Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 90098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
“You’ll sleep in the car, baby,” I told him.
He grumbled something and crushed me in a hug.
I smiled and squeezed him back. “How about a back rub later?”
He groaned. “Fuck, I love you.”
I grinned and kissed his neck. “Let’s go pick up the others.”
“Oh, right—” He straightened and absently scratched his bicep. “Angie’s driving her own car. She had some work to finish up, so she’ll join us later.”
“Okay, cool. And in case she hates me, she can flee the scene.”
He rolled his eyes, amused. “You’re cute, but she already knows the worst part about you.”
I frowned. “Which is?”
“That you’re a Cubs fan, fucking obviously.”
That motherf—
I couldn’t wait for my family to descend on his Soxy ass.
So the trick to get Alvin to enjoy a whole day out was to drive two goddamn hours—because we avoided the tolls, of course—up to fucking Kenosha, where we could find solitude along Kennedy Drive.
We were literally entering Wisconsin.
The best view was in the rearview, and I was referring both to Chicago and the O’Cleary boys. Ben and Alvin were fast asleep, Alvin with his noise-canceling headphones and Ben with his shades. Both of them had their arms folded too, but only the elder was snoring.
I smiled to myself and drummed my fingers along the wheel as a new song came on. Fucking perfect. Def Leppard. Best summer music if anyone asked us. Ben’s only objection was when I called the music old.
“Are you working tonight, dearie?” Elsie asked.
“I’ll pitch in if it gets busy after nine,” I replied.
We’d be home by then.
“What’cha knitting?” I asked.
“A new beanie for Alvin,” she answered. “He’s very fussy about the material, you see. If it’s remotely scratchy, he’ll get enraged.”
Oh yeah, I’d heard about that. Not specifically about Alvin, but I’d been doing some reading when I was in the bathroom lately.
“Feel this.” She held up the bundle of yarn, and I touched it and lifted my brows. Damn, it was really soft.
“You could have lettering across it,” I said. “‘I didn’t choose the rage. The rage chose me.’”
Elsie side-eyed me over her glasses. “Sometimes you say things, and I have to make sure it’s not Ben speaking.”
I grinned.
She smiled softly, a bit wryly, and turned back to her knitting. “Unfortunately, Alvin takes after his father’s crass humor, so I might as well. He’d find that funny.”
Yeah? Another point for me.
I jumped slightly when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and then the arm followed.
I checked the rearview and threaded our fingers together, and I saw Ben leaning against the back of my headrest.
I kissed his hand.
“Where are we?” he asked through a yawn.
“We can start lookin’ in ten minutes,” I said. We had the lake to our right, gorgeous as hell, but we were about to circle a country club. And find a slushie for me. The GPS promised I wouldn’t have to wait long.
“Did you have a good nap, sweetie?” Elsie asked.
“Yeah, till Alvin knocked his headphones in my face.”
I laughed.
“I like that beanie idea, by the way,” Ben told his ma. “He’ll love that.”
Elsie sighed. “Almost fifty years old, and my son is still a hell-raiser.”
She didn’t know what hell-raising was.
We found a good spot near a beach just south of Kenosha, where the closest people around were trapped in the cars driving by up on Kennedy.
The shoreline right here was one-part beach sand and one-part big rocks, and then we had some trees shielding us from most of the traffic. It was definitely worth the drive, even more so when I walked closer to the water’s edge. The water was clear and almost turquoise, but most importantly, I could see the bottom for at least forty or so feet.
“It looks great, but it gets deep fast,” I said, returning to the others.
Ben was helping Elsie with a big blanket in the shade of the trees.
I didn’t foresee anyone intruding. The parking spot we’d found was nearby, but so was a public beach. People were bound to pick that over the narrow strip we’d found just off the side of the road.
“Are you gonna swim, Dad?” Alvin asked.
“Of course I am, and so is Trace,” Ben replied.
I scrunched my nose. I mean, I hadn’t decided yet…
This wasn’t Florida.
I needed my air cold and my water warm. In other words, I was fucked either way.
Alvin brought out a notepad from his backpack and had another question for his old man. “Have you ever been to Lake Superior?”
“Uhh…yeah, a few times as a kid.” Ben nodded. “What’re you writing?”
“Water-related stuff,” he responded. “Is the water in Lake Superior warm in the summer?”
Ben and I exchanged a smirk, and I sat down on a rock to kick off my shoes. My blue and red slushie was waiting for me too.
“Lemme put it this way, son,” Ben started. “If anyone ever tells you the water is nice in Lake Superior, you need to cross a bridge and head south because you’ve been talking to a Yooper.”