Yolo (Carter Brothers #7)

Chapter 25

Turns out I’m not depressed. I just need to go on vacation and get bent over every piece of furniture in the VRBO .

— Text from Bindi to Garrett

GARRETT

6 months later

“ Your wife is in your front yard mowing.”

I blinked, positive that I hadn’t heard him correctly.

“ I’m sorry, but can you repeat that?” I asked.

“ Your wife.” Hollis giggled. “ She’s in your front yard mowing your grass.”

The pure terror that shot through me upon the thought of her, blind, on my zero turn made the stomach acid bubble up my throat.

“ Fuck ,” I said as I all but ran out of the room.

“ Garrett , calm down!” she called out, but I ignored her and ran out of the house.

I didn’t find her on my zero turn.

I found her using a push mower that I used when I was doing the small side yard between my brother’s place and mine.

I stopped when I saw her in my front yard, sure enough, mowing my grass.

I remembered this morning when she asked me about the yard.

“ What’s the shape of it?” she’d asked.

I’d explained the shape and the flower beds. I’d told her about the sidewalk with the small rock creek that ran through it.

I’d also explained how I mowed the closer sections to the landscaping with the push mower.

She’d found that push mower, too.

She’d mowed over half the yard.

Some of it was bad, obvious missed spots throughout.

Then there were other spots that were fantastic.

As I watched, she bent down, the front of the mower going up with her movement and felt the grass.

Upon feeling the high grass spots with her fingers, she readjusted the mower and started walking again.

I watched her for the next fifteen minutes as she all but finished mowing the yard. All that was left were the parts that she didn’t want to get too close to.

Her father had joined me at some point, watching his girl with fascination just like I was.

“ She’s something, isn’t she?” he asked.

“ You’ve definitely given me a gift,” I agreed.

We’d been married last night.

We’d decided to forgo the honeymoon because she was six months pregnant with our baby.

Maybe next year we’d go on that honeymoon, but for now, she was staying in sight of her doctor.

She wasn’t high-risk or anything, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t freak out constantly.

“ Wow ,” Auden said as he came up to stand beside me. “ I’m impressed.”

I was, too.

Her sheer stubbornness was intoxicating.

“ Do you think she can do mine next?” I heard Atlas call.

The lawnmower shut off, and she turned, searching for the source of the yell.

“ What are you doing, baby girl?” her father asked.

Bindi beamed, and I couldn’t stop myself from walking toward her.

“ Mom helped me,” she glowed. “ She FaceTimed with me and told me when I needed to turn a little bit. We’ve never mowed a lawn before, but it was fun.”

I looked at the woman on the screen and smiled. “ I appreciate it, Lea . Lunch break?”

Lea waved. “ You’re most welcome. I can’t wait to do it again with her next week. And yes, we’re just eating and talking.”

She signed off, leaving the now-black-faced phone strapped to her chest.

She placed the headphones she’d pulled out of her ears into her pocket and said, “ I thought you were planning our vacation?”

“ I was, until Hollis came in from work and said you were mowing the lawn,” I drawled.

She scrunched up her nose. “ I was bored. And I miss being outside and sweating.”

I could imagine being stuck inside the house with nothing to do was suffocating sometimes.

“ We go on walks every night,” I pointed out.

“ Yeah , but I miss the sun. I miss the burn of the muscles in my legs as I push them. I’m …” She trailed off.

“ You can start working out with me,” I said. “ If your doctor okays it, that is.”

She patted her belly. “ I don’t need more than just a walk for now. When he’s born, then we’ll discuss more.”

I was relieved, even though I didn’t tell her that.

“ Hey , bro.”

I looked over to find Quincy walking toward me, his youngest daughter strapped to his chest.

“ What’s up?” I asked.

“ Got the news,” he said. “ The Harris family was sentenced to multiple counts of attempted murder.”

The grin that split my face was epic. “ Really ?”

“ Really ,” he confirmed. “ And the lawsuit was announced. They officially owe you twenty million dollars, Bindi .”

Bindi shook her head.

That was the one thing she hadn’t wanted to deal with, but her father’s urging had forced her to pursue it anyway.

“ I guess everyone’s kids will be set for life.” Bindi chuckled.

Quincy snorted. “ They have to find a way to pay for it first.”

“ That’s their problem,” Ruben grumbled. “ I got the mower, honey. You head inside and get some water.”

Ruben and Lea had taken me up on the guest house and had made the final move here two months ago.

Also , it was a running joke at the department that Bindi and I were in a secret relationship, even though half of the department had attended our wedding.

Everyone loved to tease Bindi .

It was all in good fun, though.

She took it like a sport, and I got to love on my wife anytime, anywhere. Department or not.

“ So what’s next, Garrett ?” she asked.

Auden and Quincy left with a wink, and I twirled a piece of Bindi’s wild hair around my finger as I said, “ The rest of our life, Bindi Carter .”