Page 113 of Broken Grump

My thumbs circle around the bottle of beer before me. “Kind of. But also, not really. Our businesses are compatible, and when hetold me he wanted to build luxury hotels, it just made sense to me.”

“Luxury—” Noah seems dumbfounded. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about this before?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t sure you’d care.”

“Care? Come on! I’m a Cohen too.”

“I know. But I was also cautious about airing it all out in case, well, in case it all failed.”For all I know, it still might. But at least I got Addie back and Luna out of the deal.That is success enough for me.

“What’s the status as of now?” Victor asks after swigging some of his gin and tonic back.

“I—I’m not entirely sure. We’re still waiting to hear back from the landowner. He’s this really religious guy who has made us jump through hoop after hoop. And he still hasn’t given us a solid answer. Oh, I suppose I should tell you, if you ever encounter him, Addie and I have been happily married for years. Got it?”

I look around and all the guys appear equally confused.

So, I snap my fingers in their faces. “Because of the religion thing, boys. Come on!”

“Oh. Right. I guess. Yeah. That makes sense,” Denton admits.

“Thank you.”Goodness gracious. Even with the most emotionally mature one of the bunch, it still feels like pulling teeth sometimes.

But then I chuckle to myself. “You’ll never believe the weird barbecue-Bible study he had us show up to at his cabin. It was bizarre. They were all really nice at first, but then the night ended with them conducting a prayer ritual that felt more like a slut-shaming session against Addie. I was so offended for her that we stormed off in a hurry.”

Noah chortles. “Isn’t that the funniest part of it all? In church, we’re taught to be accepting and loving of all. But yet, Christian people are sometimes the most judgmental of all.”

“Yeah. You can say that again.”

“But you have to remember,” Victor cuts in with an uncharacteristically sincere tone, “that’s not how God wants us to be.”

The rest of us exchange looks of surprise.

“Remember, Jesus was created in God’s image, and think of who his quote-on-quote ‘people’ were. Jesus was flocked and gravitated towards the lepers, the prostitutes, and all the other ‘broken’ people in society. To live like him, we need to be more like that.”

Then, as if he didn’t just say something incredibly profound—and true—he chucks back the rest of his beer and cracks aninappropriate joke about the well-endowed weather reporter on the screen ahead.

“Wha—” Denton seems to try to make heads or tails of the situation, but when he ultimately fails, he just hangs his head and laughs.

“Anyway.” After another beer or two, I’m starting to feel loose-lipped. So, I raise my bottle into the air and propose a toast. “To my daughter.”

The guys follow suit and clink their drinks with me and each other. “To Hayden’s daughter.”

“And to Addie!” Denton includes.

With a nod, I say, “I’ll definitely ‘cheers’ to that wonderful woman too.”

“So, when do I get to meet this niece of mine,” Noah asks. His level of intoxication is shown through his slurred speech and uncontrollable hiccups.

“Well.” I shove him to the side. “You’re certainly not being introduced like this.”

“Why not? She might as well learn who her Uncle Noah is right off the bat.”

“Yeah, no. Let’s wait a bit before she learns about the ‘lush’ side of her family.”

He splutters. “Who you calling a lush?”

All the other men laugh, and I join them.

“But in all seriousness, guys. I do need you to promise me something. Ready?”

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