Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 74324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
I was not big on ironing, not at all, and I certainly wasn’t looking anything other than rumpled after our long trip.
Mig turned the motorcycle off, and I needed a minute for my hearing to clear out the residual echo of his bike.
It took me a moment to notice that Mig was not happy.
His body was practically vibrating with tension.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Mig asked the man standing in front of him.
“Vitaly, son,” he said, his Russian accent thick. “I just had to meet the person responsible for your first call to me in four years.”
I blinked.
Mig hadn’t spoken to his father in four years? Why?
Mig never spoke badly about his father; in fact, he actually spoke highly of him during the few times he said anything about them at all.
And if I wasn’t mistaken, I could’ve sworn I saw Mig’s mother look at Mig’s father with not only reproof but also with love.
They’ve been divorced for years now.
Quite a few years, if I remembered what Mig told me correctly.
But I could definitely see it.
They seemed to naturally gravitate toward each other.
I would bet my last twenty bucks that there was still something between them.
Mig’s ‘Nonnie’ pushed through his parents, who were still standing at the top of the steps, and started towards me.
“Boys,” Nonnie said. “How about you do this after we invite our guest inside?”
She was about the size of my mother but much more frail looking.
Her hair, which I’d seen had previously been sheer black in all of Mig’s photos scattered around his place, was now a straight sheet of silvery white.
While the two men stayed locked in a silent stare down, Nonnie sighed and grabbed my hand, and led me into the kitchen that was off the side of the living room.
“All that testosterone! Let’s give them a few minutes to talk it out,” Nonnie’s fragile voice said as she shuffled forward.
I followed, very aware it was highly unlikely that either man would back down.
“They aren’t gonna start fighting each other, are they?” I asked worriedly.
“No,” Mig’s mother said from behind me, scaring the crap out of me.
I slapped my hand down on my chest, breathing slightly heavy.
“You scared me,” I told her.
She smiled and walked around me to the kitchen counter.
“Would you like something to drink?” She asked, gathering up a basket of what looked like homemade bread and bringing it to the table.
My mouth watered.
I was definitely packing on a few extra pounds while I was here.
“Do you have any sweet tea?” I asked.
She nodded, then went to the fridge while I took a seat where Nonnie shoved me down, her strength surprising for such an old woman.
“Tell me about yourself. Mig’s never brought a woman home before,” Nonnie ordered.
I smiled, happy at the fact that I was the first woman for the two of them to meet.
So I told them about myself. My job. How Mig and I met. Then I mentioned Jennifer, but quickly caught myself but before I said too much.
“You’re kidding,” Vada, Mig’s mother, said. “And his ex-wife is pregnant? Who is the father?”
She was leaning forward, listening to my every word.
A little too late I realized that maybe I shouldn’t have told her Mig’s personal business.
But how was I supposed to know that Mig had never told his family about being married?
“Yes, she’s pregnant. And I already told you Jennifer was coming over here tomorrow,” Mig said tiredly as he entered the room, his father, Vitaly Senior, at his back.
“No,” Vada said. “What you told me was that you were bringing a woman here that needed protection. Two women that needed protection. One was your woman, and one wasn’t.”
I wanted to laugh.
That was Mig. King Of Need To Know: he tells you what you need to know and not a single word more.
“So maybe now’s not a good time to tell you that you’ll be having a grandchild soon?” Mig asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
I could tell just by the way he said it that he didn’t mean for it to come out like it sounded.
But the two women in the room started screeching, and suddenly I was surrounded by two very excited women.
“When is the baby due?” Vada asked.
“Oh, you don’t look pregnant. I’m so happy for you, Vitaly,” Nonnie cooed, gesturing to him.
I was frozen, not knowing what in the world to say to that.
Mig’s brows crunched low, as he squeezed his eyes shut.
“Shit,” Mig sighed.
Poor guy.
“Mig,” I said. “Can you maybe give us a few minutes?”
He looked at me like I’d just saved his life, then gladly took his leave, grabbing his father around the collar as he went.
Vitaly Sr. went willingly enough, but I could tell he was excited to have a grandchild, too.
“Ladies,” I said. “I’m not pregnant.”
Both stopped cooing and looked at me in confusion.