Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
There was a grin in his voice, though, and I bared my teeth at him.
“You’re going to do it, too?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“Fuck no,” he said. “I’m going to watch you do the other one.”
I crossed my arms over my chest.
“That wasn’t the deal,” I said. “I do it if you do it.”
He studied my face.
“You don’t understand,” he said. “I can’t do it.”
“Why not?” I asked worriedly.
“I’m fucking offended by needles,” he said by way of explanation.
“You’re offended by…what?” I asked. “How can needles offend you?”
I saw him grit his teeth and I wanted to laugh.
“I don’t like them. They bring back bad memories,” he said, offering no explanation as to what exactly had given him that fear.
“If I hold your hand, will you do it?” I asked, moving closer to him.
His hard body was cold, but he showed no sign that he was affected by it.
I lifted my hand and rubbed his beard, letting my fingers play along the line of his jaw.
He scowled at me.
“Please?” I whispered.
“Will you come home with me?” he challenged.
I smiled.
“Yeah,” I said. “For a little bit, anyway.”
He growled.
“You have to deal with your brother’s place in Uncertain, anyway,” he said. “Use that time to do it.”
I did. He wasn’t lying.
But the mention of having to go through all of my brother’s belongings didn’t make me feel too good.
I’d been avoiding his place like the plague.
In fact, it made my heart ache, the pain just as sharp now as it had been the day I’d found out that he’d been taken from me.
“I…” I hesitated.
“Don’t,” he said, pressing his finger against my lips. “I’ll help, and if you find that you can’t, then I’ll do it for you. Just come home with me.”
“But your sister lives with you…and her man and baby,” I said.
“They do,” he agreed. “But the house is a fuckin’ plantation. There are over eight bedrooms in the mother fucker. You’d be lucky to see them even on the best of days.”
I pinched my teeth between my lips. “They won’t be mad at me for seeing them have sex, will they?”
He shook his head.
“No,” he said. “And to tell you the truth, I’d be relieved. I’ve had so much to deal with these last few weeks. I’m sorry for not calling you. Going back to work, then having to take days off to deal with Emily and Kitt; when Kitt had seizures, it took a lot of my time. I never even thought to call you, and I’m sorry.”
Hearing that he had a reason for not calling me helped.
I didn’t feel so slighted.
“Okay,” I said. “But you have to promise that you’ll let me know when I’m bugging you. And you’ll let me pay some rent.”
“No,” he said. “You won’t pay rent. I don’t even pay rent.”
“You don’t?” I asked, surprise evident in my voice.
He shook his head. “No. Haven’t paid rent ever, actually. That’s why Kitt still lives there. It’s a big house and we don’t pay the rent. I help with upkeep, and my grandfather lets us stay there.”
“Where’s your grandfather?” I asked.
“Retirement home,” he answered. “He has certain needs that Kitt and I couldn’t take care of.”
“What kind of needs?” I asked worriedly. “I can help.”
I could, too.
I needed to feel useful.
If having his grandfather back home would help him, I would offer my assistance.
I was a nurse after all.
“He likes young chicks to take care of him, and Kitt doesn’t count because she’s his granddaughter,” he smiled.
I snorted.
“Oh,” I said. “I probably could help. I’m twenty-eight. That’s younger than him, right?”
He shook his head. “I’ve tried to get him to come home for years. He won’t. I even offered to hire help. He doesn’t want to leave. I think he has a crush on one of the other tenants.”
I giggled.
“I’d like to meet him,” I said, pressing my lips to the column of his throat. “And your sister…while she’s not in a hospital bed or having sex with her man.”
He laughed deeply.
“Good. I think I’ll like having you there, too,” he said, his eyes darkening with something I couldn’t quite make out.
But when I was about to question that look, he turned and grabbed the handle of the door, pulling it open and pushing my butt slightly to get me moving.
I entered the door and immediately shucked my jacket, smiling when I saw the woman who’d pierced me the other day.
“You’re back!” she said with a smile. “I knew you would be!”
Then her eyes fell on Ridley, and her mouth fell open.
I couldn’t hide my smile as I introduced him.
“Daisy,” I said. “This is Ridley, my…”
“Her man,” Ridley said. “Nice to meet you.”
Ridley’s words got her moving, and she came around the counter and offered her hand, first to me, and then to him.
“What can I help y’all with?” she asked. “My shop isn’t the least bit busy,” she swept her hand out. “As you can see, and I don’t have another appointment until later. As long as you don’t want something intricate, I can accommodate you.”