Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
“Not a problem. I take it you need help with the pipsqueak?” I’m usually the last one Kennedy will ask, so she must have gone down the line. Our parents are divorced and both remarried. Our dad and his wife are the jetsetters. They’re traveling more than they’re home here in Whispering Oaks. Mom, on the other hand, still works, her choice entirely, and her new husband spends his time on the golf course.
“Yes, and I know you’re coming off a long stint at the fire station, but I’m desperate.” Briar starts singing the background. I’m pretty sure it’s a boy pop band that everyone loathes because she requests the same song over and over again, scream-singing it at the top of her lungs. My ears are bleeding thinking about what I’ll be listening to when she’s with me next.
“You know I’ll always take my favorite girl. When do you need me?” I’m hoping like hell Kenny doesn’t need me to take Briar within the next few hours. Sleep is calling my name, and I know my niece—the minute she lands at my place, she’s like the Energizer bunny all damn day until she finally conks out.
“Can you pick her up tomorrow after school and keep her with you until I get off work? It’s early release, and I can’t get away from work long enough to grab her. Plus, you know Briar hates sitting at the office until I’m finished for the day.” Kennedy put Briar in after school her first week of kindergarten. She came home with two scabbed knees and a lot of tears, which was the end of that saga. It also meant I marched my ass down to the school with my sister to get answers. The principal already took care of the kid who pushed her down and told her she was a bastard. Apparently, he was a few grades above Briar in class. He shouldn’t have even been in the same area with the younger kids. The boy received some kind of suspension, never returned to her elementary school, and that was that, except I’d like a chance to speak to whoever is raising him to give them a piece of my mind.
“Yep, tell my girl we’ll grab an after-school snack, hit the park, and hang out over here.” I lower my voice and make sure Kenny knows we’ll take care of business. “I’ll also help her with homework. Still dumb, if you ask me. They’re in school for how many hours a day, and she’s only in first grade.”
“Thanks, Asher, you’re a lifesaver. You’re also preaching to the choir. Even at the parent-teacher meetings when I ask, they just say it’s state regulation or something. Therefore, every night, I grumble, she groans, yet we do it, every damn night.” Kenny takes a moment, probably trying to figure out where her daughter ran off to in the office. “Bri-Bri come tell Uncle Ash goodbye. You’ll see him tomorrow.”
“Bye, Uncle Ash, love you!”
“Love you, pipsqueak. Love you, Kenny,” I tell them both.
“I love you. You’re my lifesaver, per usual. Get some sleep. Sorry to bug you.” Kennedy doesn’t wait for a response. The line clicks, and I drop the phone to my lap.
I hop out of my truck, grabbing everything to take it inside. As much as I want another look at the woman with jet-black hair, hourglass figure, and a smile that would be any man’s undoing, it doesn’t seem like I’ll get it. A few different voices carry through the air, and my eyes lock on the mystery woman. My dick twitches again and for the first time in what feels like forever it’s because I can’t stop thinking about her. Just when I’m about to get ready to head for the door to my house, she comes out, and what I see next instantly has my dick deflating. A man comes up from beside her, arms wrapping her up in a hug and staying for longer than what I’d consider a friendly type of moment.
“Figures,” I mutter under my breath, shake my head, and walk inside.
2
LENNIE
“Well, that looks to be the last of it. Are you sure we can’t stay to help you unpack?” Minnie asks once all the boxes are piled along one wall. The furniture is in place. Well, not completely where I want it, but it’s in the rooms where it’ll be staying. I can scooch it here or there, and should I change my mind and switch something into another place, I can put the legs on a rug and drag it through the house if need be. I’ve done it time and time again, and when the rug method doesn’t work, there’s always sitting on your ass and digging your feet into the ground while pushing it with your upper body.