Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Of course, silly.” She flutters from room to room, packing things into a small suitcase.
Once she’s deemed herself and the bird ready, I pack them both into my SUV and head toward my house, driving a little extra around town to make sure I’m not being followed. You can never be too safe.
A little over an hour later I safely arrive at my place, and get Briar and the bird settled. “You’ll stay in the guest room close to my room.” I’d love to tell her how she’ll be staying in my bed with me, but I have to remain professional here.
“I’m going to put Jeb in here with me,” she says, unpacking a few things and sliding them into the dresser.
“Make yourself at home. What’s your work schedule like this weekend?”
“I have the next two days off, but then I’m in on Monday morning.”
“Perfect. Hopefully everything will be wrapped up by then.”
She smiles with determined eyes. “Jason wasn’t a bad guy when we first met.”
I lean against the door jamb to the guest room, crossing my arms over my chest. “They’re usually not at first. But there’s signs to watch for.”
Briar finishes getting the birdcage set up in her room. “Believe me, I know the warning signs to look for now. He used to never let me order my own food at restaurants. He liked having that control.”
“Yeah, you should be able to make your own choices.” There’s different types of control, and the kind of control Jason liked is never the good kind.
“There were other signs. Little things really. He would get angry over the smallest issue. I should have known.”
I step closer, dropping my hands. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. You got out of that relationship which proves how strong you are.”
She smiles at me, her green eyes shining. “Thank you, Orion.”
She’s close, very close and more than anything I want to kiss her. This would be the moment in the movies where the hero grabs the girl and kisses her deep, and my chest warms up.
Before I can talk myself out of kissing her, the bird speaks up, “Jeb just made a poo,” he says, killing the mood completely.
I roll my eyes.
This is gonna be a blast.
The next morning, I wake up to something red hovering above my head. My vision is still blurry, so I rub my eyes, trying to make sense of the sight. What the hell is that?
“Jeb is hungry. You feed Jeb now,” the familiar, grating voice of Briar’s feathered menace squawks.
Groaning, I roll over, burying my face in the pillow. “It’s way too early for this shit,” I mumble, hoping the bird will magically disappear.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Briar’s voice filters through my sleepy haze, followed by the sound of her snapping her fingers. “Jeb, here.”
“Jeb is hungry!” the bird repeats, like some tiny, demanding dictator, and suddenly, with a flurry of feathers, he flies across the room. He lands gracefully on Briar’s outstretched hand like this is all totally normal.
I jolt upright. “Holy shit! That thing just flew in here!” I wasn’t expecting to wake up to a bird dive-bombing my bedroom.
Briar tries to stifle a laugh, though the amusement dances in her eyes. “I’m so sorry he got in here. I swear, he’s harmless... just dramatic.”
I shove the covers off, sitting up, trying to get a sense of time. It feels like dawn with how groggy I am, but the light streaming through the window says otherwise. “What time is it, anyway?”
Briar fumbles, her eyes wide as she stares at me. “Um…I, I…” She’s flustered.
I glance down, noticing I’m wearing nothing but my black boxer-briefs. “Oh shit,” I grunt out. “Sorry.” I spot my jeans on the chair by the bed, and slide them up my legs. “What time is it?” I ask again.
Briar leans against the doorframe, holding the bird, who looks annoyingly pleased with himself. Her eyes roam over my chest, and I know she’s taking in my tattoos. “Almost noon,” she says, breathless. “Are you planning on sleeping all day? Not that I mind, but we were about to make lunch.”
I stifle a yawn, rubbing my eyes again. “The bird cooks too? What a multi-talented bird you’ve got there.”
Briar giggles, shaking her head. “Sadly, no. He’s more into bossing people around than actually being useful.”
“Well, at least he’s consistent.” I tug on a t-shirt. "Guess I’ll join the lunch crowd, then. Unless the bird has more demands before we start?"
The bird lets out an indignant squawk, and I swear I catch a glint of mischief in his beady little eyes.
She laughs. “No silly, I was going to cook something up. I’ll need to look in your pantry to see what you have.”
I try to remember the last time I went to the store. “I’m sure there’s not a lot to choose from.”