Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

SLATE

I held my precious, two-week-old nephew carefully, cradling his head and doing my very best not to break him. Since I didn't have much experience with babies, I sat stock still, terror racing through me like lightning every time he made a sound or moved.

Mira giggled. "Relax, big brother. He's not made of glass. If they broke as easy as you seem to think they do, the human race would've gone extinct a long time ago."

Meanwhile, Logan hovered, standing behind the sofa I was on and unhelpfully trying to give me pointers. "Make sure you support his head. He can't hold it up by himself yet."

"Yeah, I know," I murmured, my gaze glued to Beau's beautiful little face.

It was incredible that this fully formed human being had emerged from my sister and yet he had Logan's nose, his eye shape, and his mouth. I knew how it all worked, but shit. It was overwhelming to experience it like this.

The only thing I was absolutely sure of as I stared at the perfection that was my nephew was that he was the most incredible thing, the biggest miracle, I'd ever laid eyes on. This was only my second ever time seeing him, and I already knew I would die for this kid without even thinking twice about it.

"I'm going to be the best uncle ever." I whispered the promise as I dragged the backs of my fingers gently across the soft skin of his cheek. "One day, you and I are going to get into so much trouble together. You just need to get a little bit older, and then we're going to drive your parents nuts."

Logan chuckled and leaned over the back of the sofa to murmur into my ear. "Just try and leave me out of it, bro. I'll be right there, causing trouble with you and keeping him safe in the process."

I huffed out a breath, but I got it. I really did. "No fair. I'll keep him safe. It's just not the same if your dad is around. The cool uncle, on the other hand? Now he's fun."

Logan scoffed. "Dads can be fun too."

Beau's mouth suddenly opened in a soundless scream and I stiffened, my heart tripping over itself until I realized it wasn't a scream at all, but a yawn. I relaxed again, bracing his weight against my chest and holding him as tight as I dared.

"I think someone's ready for his nap," I murmured, glancing up at my sister. "He's yawning. That means he's tired, right?"

She smiled as she nodded. "Yeah, Slate. That means he's tired. He is a person, after all. All the regular stuff humans do, he does those things too."

I glared at her playfully. "I'm flipping you off mentally. I was just checking."

Logan laughed, walking around the couch and tenderly lifting his son out of my arms. "I'll go put him down for a nap. Give you two a minute to talk."

Mira nodded her thanks at him, a serene smile on her face as she settled back on the sofa she was on. Motherhood suited my sister. Wearing soft, loose-fitting clothes, she sat cross-legged on the sofa, her features smooth and relaxed.

Tired, sure, but she looked happier for it. Like this was a good kind of tired as opposed to the other kind. I grinned at her. "You guys seem to be doing okay."

"We're really good," she said softly, glancing at the hallway Logan had disappeared into with Beau. "It's been a hell of a learning curve, but we're managing so far. I think at the moment, it's just about spending as much time as possible with him and getting to know him, but he's a newborn. Thank God they don't come out mobile and with opinions."

I chuckled. "You'll be fine. I'll help with the babyproofing when the time comes and you're pretty opinionated yourself. So is Logan. I'm sure you guys will survive if Beau is the same way."

"Thanks, big brother. We'll be fine. I know we will be, but it's just pretty scary to think about everything that's coming, you know? It's, uh, like my heart has suddenly left my body and now it's up to me to prepare it for life on its own. I don't know how parents do it."

"You'll figure it out," I said confidently. "If anyone can do it, it's you two."

She smiled. "What about you? How's life been treating you since you got out of the oil business? Are you glad you took me up on my offer?"

"I am, but I'm still feeling a little adrift," I admitted, picking up the soda I'd forgotten about while holding the baby. "I've been enjoying the time I took off, but it's time for the party to end, you know? The workaholic in me is getting restless. I need to find a new challenge and I need to do it fast."

"Any ideas yet?" she asked.

I shook my head. "None that interest me in the long term."

"You'll find something," she said, then dragged in a deep breath and grimaced a little bit. "Before you do though, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

"Okay," I said slowly. "Do you need me to run to the store for you or something?"

She shifted on her legs, folding them sideways underneath her as she fidgeted with her fingers in her lap. "No, it's a little bit more complicated than that. I'd do it myself, but I can't bring myself to give up even a single second with Beau, so I need you to step in for me."

"Step in with what?" I asked, my hackles slowly rising. "I just got out of the game, Mira."

"I know, and I swear I'm not trying to lure you back in. You're just the only one with the proper know-how I trust enough to ask."

"I'm in," I said without hesitation when I realized how much this meant to her. For a second there, I'd thought she might want me to go back as acting CEO, which I wasn't really up for doing right then, but this wasn't that. "I'll do anything for you to be able to stay here with Beau, except to go back to the rigs full time. What do you need?"

"For you to go to upstate New York," she said. "There's a small town called Firefly Grove out there. It's only a few hours from here."

I arched an eyebrow at her, mentally combing over everything I knew about the state and coming up empty. As far as I knew, it was mostly farmland around there. A rural area. "I've never even heard of the place. Are you sure it's real? It sounds like something out of that Gilmore Girls show you made me watch when we were kids and you had the flu."

She laughed. "It's real. I promise."

"If you say so," I teased, leaning back on the sofa as I brought my soda to my lips. "Let's say it is real, what do you need me to go up there for? I know it's been a few months since I was the boss, but Spieres Consulting hasn't gotten into agriculture, has it?"

"Not yet," she joked. "Maybe I'm considering it, though."

I snorted. "No, you're not. No way you'd be getting into something just as time-consuming as the oil business when all you want is to be here with Beau. I may not have heard of Firefly Grove, but isn't it all farm country up there?"

"Yeah, it is and you're right. Farming is another round-the-clock business, so I'm not getting into it, but I still need you to go out there for me."

"Are you ever going to come out and tell me what for?" I asked, bending over and resting my elbows on my knees. "I'm starting to get an ominous feeling about this favor."

"It's nothing ominous," she said quickly, her eyes widening as she shook her head. "It's just, uh, it might take a few weeks and I know you're trying to figure out what to do with the rest of your life, but on the upside, you'll have plenty of quiet, free time up there to think about it."

I rocked my head from side to side. "I guess the free time depends on what I'm going to be doing there, but I'm serious about the favor. Of course, I'll do it for you. Especially if it's going to pull you away from Beau for that long if I say no."

Relief washed over her features. "A friend of mine has a family farm out there and they just struck oil. They're farmers, Slate. They were looking for water and they found something slightly more precious."

I whistled softly. "Wow. That's great news for your friend. Farming is a tough industry. No doubt this will buy them some peace of mind."

"Sure, but they're in way over their heads," she explained. "They need someone there with them to help them navigate their next steps and they thought of us, but I can't do the commute every day and I also can't go for however long it might take until it's all settled."

I groaned. "Small towns really aren't my scene, and farms? I think I might just rather go back to the rigs, but sure, sis. I already said I'd do it."

"It should only be for a month. Maybe six weeks, and then you'll be back here before you know it."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay. I'm in. Some peace and quiet may not be the worst thing in the world, but you owe me."

She shot up from the sofa and tossed her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a big hug. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I do. I owe you. Just name it and it's yours, but you have to see this through, okay? This could change the lives of my friend's whole family. I really need you to be on top of your game."

"I always am," I said, hugging her back and already wondering what the hell I'd just gotten myself into.

I'd only been out of the oil game for a couple of months and I was about to dive right back in. At least I wouldn't be going out on a rig, but at this point, that might've been better.

Having spent half of my life on the floating platforms, at least I knew what was what on those things, but a farm? I might as well have been going to Mars. Ultimately, however, my feet would be staying on solid ground and my sister needed me to do this, and that was really all I needed to know.