Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 100301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“Psst. People are waiting, babycakes,” Jordan whispered.
“Don’t call me that.” But maybe, just maybe, I liked it a little bit. “Feisty,” I added, then continued doing what we’d come there to do.
A while later, I felt eyes on me, and when I looked up, Peyton gave a small wave before they left.
After our shift, Jordan had to go to work. David was waiting in his car for us, having said he’d pick us up. Apparently, he wanted to take me somewhere, though I didn’t know where. “You can sit up front,” I told Jordan.
“Nah, it’s okay. I’m getting out in five minutes, and you’ll still be in the car, so that doesn’t make sense.”
I wanted to talk to him about what he’d said inside, but I didn’t really know how. I told myself it was just a joke and he was being silly, so why did I need to discuss a joke, anyway?
We got into the car, and David pulled into traffic. “How did it go?”
“It was…cool,” I replied. It had been better than that.
“It was more than cool,” Jordan added, as if reading my mind. “It felt really good to do that. I definitely want to keep it up and find other ways we can help out. A lot of them are on the streets because their families kicked them out. It makes me realize how lucky I am.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Me too. I mean, that was me at some points, ya know? I’ve gotten hot meals from shelters and food from food banks. So yeah, it was better than cool. It was amazing, and I’d really like to keep doing it. Thank you, Sir, for suggesting it, and thank you, Sunshine, for going with me.” Wow…that hadn’t been so hard. In fact, it had actually felt good.
David gave me a quick look and a nod, and Jordan reached over the seat and squeezed my shoulder. “Of course. Anything. Also, there’s someone there named Peyton, and I think they have some kind of connection with Ian. I believe in that stuff, ya know?”
I turned to him. “You do?”
“Are you surprised? And yes. I think people can get a feeling about others and just know they’ve found a kindred spirit. You’re that for Peyton, my little snookums.”
I chuckled.
“Snookums?” David asked just as I said, “You’re ridiculous.” Then to David, “He called me babycakes earlier.”
We pulled up in front of Campus Café, where Jordan worked. “I have to keep you both on your toes.” Jordan leaned forward and kissed David’s cheek. “Bye, Daddy.” Then mine. “Bye, lovey!” He grabbed his bag, jumped out of the car, and was gone.
And I felt…good. So damn good and happy.
“You’re smiling, pup.”
“I know. Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
David got on the road again, and as he drove, he asked more questions about our morning. I was confused when he pulled up in front of a small, light-yellow house that had definitely seen better days.
“Come on.” David didn’t give me any reason why we were there, but still I got out and followed him to the house. He pulled out a key and unlocked it. The inside wasn’t much better than the outside. The floors were a mess, with really old, dirty carpet. It needed a remodel something fierce and who knew what else.
“I think I missed something. What are we doing here? Whose house is this?”
David stuffed his hands into his pockets. “It’s mine. I’m hoping you’ll work on it for me.”
I frowned. “It would take me forever, with my two jobs and all. I’m not sure you want to wait that long.”
“I’d like you to work for me instead—on this house. I don’t want you to feel obligated. I know you like your independence, but you could leave your jobs and work here. I’d pay you a fair wage. You can do all the work you’re able to, and help me hire out for stuff you can’t do. If you enjoy it, we can do this with some of my other properties. You can even help with my rentals when things need fixing. If you think it’s something you can do, the work would be yours. Again, if not, you could take care of hiring someone to do it for me.”
Dumbstruck, I stood there for a moment, unsure what to say. How in the hell was this even happening? God, how much I’d love to work on my own, to work with my hands, to make something beautiful out of places like this, but I didn’t want charity, and what if I fucked something up, and… “You haven’t even seen any of my work. I’m not an expert. Like I said, I’m good with my hands and I can learn most things, but what if I screw up?”
David sighed. “Then we’d fix it, pup. People mess up. That’s okay. And I don’t need to see your work because I trust you. I know if you do something, you’ll do a good job. If you’re not sure, you’ll find someone who is.”