“I remember him.”
“Ned was pretty pissed when Jesse showed him the books this summer. He thought we were going to follow his business plan into the sun, but he didn’t understand just how good Jesse is at what he does.”
“Didn’t expect Mumbles to outshine him.”
“Don’t call him that.” Zach tried not to laugh. Jesse had been over six feet since he was twelve, but his personality took a long time to catch up to his size. He was still quiet, mostly. But he wasn’t shy and he wouldn’t hesitate to fuck someone up.
“You know I’m joking. Jesse’s a good kid.”
“And Ned underestimated him. We had the amenities and the accommodations, but we were understaffed.”
“I remember. You’re not supposed to penny pinch and cut corners at a place like Big Rock.”
“Exactly. Jess had the financial vision for it and it’s paying off.”
“I need him to talk to Thomas. Maybe he can help them give Pleasant Brothers Construction the jumpstart they need. I’m glad you boys are holding it down.”
“Me too. I’m not going back out on the circuit for cash. My body can’t take it anymore.”
“You’re young. You can handle it.”
“Yeah, tell my knees that. I did a simple dismount for some guests two weeks ago. Stood still, cheesing like a damn asshole until Felix got their attention so I could hobble away. My knee saidyeeet!”
Uncle Gerald laughed, then abruptly cleared his throat. Zach knew what was coming. “How’s my baby girl?”
“She’s fine.” Zach looked back in the window and could see Lilah showing Evie something on her phone. He almost mentioned Evie to his uncle, but thought better of it. “She’s doing a great job. She’s definitely getting a raise next quarter.”
“Do you think she’ll speak to me this time?”
“We can give it a try. Hold on one second.” Zach opened the French doors and stepped back inside the kitchen. “Hey Li, you want to talk to your dad?”
“No.” She didn’t bother looking up. “Thank you.”
“Alright then.” Zach stepped back out onto the patio and closed the door.
“She say no?”
“Yeah. Sorry, Unc.”
“It’s okay. I’m fine since I know she’s with you. Her mother cussed me out ’cause we had all our kids here except her. I wish I knew how to parent girls. Better.”
“Well, step one, don’t try to marry them off.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Zach loved his aunt and uncle, but they were a little too old-school when it came to Lilah. He remembered the odd text she’d sent him in the middle of the night, asking him for the codes to the front gate. She’d taken the bus from her parents’ house in Napa down to Charming. He’d been up the rest of the night with her and Miss Leona when they finally pieced together why she had literally up and run away from home. Neither of them could blame her.
That was almost two years ago. She’d been living with them in Charming ever since. She kept in touch with her mom over email, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak to her dad. Zach knew he had to stay out of it. Especially when he and Jesse weren’t all that far removed from their issues with their own father when it came to their lives and their family business.
“Just give her some more time. She’ll forgive you eventually.”
“Yeah. I hope so. Give Miss Leona a big kiss and a hug for me, and if you can try to convince Lilah to call her mother. She can be mad at me, but Denise misses her girl.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Zach talked to his uncle for a few more minutes before they called it a night. He stood out on the patio a while longer, enjoying the cool winter evening. The temperature dropped in Charming the moment the sun went down, and though his brothers probably wouldn’t believe him, he enjoyed these quiet moments at the end of the day, especially during Big Rock’s busy seasons.
He’d been up at the ranch since dawn, catching up on all the things he’d missed while they’d been in New York. They had a wonderful crew over at Big Rock. He trusted all his operations leads to make sure things ran smoothly day in and day out, but he was also pretty hands-on. Not because he wanted to micromanage, but because he loved the ranch.