Chapter 157

Upon arriving at the Melendez family’s place, the minute Clara stepped in, Alex bolted out from inside and jumped right into her arms.

Clara glanced at Emmett cautiously, always worrying that Alex’s exuberance might be misunderstood.

He really likes you, as his mom.”

“Yeah, Alex and I get along great.” Clara chuckled as Alex grabbed her face and planted a kiss on it.

“Dad, I want to kiss you too!”

Emmett was taken aback when Alex made this request.

Clara moved Alex over to him, “Go on, give him a kiss. Your dad’s just a bit shy.”

Alex didn’t give a hoot and went straight in for a kiss.

Emmett’s face stiffened for a moment, then he reached out and pulled Alex into his arms.

“Dad, I want you to pick me up and hold me real high!”

Clara quickly intervened, “Alex, your dad’s beat. Let him rest first!”

“It’s fine,” Emmett said. “You go ahead inside, I’ll play with him for a bit.”

Clara conceded, “Alright, I’ll go check on Aiden.”

She walked into the room, knowing Aiden would be in the study doing his homework.

Entering the room with a glass of water, Clara said, “Aiden, have some water. Take a break before you carry on.”

“Mom, I want to finish up first then take a break!”

Clara gently patted his head, “You’re such a good boy. Mom’s so proud of you.”

“Where’s Alex?” Aiden only just realized his brother wasn’t there.

Clara sighed, “He ran off to play. He’s not a bookworm like you.”

“Alex just doesn’t like studying, but he’s really smart. He picks up things quickly when I teach him.”

“You’re such a sweetheart!”

“Not at all. Alex is my little brother. As the older one, I should know more.”

“That’s my boy!” Clara beamed, “I’ll leave you to it then. Come find me when you’re done.”

“Okay!”

As Clara left the study, she saw Emmett carrying Alex towards her.

“Alex, hurry up and go study with your brother!”

Alex pouted, “But I want to play with dad.”

“That won’t do! Look, your brother’s almost done with his homework and you haven’t even started!”

“Go do your homework, I’ll play with you later,” Emmett said as he put him down. Alex reluctantly agreed and headed off.

Clara led the way back to the bedroom with Emmett following close behind.

“Your friend’s lumber, does it need to be imported or it’s already in the country?” Emmett suddenly asked.

Clara thought for a moment, “I think it’s stored in the country! You’ve already handed it over to Ricardo?”

“Yes, Ricardo is tallying up the amount of lumber needed and then he’ll liaise with your friend.”

“You’re just going to straight up use my friend’s lumber? Clara was somewhat worried, “I haven’t seen it yet! I think you should let Ricardo check it out first before making a decision. This is a big deal, if there’s a problem after construction starts, it’ll be too late.”

Emmett laughed, “Don’t worry, Ricardo knows what he’s doing. You brought it up, if I reject your friend’s offer, wouldn’t that make your friend feel like you don’t have any rights in the Melendez family?”