Page 118 of When Morning Comes Around

He’d come over to meet his brother for their morning workout at the gym. It had been a busy week so far. Sadie’s minivan had broken down again, and it was sitting at Jake’s garage while he waited for parts to come in for it.

Dom had been driving Sadie around. She’d suggested that she should rent a car, but he didn’t see the point. He enjoyed playing chauffeur, it wasn’t exactly a hardship. He’d suggested that he could buy her a new vehicle, but she wasn’t comfortable with that. He kind of understood it, but he was hoping that with time she’d get used to the idea that they were a couple now, and he wanted to be able to take care of her. It wasn’t as though he didn’t have the money.

“Have you thought any more about building your own place?”

Dom shrugged. “I’d love to, it’s just that we seem to have so much else on our plate. There’ll be time for that.”

“True. Sorry. I’m just excited to have you guys down there as our neighbors.”

Dominic grasped his brother’s shoulder. “I love the idea – don’t think that I don’t.”

“You guys should come over and walk on the beach sometime soon.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to Sadie. She loves to walk on the beach, and with everything that’s been going on, we haven’t made the time.”

“Is she working with Jake today? Do you have time to come for a coffee with me?”

“Yeah, I’d love to. I’m picking her up from the garage at two. I’m just killing time till then.”

When they entered the bakery, April greeted them with a smile. “This is easy; I can’t get it wrong this time. Hey, Damon. Hey, Dom.”

They grinned at her and ordered their coffees before going to sit in one of the booths.

“You said you haven’t had time to walk the beach with everything that’s going on – what’s happening?” Damon asked

“I guess there’s not that much, it just feels like it. Sadie’s been talking to Leanne about how best to handle things. Leanne advised her to see if she can’t line up a buyer for the business before she makes any kind of agreement with Dale.”

Damon made a face. “From what Taryn said, he’s a real asshole. I wish you’d let me know, I would have been there with you. You were there for me when Jo had to deal with William.”

“Thanks. If he’s ever in town again, you can bet your ass that I’ll call you.”

Damon frowned.

“I used up all my restraint that first time,” Dom explained. “If I ever see him again, you’ll have to hold me back.”

“Right.” Damon chuckled. “Does it look like she’ll be able to find a buyer?”

“It sounds like the employees are interested, but whether they’ll be able to come up with an acceptable offer is a different matter.”

“Are you concerned that she’ll sell to them and lose out?”

He nodded. “I’m torn. She’s right when she says that this is the quickest and easiest way to put it all behind her. It’s not as though she needs to come away with a decent nest egg anyway – I can cover anything we might ever need.”

Damon opened his mouth to speak, but Dom shook his head. “I know, she needs her own money for her sake. And besides, from what she’s said, she wanted to take care of Josh with some of the money.”

“What’s he like?”

“Obviously I haven’t met him yet, but we’ve talked on the phone quite a bit – he’s a good kid. He keeps saying that he’s going to come and visit, it’s just finding the time. I know Sadie would love for him to move here, but we’ll have to see.”

“And Harvey? What does he think of it all?”

Dom had to laugh. “You know what he’s like – he’s kind of disappointed that we don’t get to take Dale down. Apparently, he’s hated him pretty much since Sadie met him.”

Damon laughed with him. “He’s a real character.”

“He is. I love that he and Jake get along so well, too.”

“Yeah, Jake talks about him a lot. Whenever he hangs out with Savannah, he makes sure to spend some time with Harvey, too.From what Jake’s told me, it sounds as though Harvey’s ready to sell the garden center.”

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