Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
When in doubt, look intelligent.
—Keely to Copper
KEELY
I was tired of sitting on my ass.
Or my ass was tired of me sitting on it.
Either way, I got up and stretched, hating the way that my power suit felt like it was suffocating me.
“Where are you going?” Copper asked in amusement.
I looked over at him and elaborated, “I was going to see if there was anything to eat in the breakroom.”
“The only food in the breakroom is other people’s,” he pointed out.
“So…” I trailed off.
He grinned and stood up. “Come on, let’s go to the hospital.”
“What?” I asked.
He threw his arm around my shoulder and replied, “Chevy’s at work today, and I know there’s a pretty good little coffee shop in there that has excellent pastries. And it’s only a few blocks away.”
It was true.
Castanon Enterprises was fairly centrally located.
It was fifteen minutes away from the lake where my brothers lived. A five-minute walk from the hospital. A ten-minute walk to my—now Copper’s—apartment. And a two-minute walk to the Krispy Kreme on the corner.
Originally, they’d found this building because I was supposed to be working at the hospital with Chevy, and it was closer to everyone. But then I’d quit and went to work at the sleep center that was well over twenty-five minutes away.
“You just want to see the cute patient care tech that Chevy was talking about yesterday.” I laughed.
“I want to see her because she intrigues him,” Copper pointed out. “Chevy doesn’t get intrigued often, you know.”
That was true.
It took a lot to get Chevy’s attention.
But that was likely his genius coming out.
Chevy was the hardest brother I had.
Not because he was a bad brother, but because he was just so smart that it was hard to relate to him sometimes. Plus, he couldn’t understand when you didn’t get something that he could. It was highly frustrating to him that we weren’t on his level, and sometimes he couldn’t see past the gap in our intelligences.
Chevy was a great brother.
Truly, he was.
But Chevy was also socially challenged on top of everything else.
Needless to say, Chevy even mentioning this girl was enough to intrigue all of us.
I couldn’t blame Copper for wanting to go visit.
“Sounds like a plan,” I said as I grabbed my purse and phone.
I glanced at the phone, frowning slightly when I realized that it’d been a while since I’d gotten a text from Dima.
He’d said he wasn’t too busy today and would catch up with me around lunch.
Granted, it was only ten, but I would’ve thought I’d hear from him by now…
“You’re a little bit obsessed,” Copper teased as we got into the elevator.
I shrugged. “Is that a bad thing?”
He shook his head. “No.”
We rode down the elevator in silence, and I couldn’t stop myself from pulling my phone out and sending a text.
Me:
Hey, what are you doing?
Since I wasn’t expecting an immediate reply, I shoved my phone back into my purse.
When we rounded the building, I asked, “How are you doing really, Copper?”
He looked down at me, then back ahead before saying, “Are you asking me how I’m coping not being in a prison?”
“Yes,” I answered. “Though, I wasn’t trying to announce to the whole world you were in prison.”
He shrugged. “I was.”
“Copper…” I grumbled.
His lips tipped up. “Surprisingly well.”
I bumped him, which caused him to laugh.
“I’m doing good, sister,” he said softly. “I thought it would be harder than it was, but I think that it’s because I have y’all as a support system.” He hesitated. “I don’t think that I ever expected to get out and have money, though.”
I rolled my eyes. “What, you thought we’d all spend our money while you were in there and not have your back?”
“I wouldn’t blame you,” he admitted.
I pulled him to a stop with a hand to his sleeve and yanked his shirt at the collar, causing him to bend toward me.
“I don’t blame you for anything,” I whispered harshly. “I blame myself.”
His eyes widened. “What? Why?”
“Because what he was doing to me was the reason you had to go to prison in the first place,” I pointed out. “If he hadn’t been hurting me, you wouldn’t have reacted like you did. And I wouldn’t have stolen fifteen years of your life!”
He wrapped me up in his arms so tightly that I couldn’t breathe and lifted me off my feet.
“I would go to prison for life to stop him from hurting you ever again,” he whispered fiercely. “I love you.”
Tears burned my eyes and I closed them to keep them from falling.
I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat and said, “I never wanted you to go, though. I needed you with me.”
He smoothed a hand over my hair and said, “It’s okay now.”
It wasn’t, but if he wanted to pretend, I would, too.
I let my head fall onto his solid shoulder and said, “I’m sorry I wouldn’t visit you for the last few years.”