Ride With Me (Paige and Jace) novel Chapter 75

CHAPTER 45-2

Married another platter of pancakes from the kitchen just as one of the younger boys looked up at

“Aunt Paige, can I have two more?” He asked and I smiled as I placed the platter in front of him.

“You can have two more if you promise not to blame me when you can’t move afterward.” I said.

“I can definitely move.” He said.

“We’ll see about that in half an hour.” I said and the children giggled while Emma shook her head

“You’ve become very good at negotiating.” Emma said.

“I work with mechanics. They’re not much different.” I said and Hunter pointed his fork toward me

“I heard that.” Hunter said.

“You were supposed to.” I said.

Laughter rolled around the table again and I found myself laughing right along with everyone else.

Once breakfast slowed down, the children disappeared back outside carrying footballs, bicycles

and enough energy to power the entire county.

The adults remained around the table with fresh cups of coffee.

Conversation drifted naturally from weekend plans to upcoming charity events before Emma

looked across at me.

“I’ve been meaning to ask something.” Emma said so I looked up.

“That sounds dangerous.” I said but she smiled.

“I wanted to hear more about Uncle Will.” She said.

Several others looked toward me with quiet interest. I rested both hands around my coffee mug before smiling to myself.

“He had the worst sense of direction I’ve ever seen.” I said.

“The man rebuilt motorcycles from memory.” Hunter said.

“He could. But ask him to find a campground he’d visited ten times and somehow we’d end up beside a lake three counties away.”

“Seriously?” Jace chuckled.

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73

CHAPTER 45-2

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“Completely serious. One summer we spent nearly two hours driving around because he insisted the map was wrong.” I said as I laughed at the memory.

“Was it?” Jace asked.

“No. The map was perfectly fine.” I said.

“What happened?” Jace asked.

“He eventually admitted he’d been holding it upside down.” I said and the entire table burst into laughter and Emma wiped tears from the corners of her eyes.

“I like him already.” Emma said.

“He pretended he’d done it on purpose just to teach me patience.” I said.

“I assume you didn’t believe him.” Emma said.

“Not for one second.” I chuckled and another memory surfaced almost immediately.

“He also thought every mechanical lesson needed a reward.” I said.

“What kind of reward?” Derek asked.

“Pie.” I said and Hunter nodded approvingly.

“Smart man.” Hunter said.

“If I successfully rebuilt a carburetor, we bought pie. If I remembered every tool name, we bought pie. If I managed not to swear after smashing my thumb with a hammer…we definitely bought pie.”

I said and Hunter leaned back in his chair.

“I feel like he and I would’ve been close friends.” Hunter said.

“I think he would’ve liked you…eventually. Probably after telling you to stop talking so much.” I said

and everyone laughed again.

The stories continued for another half hour and with every memory I shared, Uncle Will somehow

felt present at the table instead of lost to the past.

As the conversation gradually shifted to other topics, I sat quietly for a moment with my coffee. A

strange realization settled over me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d thought about my

parents.

Not with anger. Not with sadness and not even with frustration. Days had passed without Charles, Victoria or Charlotte occupying my thoughts.

Instead, my mind had been filled with Lawson Customs, the clubhouse, Uncle Will’s stories and the

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