Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“A few more weeks. I’ve got enough for a down payment. I wanted to be free and clear of a car payment plus add a little bit more to my savings for a rainy day,” I admit my game plan. During the drive home last night, I started running down the numbers, coming up with what I thought would be good. A decent used car should cost me around fifteen thousand. Since I’ve started stripping, I’ve managed to save about ten thousand. Did I mention this job is lucrative? Five dances a night at three times a week for two weeks, and I’ve managed to save a lot of fucking cake. No wonder women turn this into a career instead of doing it as a side hustle.
“Damn, you’re making that much?” he asks.
“Tips are amazing, though taxes will probably kill me. I think it’ll outweigh the cons, and who knows, maybe Chris will file, and the department of revenue will catch up with him.” I have court mandated child support. That doesn’t mean I get any type of money when he doesn’t have a job. The rare occurrence he does, I’ll see a deposit for a couple of weeks before it dies off.
“Fuckin’ deadbeat. Should’ve never told you to keep his name on the birth certificate. He doesn’t do dick for Briar. Never has, never will. Proud of you, Kenny. Real fuckin’ proud. Still wish you’d let me help more. Lennie tells me to bite my tongue, but I’m finding that hard to do when giving you a bit of cash will alleviate your pain.” I lay my head on his shoulder, looking up at my big brother.
“It’s not your fault, you know that. I could have pushed back, and while I love your need to fix my problems, you shouldn’t have to.” Asher admitting what he did about Chris says a lot. He’s been thinking hard and heavy about that.
“Anytime you change your mind, the money is yours. Loan or no loan.” He presses a kiss on the top of my head. “Got one more thing I wanna run by you. The guys will be here tomorrow. We’re grilling burgers, chicken, corn on the cob, and whatever other sides they decide to make or purchase on their way over here. Want you and Briar here, take a load off. Don’t want you cooking. A whole lot of relaxing before you start your week again. Okay?” My mind is at war about coming over. Trent will undoubtedly be here. He’ll more than likely try to play nice like nothing happened. I’ll bury it deep down yet again and attempt to stay away. The only problem with that is I’ve tried that before; Trent also turned me down back then, and what did my dumbass self decide to do? I ran to the wrong man, into a relationship with Chris. The only good thing that came out of the situation is my pretty baby girl. I take a moment when realization hits that I’m never going to be able to avoid Trent. He’ll always be around. I’m just going to have to pull my head out of my ass and move on.
“Fine, since you asked me so nicely and had me at relaxing. I’ll grab Briar from Mom’s, start a load of laundry, and then come over.”
“Good, now let’s chow down.” Asher ends the conversation, moves to Lennie, and takes his seat. I do the same, except I’m beside Briar. She looks up at me with her big hazel eyes, a chocolatey smile, and happiness written on her face. We tuck into our breakfast of fruit and sugary food, not even a scrap of bacon, which is odd considering Asher always eats a protein of some kind. Lennon must not like the smell. I remember that all too well. Anyone frying up hamburger meat would send me straight to the bathroom. In between the bites of food, laughter and chatter fill the room, making me realize once again how lucky I am to have my family.
4
TRENT
“Fuck.” I run my fingers through my hair, tugging at the tendrils at the news Dad delivered to me. We’re sitting on the back porch at my parents’ house. Everyone is asleep, and the sun is barely rising off in the distance. After heading back to the station last night, we went over a game plan, got it locked down solid, sent another team to keep their eyes on our guy, and then I went home. A few hours of sleep, and I knew I’d need to head back to work, but not before stopping at my parents’ house.
“That’s about the size of it,” Dad says with a deep and heavy sigh.
“Gran’s sure she doesn’t want to try to beat it?” I get it. She’s lived a long and healthy life thus far. I’m thirty-nine, Dad is sixty-two, and Gran is eighty-one. Still, this a hard pill to swallow.