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They just loved it when I was in pain, dammit.

CHAPTER 6

River Tenley

All right, extending the sunroof over the terrace helped. So did the fan Reese had wheeled out. I returned to my lounger and slumped down, and I reached for my smokes.

Shay had stocked up the little table next to me before he’d left to run his errands. I had coffee, the last of the sandwich I was too full to finish, and some leftover sweets from the event yesterday. I couldn’t ask for anything else.

The view wasn’t bad either. Reese was checking on the smoker.

It was hot today. And humid. I might throw my ass in the pool in a bit to cool off.

Reese pulled out his phone and chuckled. “Is Shay sendin’ you birthday memes too?”

I stretched out my legs and took a drag from my smoke. “No, he sucked me off instead. I win.”

He rolled his eyes.

I’d had the perfect morning—not counting doing housework, but I couldn’t let the other two do everything. Either way, most importantly, Shay and I hadn’t left the bed until ten AM. That was about two hours later than his usual.

I knew he’d done it for me.

“Listen,” Reese said. “Since I have you alone…” He left the barbecue area and trailed over here.

Something told me he wasn’t ready to discuss our dear old father.

He sat down on the next lounger and left his phone on the table. “I think we need somethin’ to do—especially you. You’re too young to be a senior citizen.”

The fuck? I’d earned my retirement. “I thought we had a three-year plan.”

Retirement was, after all, a temporary thing. It was more like a lengthy break after all those years at Hillcroft.

“We’re almost there,” he pointed out. “The past two years, we’ve gone all in with Mclean, but…have you? Really?”

I frowned.

“How many hours would you say you pull in the community?” he asked. “Four or five a week?”

I scratched my jaw. Maybe thereabouts. I moderated some of the online groups, I covered for August sometimes, and I helped Reese with whatever he needed in the office. Which wasn’t much.

“Thing is, we don’t need more,” he went on. “I can barely load up on enough work to call it a full-time position. But at least I have that. You have zero structure in your day-to-day life, brother. And I think that’s part of what’s affectin’ your sleep.”

He reached over and poked me in the stomach. “You’ve gained a few too.”

Whoa. “Fuck off. Those are love pounds. That’s Shay’s fault,” I defended.

I’d read that new relationships were a common reason for gaining a few pounds.

Reese gave me a wry smirk. “Riv, you went from working long days with irregular hours and daily workouts, overseas deployments, and constant testing, to…” He gestured at me. “Wakin’ up at noon⁠—”

“Ten,” I bit out.

“You could easily sleep till noon,” he replied. “You wander around the house, you sit and read, you doze off out here…”

“I lift weights at least three times a week.”

“Because I make you!” he laughed, frustrated. “Fuckin’ hell, bro. We’re forty-two now. Your genes ain’t gonna keep you healthy that much longer. You gotta put in some effort. Not just for your physical health but mentally. Doin’ nothin’ ain’t good for you.”