Page 17 of Crewe
A knock on the door heralded Crewe’s return. He walked in smiling, handing her an ice-cold bottle of Coke along with a cup with a lid.
“I wasn’t sure if you drank from the bottle or wanted a cup,” he said. She stared at him for a minute.
“Did you really run out in only your shorts to get me a drink? You could have waited and gotten dressed,” Ry said.
Crewe’s blushing face was the cutest.
“I didn’t even think about that I was only in shorts. Just wanted to get you your morning drink,” he said.
Until she’d come to Nelson’s, she’d thought her dad was the anomaly in how to treat women. No man before had given any thought to her needs. But then she met the men of the Nelson clan and found out that there were kind, strong men who not only treated women and kids well but penalized the jerks who didn’t. The first time she’d watched Hennessy and Whiskey drag someone out of the bar for being inappropriate with her while she worked, she’d been amazed. They’dcome behind the bar and changed theHow Many Days Since We’ve Booted an Asshole from the Barsign back to zero. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined they would consider someone being inappropriate with an employee a reason to boot someone from the bar.
“Well, thank you for getting me my addiction this morning. The kids will thank you too,” she said.
Crewe grinned. “Let me get dressed and we can go down to breakfast. That shirt is really cute on you,” he said, pulling some clothes from his bag and going into the bathroom.
Ry breathed in, glanced back at the bed, then the bathroom. Crewe, with his washboard abs and thick arms, paired with one bed and her extremely shaky control, had her hoping she could just get through this vacation with her heart still intact.
Chapter Fourteen
Ry walked into the breakfast room and wondered how she’d survive this. Crewe had laid his hand along her back as they walked into the room. His touch had sent off a cascade of thoughts, which she was positive were all over her face.
Thoughts of that bed upstairs and Crewe getting undressed instead of dressed.
“Mommy, mommy, mommy,” Freya yelled, running over. “We had the bestest time lastnight. The Papas were so fun. Can we be on vacation forever?”
Crewe and Ry chuckled, listening to her daughter say everything without taking one breath. Ry bent down close to Freya and pulled her in for a hug.
“Good morning, I’m so glad you’re having fun. I think Grandma and Grandpa would be sad if we never came back from vacation. Where’s your brother?” Ry asked.
“He and Ezra are over watching Sutton for Ellie. I was too, but I had to see you,” Freya said.
“Well, let’s get you back over there quickly, shall we?” Crewe asked, holding his hand out to Freya. Her daughter knew exactly what that meant. Crewe had been putting them on his shoulders since that first Halloween at Bluff Creek. The kids both loved it. Freya and Wyatt had soaked up Crewe’s and the other Nelson men’s attention.
Ry walked beside them, and a little bit of her was sad because she’d enjoyed having Crewe’s hand on her waist. She imagined this was what every parent went through, trying to balance time withthe kids and time with their significant other. Not that Crewe was that to her.
Once they got over to where the kids were, Wyatt gave her a hug.
“Did you have fun?” she asked.
“Yep, Ezra and me are playing with Sutton until Ellie comes back with the doughnuts,” he said.
Oh my, she had to hide a grin. He’d deepened his voice and was taking helping with Sutton so seriously. Her twins were growing up.
“I’m sure Ellie really appreciates you both helping out. Did you have fun last night?” Ry asked.
“Yes, and we get to go to the parade today and play all day. I love vacation,” he said fervently.
If Ry had any doubts about whether they should have come, her kids had alleviated all of them. They were where they were supposed to be. Maybe she needed to relax and just let things unfold. It had been a while since she’d let loose of control.
“Okay, well, I’m going to go chat with people. If you need help, let me know,” she said.
“We’re good,” Ezra said, nodding.
Ry made her way to where Vivi was putting together bags.
“Can I help?” Ry asked.
“Yes, please. These are bags with a card for today of when and where organized things are, along with the wristbands everyone needs. The wristbands allow unlimited playing at the raceway and the arcade. Each bag has a family’s name on it and the number of wristbands needed. Burt, Bill, and Peck wanted to make sure no one missed out on anything,” Vivi said.
