Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Kobe turned, reared his fist back, and was about to let it fly when I realized just who had snuck up on us.
“Stop!” I gasped.
Kobe, strung like a bow ready to fire, did, indeed, stop.
CHAPTER 18
I bring nothing to the table.
-T-shirt
KOBE
Heart racing and a little bit of fury that I’d allowed myself to get snuck up on, I stared at the two adult males behind me.
Later, I would allow it to register that one of them looked exactly like the woman beside me, only with more masculine features.
For now, I was looking at two men, both extremely mad, looking at Folsom, the woman that I was willing to protect with my life like she was the person that ruined their lives.
“I cannot fucking believe this, Lacy!” the first man snapped.
“Yeah, Lacy,” the other man growled.
I went to step in front of her, feeling the heat and ire emanating from their bodies from where I was, but before I could so much as block her body with mine, she was sprinting forward.
She hit the two men with a strangled sob, and both men folded like a house of cards.
Collapsing into her and practically holding their bodies up with each other’s, they all started to cry right there in the middle of the front yard.
“Where have you fucking been, Lacy?” one of them asked.
“I’m so, so, so sorry,” she wailed. “I’m sorry!”
My attention went across the street, where the neighbor had come out onto his front porch.
I waved, not remembering who it was, and said quietly to the group in front of me, “Not that I mind whatever reunion this is, but there are three neighbors out on their front porches now.”
Four.
The more they wailed, the more people that came out to see.
I guess that was a good thing—and a bad—about living in such a secure neighborhood.
Shit couldn’t go down in peace or without a lot of neighborhood scrutiny.
Folsom pulled away with a sniffle and a wipe of her nose on the closest man’s shirt, and I finally realized who the two men were. Nobody would allow that kind of closeness without being related.
And, once upon a time, I’d had the same feelings about my sister as the two males in front of me.
“Let’s go inside,” her voice broke again.
“Damn, you’re still an ugly crier,” the older of the two said.
Folsom wiped her eyes of the tears that had already fallen, then grabbed both of their hands and led them up the steps.
“Kobe,” she said to me, eyes wide and hurting. It made my heart fucking wrench. “These are my brothers.” She pointed to the older one. “Anthony.” The one on her right who was barely younger. “Timothy.”
I stepped inside to allow them entrance, and they followed us in.
Closing the door behind us, I made my way into the kitchen, where I took stock of the fridge.
Morrigan had stocked everything, including plenty of my favorite beer.
Grabbing three Heinekens and Folsom’s favorite drink, a Crush, I went back into the living room to find Folsom on the chair facing the larger couch. Both of her brothers were on the couch.
I handed each man a beer, then Folsom her Crush, before taking the arm of her chair and waiting.
“I guess y’all haven’t seen each other in a while,” I mused.
Folsom sniffled. “They were part of the reason that I found it so hard to leave. And stay away.”
“But she made sure to make us rich,” Timothy grumbled. “Always getting into our business, letting us know that she was there without actually being there. That’s the only thing that’s kept us sane over the last ten freakin’ years.”
Sounded oddly reminiscent of my last year without her.
“I know the feeling,” I said as I looked down at my guilty woman. “She does the same to me.”
Folsom offered me a shrug as if that was just who she was and I could take it or leave it.
I was definitely taking it.
Folsom flushed, looking vaguely upset about our teasing, and I winked at her, letting her know that I wasn’t upset.
She blew out a relieved breath as if my opinion of her really mattered that much.
“So how did y’all know where I was?” Folsom asked the burning question on both of our minds.
I’d definitely thought it, but I’d wanted them to finish their family reunion before I started demanding answers.
“You’ll never believe it.” Timothy leaned back into the couch, his bottle of beer dangling from his fingers. “But we saw your face in the paper.”
I burst out laughing right as Folsom cursed.
“But that doesn’t really explain how you got here.” She frowned.
That sobered me up fast.
“Actually, it kind of does.” Timothy grimaced. “We must’ve missed you at the circus by about an hour or two at most. When we got there and asked about you, we used the wrong name. Apparently, you are going by Folsom now. There was this creepy chick that says she reads fortunes.”