Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 67492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Oh, he’s at my place in bed, keeping it warm until I get home.”
“Blakely,” he warns. His tone is stern and growly. Just like old times.
“I’m kidding. You know there’s no Larry.”
“Are you trying to give your old man a heart attack? You do realize I’m too young to die,” he says, leading me into the house.
“Who died?” my little brother, Beckham, asks. He steps in front of Dad to hug me. He’s sixteen and almost a foot taller than I am. I wrap my arms around him, returning his embrace.
“No one,” I say as Dad mumbles, “Larry.” Beckham just shakes his head and heads off toward the kitchen.
“Blake!” my little sister, Brooklyn, calls out. I hear footsteps as they carry her down the hall. Brooklyn is four years younger than Beckham. She’s smart as hell, and she’s the spitting image of our mother.
“Hey, Brooky,” I say, returning her embrace.
“Let me in on that,” Mom says. She wipes her hands on a kitchen towel and folds her arms around Brooklyn and me. She finally steps back and smiles. “Did Isla come with you?”
“No, she had a date tonight.”
“Date?” Dad asks. “With who?”
I chuckle. “You do know she’s not your daughter, right?” I ask him.
He shrugs. “Might as well be.”
“Dad, she’s too hot to be my sister,” Beckham speaks up.
“She’s too old for you,” Mom tells him.
“Age is just a number.”
“Six years isn’t so bad. However, she’d go to jail, so I’m thinking you need to at least wait until you're eighteen to shoot your shot,” I tell my brother.
Mom swats at my arm playfully. “Don’t encourage him.” She’s smiling, and I’m pretty sure Beckham is just trying to get a rise out of her.
I think….
“She and I are going shopping tomorrow,” I tell them. “I’m going to look for a Christmas tree for my office.”
“I’m sure we have a small one at the manor you can use,” Mom offers.
“Thank you, but shopping for a small tree and all the ornaments is part of the fun.”
“Are you allowed to have that in your office? Is that not a fire hazard or something?” Dad asks.
“Yep. I’ll make sure it’s unplugged before I leave every day.”
“Do you need money?” Dad asks.
My heart melts. I have the best parents a girl could ask for. “No, but thank you for the offer.” I smile at him.
“Dad, did you know that there is this cool thing called a job? And guess what else? Blake has one. She’s even an adult now. How did you miss that?” Beckham asks.
“All right, smart-ass.” Dad chuckles. “I just want to make sure my kids have everything they need.”
“In that case, I could use some cash. Orion and Caden are picking me up after dinner to go to the movies.” Beckham bats his eyelashes, which has me cracking up. “What? It works for the three of you.”
Dad just shakes his head as he reaches into his wallet for some cash and hands it over.
“Consider that an advance for helping me clean out the garage tomorrow,” Mom tells him.
“Anything for you.” Beckham smacks a kiss on her cheek. “Congrats on the job or whatever,” Beckham says as he turns to me. “That’s why we get Mom's cheesy chicken and rice, so go you. Keep that shit up.”
“Beckham!” Mom scolds, but she’s laughing, so the scolding is useless. My brother just grins and winks at me before loading up his plate.
“This is our favorite, right, Blake?” Brooklyn nods, filling her own plate.
“You bet.” I make my way around the island in the kitchen to do the same.
My little sister just turned twelve. She’s in that stage where she wants to be an adult and loves anything I do, but she still wants to be a kid too. I tell her she has plenty of time to be an adult, to enjoy being young while she can. Not that adult life is bad, but I don’t want her to grow up too fast. She’s ten years younger than me. Watching her grow up has been fun, and I try to be there for her, for both of them, anyway that I can, but damn, her growing up gets me in my feels.
I can’t imagine what our parents feel like. Brooklyn is the baby of the house. The older I get, the faster time seems to pass by. I’ve heard that from my parents and my aunts and uncles, but with each year that passes, I understand that statement more and more.
We eat dinner and catch up. It feels good to spend time with my family. Beckham leaves with our cousins, Caden and Orion, and I spend a little time with Brooklyn in her room. She catches me up on all the drama with her friends while I paint her nails.
It’s a good night—the perfect end to the best day.