Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“Yeah, they’re more anxious than usual.” I glanced back over at Ghost, and his face was void of expression. “Do you think something is wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Bridget grimaced. “But usually when it gets like this, it means trouble is brewing.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“We’ll never know,” she shrugged. “Just try and keep your head down for now, and whatever is going on, they’ll handle it.”
I nodded, and my eyes immediately drifted back over to Ghost. I trusted him. In fact, I trusted all of them, but the shift in the air made my stomach tighten. I’d had the feeling enough times to know that something was coming—something big.
Bridget sat with me a moment longer, then excused herself to go check in with the guys. The tension in the room seemed to grow by the second, and I was relieved when Toby’s tutoring session came to an end. I gathered up Toby and his things, and we headed back to our room. I helped him finish up his schoolwork, and then we found a movie to watch on TV.
I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that something was going on, so we only ventured out to grab a bite to eat for lunch and dinner. We were on our third Marvel movie when we heard strange voices and footsteps echoing down the hallway. I glanced down at Toby, and he was looking at me with wide eyes.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” I eased off the bed as I told him, “Hold on, and I’ll check it out.”
I went over to the door and cracked it open—just enough to peer out into the hallway, and immediately spotted Ghost and several of the guys standing at the back door. They were gathered around an attractive older woman, and they all looked happy to see her.
I’d never seen her before and had no clue who she was.
She was older but very attractive, with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair. Even though she was just wearing jeans and a pullover, there was a presence about her that made me wonder who she was and what she was doing here.
The guys all smiled as they hugged her and welcomed her home. Memphis was the last to step forward, and he quickly wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. His voice was filled with affection as he said, "Hey, it’s good to have you back, Mom."
Bridget had talked about Memphis’s mother being there and how eager she’d been to leave, so I was surprised when she smiled and said, “It’s good to be back.”
Even from a distance, I could tell there was a history between them, but they hid it well as they hugged each other tightly. Memphis released her and asked, “How was the drive?”
“Long,” she sighed. “I’m in dire need of a hot shower and a bite to eat.”
“That can be arranged.” Memphis reached for her bag as he said, “I’ll get you to your room and have the girls scrounge you up something to eat.”
I didn’t want them to catch me eavesdropping, so I quickly closed the door and made my way back over to Toby. As soon as I sat down, he glanced up at me and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Memphis’s mother is back.”
Like he knew who I was talking about, he muttered, “Oh.”
Then, he turned back to his movie like nothing had happened. I, on the other hand, was quite interested in why she’d returned and if her arrival had anything to do with the guys’ unusual behavior. It was something that weighed on my mind as I crawled into bed.
I eventually drifted off to sleep, but woke when I heard a deep thump of bass came rattling through the walls. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard it. In fact, I heard it almost every night, but usually, it was down the hall at the bar. Tonight, it was coming from the family room, and it was growing louder by the minute.
I sat up in the bed and listened to the women’s laughter—so carefree and full of life. Hearing it made me wonder what they were up to. I glanced over at Toby and found him sleeping soundly. I had no idea how the noise hadn’t woken him. I laid back down and tried to ignore the low rumble of voices and bursts of laughter, but I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what was going on.
My curiosity gnawed at me, and when I couldn’t stand it a second longer, I slipped out of bed and threw on a hoodie. Being careful not to wake Toby, I eased the door open and stepped out into the hall. I closed it quietly, then started down the hall.
The noise got louder as I got closer to the family room, and I grew more and more apprehensive. I had no business snooping around like this, but my curiosity had gotten the best of me. I had to see what was going on.