Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Dream came farther in and plunked her tote down by the side table next to Luna.
But she said nothing.
She also didn’t take Feather out of her swaddle and drop her on Luna, so that was something.
Her gaze strayed to Cap, and she asked, “Why’s he here?”
“Because he means something to Raye, and Raye’s a part of this family,” Scott answered. “That’s why.”
“How the hell am I gonna find a job when I’m knocked up?” she asked the room at large.
It was Scott again who answered. “Love you, kiddo, but you should have thought of that before you got knocked up.”
“This blows,” she said on a sigh.
“You should have thought of that too,” Luna told her.
She looked down at her sister, her manner changed, and she sniped, “Perfect Luna, Daddy’s favorite.”
I got tense, mostly because that pissed me off.
Though, I thought it was telling that Dream, surprisingly easily, seemed to be coming to terms with what was going on, but the minute Luna got in her sights, she turned ugly.
I just didn’t know what that told.
Cap’s hand still on my thigh squeezed.
He felt me getting pissed off.
“Dreamy Dream, Mommy’s favorite,” Luna shot back. “Don’t pretend you had it tough. We were both loved. I just never took advantage of that.”
Dream flinched.
Louise took her feet.
“I cannot believe you stood in this very room and listened to Raye tell her story and you’re trading barbs with your sister,” she snapped at Dream. “Raye doesn’t know what became of her sister, and yours is right there. My goodness, I didn’t think I could be this ashamed of one of my own children.”
“Momster—” Dream started in a whiny voice.
Louise gave her The Hand, shaking her head.
“No. No. Your father’s been right all these years. I’m too much of a soft touch. But not anymore, Dream. Not anymore.”
With that, she swept from the room.
Well, it seemed the intervention worked, just on a different person.
“Enjoying this?” Dream asked Cap snidely.
“More than you, I reckon,” he murmured.
I bit back a laugh.
“I don’t need this shit,” Dream hissed. “Dusk, come to Momma.”
Dusk didn’t come to Momma. He was too busy trying to shove the ear of a golden retriever in his mouth.
So she went and picked him up, grabbed her tote and swanned from the house without another word.
We all looked at each other.
Then we all jumped (well, Luna and I did) as Dream swanned back in, miraculously having deposited Dusk in the carrier on her back in the two point five seconds she was gone.
She went direct to the coffee table, reached into her tote, pulled out an empty gallon-size Stasher, snatched up the tray of cheese puffs, upended it in the Stasher, sealed it, shoved it in her tote and huffed out again, all of this without making eye contact with a single one of us.
One thing you could say about that.
Dream came prepared.
“That went about as I expected. Sorry, kids, gotta look in on Louise,” Scott said before he walked out.
Luna leaned forward to catch Cap’s eye.
“Welcome to the family, bud.”
Cap smiled at her.
Then he leaned forward too, and casually grabbed another pinwheel.
Honestly.
This guy wasn’t for real.
And I was glad.
“So Tex comes running out, and I told you, the man’s beard is down to here.” Cap indicated his navel with his hand. “It’s parted in half, flying out at the sides of his neck. I’m stunned he got out. Even more stunned the big man could run that fast. Then I had to take cover, because the warehouse he escaped exploded behind him.”
Luna and I burst out laughing.
We’d been doing that a lot while Cap told us stories about his family in Denver.
It was no wonder he didn’t blink at my nuttiness…or Luna’s, Tito’s, Scott and Louise’s, etc.
We had a ways to go to compete with that crew.
We were at Luna’s.
It was after a dinner of her famous cacio e pepe with Caesar salad tossed with her homemade dressing, and garlic bread.
Jacques in her lap (after the intervention, before we hit up Luna’s for dinner, Cap and I took Cleo home to her mom and dad, and we could just say parting from Cap was bittersweet sorrow for Cleo, I could see her parents were weirded out how much she whined when Cap walked away), Luna asked, still laughing, “The warehouse blew up?”
“Tex had jerry-rigged a bomb.”
“Oh my God, that’s insane and hilarious at the same time,” I said, also still laughing.
And by the by, those two adjectives seemed to pretty much define his friend Tex.
Luna took a sip of her wine before she noted, “Your posse up in Denver seems like the total shit.”
Cap took a slug from his bottle of beer and replied, “They are.”
“Not to be intrusive, you don’t have to answer,” Luna began. “But if that’s the case, why are you here?”
Cap didn’t hesitate responding. “Roam and I are tight, I mean, closer than blood brothers. But I was the runt.”