Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Dress in layers,” Everleigh repeats for my benefit. “You should have seen us this morning trying to get this cat in the cage. Can you order a welding apron, welding gloves, and the helmet and everything for us so we’re armed when we have to get him back into the cage?”
“That’s an excellent idea.” Heather throws her arm around her sister’s shoulders, and Everleigh hugs her back, draping one arm affectionately around Heather’s waist after. In jeans and blue sweaters, I don’t think they planned to be matching, but from the back, they could be twins, even with Heather’s pink hair. “But she’s kidding. We’ll be okay.”
“I’m pretty sure that cat is the spawn of all things unholy,” I mutter, not meaning to be overheard.
“Undoubtedly,” Heather agrees, turning her head back over her shoulder to grin at me. “But we love him anyway. Thanks for taking us in, D. You’re as good at adopting strays as we are.”
“Your sister didn’t cat burglar her way into my life,” I protest, then realize how awful that sounds. I have a darker complexion, dark hair, dark eyes, and an olive undertone to match, thanks to my dad’s side of the family, but I’m pretty sure I’m blushing. It’s not something I ever really feel myself doing, though, so maybe I’m not. Maybe my face is just a thousand degrees on the inside, but outside, it’s not red at all.
“Ignore her,” Everleigh pleads. “She’s trying to be inappropriate on purpose.”
“If we can’t laugh about the crazy wedding where the guy’s brother switched himself out and you married the wrong one, but they both have the same name, and then they drugged you and flew you across the country, and you ended up in some big old house that kind of looks like a creepy old castle with so much land that it might as well be one, and also the whole granny’s will thing, and how your life became a fairy tale to save all our asses, but mostly mine, then what can we do?”
A moment of stunned silence follows that. Finally, Hans appears around the corner, and he’s all smiles. “Shall I take the rabid beast?” he asks, this time adopting an Australian accent.
Heather grins, and Everleigh’s mom passes the cage to Hans. She looks tired but hopeful. And happy. Happy to be with both of her daughters again, even if she’s a bit worn out with worry. Worrying about Everleigh and worrying about Heather. It’s tough to be a parent. I can only imagine. Your kids’ happiness is your happiness. I want to promise her that everything is going to be okay with both her daughters, and I wish it were in my power to make it happen. I’ll do everything I damn well can, that’s for sure.
The intensity of that feeling surprises me. I don’t just mean Heather and having a talk with her about her treatments and doctors in order to offer her the best medical care I can, but I mean Everleigh as well. I have a deep-seated need in me all of a sudden to make sure she’s happy.
Although maybe it’s not so sudden.
This is getting weird.
Hans peers into the cage and lets out a low hum. “Hello, there, beastie.” The cat answers back with a feral yell, and a black paw with razor-sharp claws darts out from the slats on the cage door. “Ooohhohhh there, the wee beastie likes me, I can tell.” I’m not even sure what part of the world that’s supposed to be from.
Heather giggles again. She blinks at Hans, and now there’s the slightest flush at the base of her throat. I think she might like the accents thing. Or maybe it’s him. I don’t know. Hans is intimidating at first, but he grows on you, he really does.
After a tour of the house, which includes dropping off the hot devil cat from hell—it is actually a cow-looking cat and not all black like its leg and paw indicated—we end up in the library. Everleigh wanted to save that room for last. I think it might be her favorite. She spends a lot of time here when I’m working, which is often because I made work my entire life before I had a visitor in my house. That might have more to do with why I’m unmarried than my shoulder problem and the fact that I can’t get in a vehicle. Maybe. Kind of.
I’m just glad that in here, it’s relatively silent, and the hounds of hell, or rather, just one small cat, isn’t caged and hissing bloody cat murder and making inhumane noises anymore. That thing puts the cat in caterwauling. Big time.
“How was it this time?” Everleigh asks Heather. They’re seated on the same vintage sofa together. Everleigh’s mom is sitting with Hans on the other, and I chose a big wingback chair. It’s the kind of thing that is nice and good for brooding, and Hans would probably say it suits me perfectly, even if I’m not as much of a broody bastard as most people would think. “You barely talked about it yesterday when you and Mom got home.”