Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Hadn’t we all?
As much as I loved the chaos of a rambunctious family, it felt good when Adam, Callie, and Sam fell asleep around eight that night. Colin and Cas could entertain themselves a lot better, and now Daddy Roe and Daddy Jake could relax on the couch and drink Irish coffee. Nikki and Russell sat next to us, halfway into a food coma.
The coffee table was filled with Christmas treats the ladies had brought over, and even though I was so fucking full, I couldn’t resist the dark chocolate cranberry clusters. Haley had made them.
She plopped down on Seth’s lap in one of the cushy chairs, and I felt his pain. We all heard his groan.
“Honey, I’m so full.”
“I know, me too.” She was a hell-raiser. She leaned back against him and got real comfortable.
“Good luck with that one,” Jake said. “No take-backs.”
I rumbled a tired laugh.
“Daddy!” Cas came running from the hallway in his snowman pajamas. “Colin’s falling asleep to the movie!”
So should you.
Karma was a bitch or something. All my life, I’d heard how difficult I was to get to fall asleep as a kid, so I guessed it made perfect sense my boy was just the same. He would deny he was tired until he was dead to the world.
“What’s wrong with that?” I shifted a bowl of popcorn away from the edge of the table as he squeezed past Nikki’s and Russell’s legs. Then he crawled up on my lap.
“We were gonna play after the movie,” he complained.
“There’s always tomorrow.” I hugged him to me. “Hey—if you fall asleep now, it’ll be Christmas faster.”
“I wonder if there’s a parent who’s never uttered those words,” Nikki chuckled.
Casper mumbled something to himself and rested his cheek against my chest. Cuddly Cas was the best. And he hadn’t lost his interest in fiddling with Jake’s watch. My boy yawned and reached for Jake, who leaned closer to me and gave Cas his wrist.
“I’m not sleepy,” Cas muttered.
Jake rested his chin on my shoulder and smiled softly. “’Course you’re not.”
I kissed the side of his head.
Had I ever been this happy before?
CHAPTER 5
2019
“Good morning, you’re Off Topic with Roe Finlay and Jake Denver. I’m Roe, and Jake is starting off the new year with a man cold. It’s gonna be a wonderful week!”
“Let’s be clear—we don’t even know if I’m gonna make it,” Jake said hoarsely.
“Through the week?” I smirked and took a swig of my coffee.
“Through the day.”
I chuckled.
While he stayed on his side of the table—dressed in a hoodie and sweats, his mug filled with steaming hot tea that he didn’t like—and did his best to look alive, I moved us along to the first topic of the day. We had a lot to cover.
“For those of you watching on YouTube, you’ve probably noticed our table’s packed with hiking gear,” I said, adjusting my headphones. “This is everything we’re allowed to bring with us to Alaska.”
“Filming begins in two weeks, so this month may very well be the last you’ll hear from us,” Jake said.
“I’m glad you woke up on the optimistic side of the bed today,” I noted. “As we’ve mentioned before, Jake and I are on our own for this project. We picked the absolute worst season to do a survival show in Alaska, but hey, that’s part of the challenge. Which brings us to our equipment—and I’m not talking about the seventeen-thousand-dollar lens Jake bought this week, but our livestream.”
“You just had to get that in there.”
“Obviously,” I replied. “Anyway. It might be a minute before the series premieres, but rest easy. We will have two cameras shooting at all times while we’re up there. No audio—because, to be frank, I don’t want you to hear me cry for rescue when my toes turn blue—but you’ll be able to see us on our month-long livestream.” I paused and pulled up a tab on my laptop. “Jake, can you set the mood for our listeners? What can we expect when we arrive in the Last Frontier state?”
He coughed and reached for his useless cough drops. “Yup—so we’ll be dropped at an undisclosed location, where we’ll meet up with two locals who work as wilderness guides. They’re also very familiar with SAR missions, so Roe doesn’t have to worry too much.”
I grinned into my coffee mug. We truly would be on our own—but our guides wouldn’t be too far away.
“They will take us to the spear of a small peninsula, where Roe and I are going to spend a month just trying to survive,” he went on. “At our disposal, we have a small hunting cabin. It has no heat, no running water, no electricity, no insulation, no amenities. It’s a single room with a fireplace, basically. We will hunt our own food—to be exact, we will fish, trap, and forage. Hunting season’s over. Last but not least, we have a series of tasks we have to complete.”