I finally agreed. “It’s your decision.” “Totally.” She rolled her eyes but dropped her arms back to her sides from where she’d had them crossed over her chest, turning to march to her own car. Adeline climbed into the passenger seat of the Rolls and I shook my head, not really understanding what that had been all about, but I opened the driver’s door and slid in behind the steering wheel, trying to put Amber’s strange attitude behind me. Not long after that, we were leaving the city, but I was admittedly driving like a grandma, hyper-aware of everything going on around me. The cars. The kids. The fact that there were
already crumbs in a vehicle that had arrived less than two hours ago. “That wasn’t personal back there,” Adeline said a little while later. “With Amber, I mean. She just has an intense dislike for the billionaire class and my experience with Louis didn’t help much.” I glanced at her, my grip on the steering wheel finally easing a little. “I’m assuming there’s a story there.” “If it helps, she thinks you’re tolerable, but she’s still a sk eptic.” Adeline sighed and slid her sunglasses over her eyes when the sun broke through the clouds that had been hovering all morning. “You can’t really blame her, though. Her family lost everything when she was little. Many of the old- money families came after them. They were legitimate creditors, but she’s always felt like they could’ve given them a little bit of leeway.” “Okay, but your family is one those of old-money families. Why doesn’t she have an issue with you, then?” I shrugged. “My grandfather eventually acquired her dad’s company, but he was good to them. He k ept her dad on, at least. I think that made her feel a certain sense of loyalty toward us, but she and I have also always gotten along well. So when I offered her this gig while she was looking for a job, she didn’t hesitate.” “What kind of job is she looking for?” “She’s got a degree in civil engineering,” Adeline explained. “She has a job lined up in Utah in the fall, but I don’t think she would have minded staying closer to the girls. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out that way.” I hummed my understanding, my mind already skipping to the Thayers and wondering if perhaps they had something available for her, but before I could ask, Jennifer spoke up from the backseat. “Mommy, can we have some music?” “Yeah.” She glanced at me. “If that’s okay with you.” “Of course. What do they—” “K-Pop Demon Hunters!” both girls shouted in unison before I could even finish the question. “Of course,” I muttered. “What else?” I instructed the car to put on what they’d requested, and when the first song started, I somehow felt myself relaxing even more. The tune was loud and energetic but also catchy. The girls knew every word, and while I would never admit it, I knew some too, after watching the movie with them the other day. I k ept my eyes on the road but drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, suddenly less bothered about the crumbs in the brand new, half a million dollar vehicle. Bear was sle eping peacefully in the back, so far happy and unbothered by the girls. “You like it,” Adeline said after a minute, definitely amused. “I can’t believe you actually like this song.”
I groaned and tried to wipe the smile off my face, but I was actually feeling pretty happy right about now. Despite the frequent requests for rest stops and the constant are we there yet’s, I was enjoying this a lot more than I’d thought I would. “This isn’t so bad,” I said finally, as close as I would get to admitting out loud that I didn’t even mind the music. Adeline smiled. “Surprisingly, it’s really not.” In fact, it was something I could actually get used to.