Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
First up, I’ll have to make sure Mom hasn’t given my room away to another O’Leary in need. In a family the size of ours, that’s always a risk, but in a pinch, I guess I could ask Molly about subletting her basement room. It’s damp and only has one tiny window, but my sister would give it to me for cheap. She might even let me stay for free if I agree to watch the baby a couple nights a week so she and Wyatt, her husband, can sleep through the night.
Then, I’ll have to see if my old job wants me back. Candace, my supervisor, never thought I was good enough to give a promotion or a raise, but she knew she could count on me to be there on time with a great attitude. And they’re always looking for subs and part-time workers. I’m betting she’ll hire me again, at least part-time, until another full-time space opens up.
Or maybe I can find a nanny position in Kentucky. Most people in Fair Shot are too poor to afford full-time childcare like that, but we’re not that far from Lexington. I could commute. And if I look really hard, I bet I can find a little girl or boy who needs me as much as Sarah Beth and a place that feels like home.
Tears fall on my list, smearing the numbers on the left side. I toss the paper on the coffee table and give in to the surge of emotion.
No other place is ever going to feel like Drew and Sarah Beth’s house. Because it isn’t the house that’s special. It’s Drew and Sarah Beth and how I felt when I was with them.
Like I belonged. Like I mattered.
Like they’ve been waiting for me as much as I’ve been waiting for them, even though I didn’t know it until they swept into my life and changed everything.
“I’d miss you even if we’d never met,” I blubber, crying harder.
And not just Drew. It’s Sarah Beth, too. It’s probably crazy, but from the second she reached for my hand, a part of me was hers. For life. I want to be someone she can count on in a world that’s already let that sweet little girl down.
I’m sobbing so hard I apparently don’t hear the knock on the door.
I’m completely thrown when Wren sticks her head in and calls, “Get away from her, I have a gun!”
I bleat out a cry of surprise and fall off the couch.
By the time I scramble to my feet, Wren is beside me, looking nearly as startled as I feel.
“I’m so sorry,” she says. “I thought you were being attacked or something. I heard you crying, and I knocked and called your name a dozen times, but you didn’t answer so I tried the door. And it was open, so I came in.” She pokes my arm before rubbing it up and down in a way that’s comforting, albeit a little vigorous. “Lock your door, woman! Always. Even here. Bad Dog has a low crime rate, but you never know when a crazed killer might swing through town looking for dirty tacos and end up attacking you in the middle of the night.”
I sniff and swipe at my eyes with the sleeve of my pajamas. “You’re right. I’m sorry I didn’t hear you knocking. I’m just upset.”
Wren’s brow furrows. “Why? Last I saw, you and Drew were giving each other puppy dog eyes and the whole world was sparkling. I honestly thought you’d be at his place, and I’d have to pick your lock to get my overnight bag.” She lifts a hand. “Not that I would normally pick a lock or invade your privacy, it’s just a bit of an emergency.”
I thunk my forehead with my palm. “Your bag! I forgot it was still here when you said you were going home. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Wren says. “It’s Barrett’s for acting like a crazy person and making me forget which way was up. I wouldn’t have worried about it, but my birth control pills are in there. I was getting ready for bed and realized they were still here, and I really didn’t want to risk skipping one.”
Despite my current state of despair, my ears perk up at that little nugget of information. “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”
“No reason,” Wren says, with a laugh so fake it could give my pleather boots a run for their money. “Just…safety first and all. Especially when it comes to having a baby.”
“I didn’t realize you had a steady date.”
Wren clears her throat. “I don’t. But maybe I’m thinking about having a one-night stand. Just to prove that people don’t know me as well as they think they do.”
I narrow my eyes on her guilty expression. “People like Barrett? The guy you totally had a one-night stand with tonight?”