Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 119680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Lovey pats my shoulder. “Rose will be fine. Kody’s room is huge and neat as a pin. Plus, it’ll be good for Quinn and BJ to have a little estrogen in that house to balance things out. Rose is a neat freak, and BJ isn’t. It should work well if they don’t irritate each other to death.”
BJ appears in the doorway, carrying a box and a bag. “I forgot how freaking many stairs there are in this house,” he huffs, setting his armful beside the other totes and bags.
“I’m going down to help unload,” Lovey says. “Rose brought everything except the kitchen sink.”
“We’ll be there in a minute,” BJ says.
“Take your time.”
She disappears down the stairs, leaving me alone with BJ.
“How do you like the space?” he asks.
“It’s amazing. This room is almost the size of our entire cabin.”
He comes to stand in front of me, the toes of his shoes touching mine. I look up at him. “It’s a lot to take in, huh?”
I smile. “Yeah. It’s a lot.”
“My bedroom is smaller, and you’re welcome to sleep beside me anytime you want.”
“I don’t know how much sleeping we’ll be doing.”
“Eventually we’ll get to the sleeping part, but this week, it’s all about showing you the fun side of college. And this room has lots of privacy.” He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me closer, his mouth covering mine.
I loop my arms around his neck and sink into the kiss, at least until I hear someone stomping up the stairs.
“Dad incoming!” Coach Ballistic appears in the doorway a moment after we break apart. “That’s a lot of stairs.” He’s slightly out of breath. “I think there are only a couple more boxes down there for you.” He sets down the ones he’s carried, and his eyebrows pull together as he takes in the small pile that’s accumulated next to the door. “Are we missing any?”
“Nope,” I assure him. “I pack light. We should go down and help. Rose brought half of Pearl Lake with her.”
He shakes his head. “No kidding. I think Darren and Charlene might be making a second trip later in the week.”
“Is that because they forgot stuff or because they want to check up on Rose?” BJ asks as we follow his dad downstairs.
“Both, I think,” Coach says wryly.
With everyone pitching in, we get all of Rose’s boxes into her room. BJ’s house is just as nice, with a big, open kitchen, a living room with a huge TV, and a main-floor bedroom that belongs to BJ.
Upstairs are two more bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. Quinn’s room is across the hall from Rose’s.
Once the vehicles are empty of boxes, the parents order food and we gather outside at BJ’s. They have a hot tub and a big backyard with a hockey net and basketball hoop. After lunch, we’re enveloped in a round of parent hugs as they prepare to leave. Charlene pulls Rose aside, and they have a whispered conversation while Darren rubs the back of his neck and frowns.
Lily approaches me while BJ talks to his dad. “We’ll bring your mom up for a visit soon, okay?”
“That would be great. Thank you so much, Lily, for everything. None of this would have been possible without you.”
“We just helped push things along. Remember that college is supposed to be fun, and it’s okay to make mistakes along the way. Enjoy the freedom, be safe, and I promise your mom has a whole community to help her back home, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you.” My eyes prick with emotion.
“Your mom is so proud of you, Winter, and so are we.” She pulls me in for a hug, and we both shed a couple of tears.
Then I stand with everyone on the sidewalk and wave while the parents drive away.
The second they turn the corner, Rose shouts, “Party time!”
Quinn looks at his phone. “I gotta coach, but I’ll only be gone a couple of hours. No parties until I’m home and able to play security guard.”
“Come on!” Rose throws her hands in the air.
“You need to unpack anyway. We’ll come help.” Lovey links arms with Rose and Lacey. “And BJ can help Winter unpack.”
“Unpack my ass,” Rose grumbles. “But when we’re done, we’re having a party.”
“Please don’t burn the house down while I’m gone,” Quinn says. “And please, for the love of God, Rose, do not invite five hundred people you don’t know over by posting on social media.”
“That only happened once, and it was an accident.” Rose and the twins traipse across the lawn and disappear into the house.
Quinn turns to BJ. “Keep an eye on that one. I know Lovey thinks she’ll be fine, but now that there’s no parent supervision, I have a feeling the well-behaved Rose of the summer will give us a run for our money.” He turns his smile on me. “I’m looking forward to shooting the puck around with you.”