Redwood Bend (Virgin River #18)(84)

“Let her decide, Conner. I’ve never been married, never been a father. But I have an idea what it takes and I’ll do my best.”

“Do you have any idea how important Katie’s happiness is to me?”

“I can guess,” Dylan said. “Do you have any idea how sorry I am that her father is deceased? Because I can’t imagine he’d be any tougher to please than you.”

Conner gave a huff of laughter. “You might want to take that back—my dad was a pretty grumpy old coot, even when he was young.”

“Big surprise,” Dylan said. “I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Conner thought for a minute. “We should probably go have a beer. Talk about some particulars. Like how you’re going to take care of her with a business that isn’t doing too well. And what you’re going to say if she doesn’t like where and how you live.”

“I don’t hear a lot of pounding or sawing,” Dylan said. “Does most of Haggerty Construction now know I want to marry my pregnant girlfriend?”

“I’d have to say yes, if they don’t know now, they soon will. Let’s go. You’re buying.”

“Fine,” Dylan said. “Jack’s?”

“The only game in town. See you there. I’ll pack up my tools.”

Dylan walked toward the door. He turned back and faced about six men, all very large, all wearing tool belts, all looking like they’d prefer more gossip than a chance to beat him up. “Get back to work,” he said to them. “That’s all I’m giving you.” And then he left and drove back to Virgin River.

Dylan was nursing a cup of coffee when Conner finally showed up. The bar was still empty, the dinner crowd not yet arrived. Conner sat up on the stool beside Dylan and said to Jack, “Give him a beer. And run him a tab.”

“I’m picking up the boys and taking them home.”

“No, you’re not. I checked in with Leslie—she’s going to take the boys home for you.”

Dylan stiffened. “Hey, I haven’t run this plan by Katie yet. I’d rather Leslie not fill her in on our discussion.”

“Relax. Les is going to tell Katie that we’re having a beer together. Hopefully she’ll see that as a good thing.”

“Leslie is a nice lady,” Dylan said. “So here’s a pertinent question—you planning on marrying Leslie?”

“That’s between us. And by the way, she’s not pregnant…”

Jack stepped in front of them, delivering a couple of beers. “I have some experience with this if you’re interested.”

“No,” they said in unison.

“Jeez,” Jack said. “Have it your way.” And he moved away and went into the kitchen.

Conner turned toward Dylan. “I take it you’ve never found yourself in this position before?”

“Nope,” Dylan confirmed. “You?”

“Nope,” Conner said. Then he shrugged and added, “Can’t say why. I’ve never proven myself to be all that smart.”

Dylan laughed in spite of himself. “Katie thinks you walk on water…”

“She’s biased. So, what’s your plan, big shot?”

“Well, it’s simple. I have a meeting in L.A. tomorrow night—should be quick. Then like I said, I have to go back to Montana—I think the kids will like it. It’s a lot like here, but rougher sometimes, like in winter. Winters can be brutal. It’s small, nice people, good schools, clean air, very big sky…”

“Right. So—suppose they like it?”

“If they like Payne and like me, that could make life pretty easy since we should all be together.”

“In Montana…”

“Where to live is up to Katie, all right? If she can’t stand the idea of being away from you, we’ll work with that. I can probably find some kind of job around here…”

“What’s this crap about you being some kind of big star?” Conner asked.

“A long, long time ago. I’m a has-been, and frankly I like it that way. I wouldn’t want to raise the twins in Hollywood. Or this new one, either. I’d rather raise them on egg and milk money.”

“And what the hell does that mean? Egg and milk money?”

“My little airport can probably support a couple of families just on plane storage, maintenance, a few charters, the occasional instruction. The airport is on my ranch, which is about sixty acres—a few cows, some chickens, some goats. I have a hand who likes taking care of the animals. We sell eggs and stock—he bought us a bull several years ago. The little bit of laying and breeding we do just about covers his salary. I lease some grazing land to a rancher but Ham, that’s my hand, he has a big summer garden at my place. We hunt and fish. We process our kill and eat it all winter.”

“You’re not rich?” Conner asked.

“Nope.”

“No big star money?”

“Nope. But I get by pretty well. The way I live—it’s healthy.”

“And you fly? Leave home a lot?”

“Less often than a commercial pilot. And it’s a tight community—we all look out for each other. I live in the valley and we have lots of wildlife—ours can be a little more challenging. We have the occasional grizzly—a lot more aggressive than black bear, but they tend to like the mountains. We have moose, deer, elk, coyote, mountain lions, bobcats, wolves. We have dogs who wake us up if the wolves or cats start pestering the chickens or goats. We keep the barn and pens secure against predators. Why buy a chicken or goat to feed to wolves?” Dylan took a drink of his beer. “Boys and girls grow up strong and healthy.”