Keenan
After doing the final round of the day, Keenan met up with his brother Aiden on the first floor of their latest house renovation.
“All good?”
Aiden nodded while pushing his tools back in his belt. “Yeah, although I think we need to keep an eye on that Peter guy.”
The new homeowner, Peter, had been nothing but a pain in their asses. He wanted to make a palace out of a dumpster with minimal funds.
Keenan groaned but was secretly happy that for once his younger brother had dealt with Peter. “What happened?”
“Came storming in and demanded to know why we hadn’t finished the drywall yet.”
“I’ll talk with him, Aide.”
Aiden lifted his chin and said, “No need. I’ve handled it.”
Yesterday, when he protested she couldn’t take Tommy to the park and spar there, Ryleigh said that he needed to show her he trusted her and to give her some slack.
Maybe it was time for him to let Aiden do things in his own way without him butting in or taking over. They would be partners in less than a month when they would take over their dad’s construction company.
Keenan picked up his phone for an incoming text.
MOM: Hey sweetheart. I hope you had a great day at work. Did you invite Ryleigh like I asked you?
Melissa Mills wasn’t rest assured he’d bring Ryleigh to Friday family dinner and she would never leave things up to fate. Ever since she’d heard they were an item, she’d wanted to come over, but luckily Aiden and Deirdre could convince their mom to give them some room.
KEENAN: Yes. She’s coming with us tonight.
Even before he had the chance to put his phone back into his back pocket of his work pants, his mother called him.
“Hi, Ma.”
“I figured why text if I can call you since you’re holding the phone in your hand?”
He snickered and mouthed at Aiden ‘Ma’.
His brother waved and said in a hushed tone of voice, “Okay, I’m going home and shower. See you at Ma’s?”
Keenan nodded at Aiden and listened to his mother on the other end of the line.
As always, his mother got straight to the point.
“I’m so happy that you’re bringing her with you. I don’t understand why it took you so long to bring her over.”
He locked the door and walked away from the renovation site. With a sigh he said, “Ma, she already met the family at Tommy’s birthday. It’s not like I’m hiding her from you.”
His mother hummed again. When she said nothing, Keenan fell right into her trap and asked, “What?”
“I heard a little birdy say that Tommy has no nanny now that—”
“Well, Ry is my girlfriend now, so I’m not paying her to spend time with my son. That would be weird.”
His mother laughed in his ear. “I know. It’s just that I always enjoyed looking after Tommy for you. Maybe I can take Tommy one day a week so that you and Ryleigh can have a weeknight all to yourself?”
He got into his truck and placed his phone in the hands free car kit. He spoke into the cabin, “I’m sure Tommy would love that, Ma. That would be awesome, I love you.”
“I love you. We’ll talk things through tonight.”