Forever After (Montana Brides) by Leeanna Morgan

“Are you ready for our meeting, old man?”
    Sam smiled at his best friend. “Enough of the old man business. It’s not my birthday for another two days.”
      “Two days, two months,” Patrick shrugged. “It makes no difference to the aging process.”
    “You should know. It’s not age that’s added all those grey hairs to your head. It’s that tribe of kids you created.” Sam laughed at the proud smile slipping across Patrick’s face. “You’ll never recover from all the years of sleepless nights and interrupted sleep you’ve gone through.”
    Sitting heavily down in the chair opposite Sam’s desk, Patrick grimaced. “And it’s not over yet. Jasmine’s hit sixteen, and she’s determined to go out on her first date this weekend. I’ve got a list a mile long of all the things I don’t want her to do, but what good is that?”
    “What about locking her in her room until she’s twenty-six?” Sam’s face grew warm. His brain started connecting dots that weren’t there. Nicky was twenty-six, and locking her in her room seemed like a pretty fine idea to him. Especially if he happened to be on the inside with her.
    Patrick raised his eyebrows. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
    Sam grabbed a handful of papers off his desk and glanced at the clock on the wall. “You’d better give me your report now because I’ve got a lunch date with an architect in thirty minutes.”
    “A houseful of kids isn’t the only reason a man’s sleep can be disrupted,” Patrick grinned. “It’s what got the kids there in the first place that causes the greyest hair.”
    “Ain’t that the truth,” muttered Sam, opening the first file Patrick handed to him. “How did your site visit with Nicky go?”
    “It hasn’t. I had an urgent meeting on Monday so we postponed her visit until two o’clock today. I’ve sent through our procedure manuals and contact lists, so she’s probably got about as many questions as I’ve got for Jasmine’s boyfriend. It’ll be interesting to see what she thinks. We work a tight ship on site, but there’s always room for change.” He leaned forward. “Any news on how she wants to improve things?”
    Sam watched Patrick’s fingers drum against the arm of his chair. He glanced up. “Nicky’s still working through some models. She wants to get an idea of whether what she’s looking at on paper, works in practice.”
    Patrick nodded, pointing to the open file in Sam’s hands. “Take a look at those figures for efficiency. The Oasis is on budget and ahead of schedule. Not bad for a sleep deprived father of three.”
    Sam smiled, “Not bad at all. Have you talked with Amanda about the handover ceremony for the apartments?”
    “All set to go. The owners were impressed with what she planned. We’ve sent the invitations out and everyone’s replied. Adam Murphy’s already done the final inspection on tower one, and he’s half way through tower two.”
    “Have many issues surfaced?”
    “Nothing major. We kept a close eye on the subbies as they completed each level. We’re on track for the handover.”
    “Good. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help.”
    Fifteen minutes later Sam’s gaze shot to the wall. “I’ve got to head out now. Are you going downstairs?”
    “No. I’ve got another meeting scheduled with finance.” Patrick picked up his briefcase and headed out the door with Sam. “Did you want to hit Charlie’s Bar and Grill on Sunday night for your birthday?”
    Sam passed Amanda a note before heading toward the elevators. “I can’t. The Scotsons invited me across to their place for a birthday dinner.” The doors pinged open, and he stepped inside. “Count me in for one night next week though.”
    “Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll get back to you with a day that suits. Enjoy your meeting.”  
    Sam let go of the elevator button. “Thanks. See you soon.”

CHAPTER FOUR

    Nicky twisted her chopsticks through the noodles on