Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 139088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
After delivering that, she bustled out.
“I’ll just see if Mom needs any help,” Dream said, getting up and throwing over her shoulder, “Watch the kids, will you?”
Before I agreed, Dream disappeared.
I turned to Knox. “Are you serious right now?”
He grinned.
“No, seriously. Are you serious right now?” I demanded.
“Your mom called and asked me to dinner. What am I supposed to do? Say no?”
Right.
Why would he say no?
He was my friend. I was his friend. Mom and Dad were in our circle.
Friends went to dinner with friends, or at friends’ parents’ houses.
Right?
Right.
Shit.
“You could have texted me to say you were coming,” I said.
“Do you need a warning?” he teased.
I absolutely did.
Especially if teasing was involved.
I took a needed sip of wine and asked, “How are you doing?”
“Glad to be out of my fuckin’ house for a few hours.”
I bet he was.
I could chill out with the best of them, but even I’d be going stir crazy after three straight days stuck at home.
On this, Dad entered the room, came right to me, bussed my cheek and greeted, “Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hey, Dad. Does Mom need help in the kitchen?”
“She’s got me and now your sister. You keep Knox company,” Dad replied. He turned to Knox. “We’ll be eating in about ten minutes, son.”
“Awesome, Scott. Thanks,” Knox replied.
Dad headed out.
I sat in an armchair and kept my wine held high and safe from snuffling dogs even as I petted said snuffling dogs.
And I started it.
“So, I had an interesting chat with Byron today.”
His grin came back. “I know. Tex called Roam to see who won the pool. In case you’re interested, it was Shaw.”
“Do you boys have other pools on shit about the Angels?” I asked.
“As far as we know, there’s no one else in your sphere who has their eyes on the accounts of defense contractors, terrorist sympathizers, straight-up terrorists, autocrats and warmongers.”
Holy shit!
“So, no,” he concluded.
As I was dealing with this new revelation about Byron (though, I suspected as such, I just didn’t let my mind go there), Feather came to me and walloped my leg with a moist dog toy.
Gross.
I took it from her and said, “We don’t hit people, do we?”
She giggled her denial of this claim, then raced after a terrier.
I tossed the dog toy in a random direction and a labrador claimed it as it flew through the air.
“Is Byron badass?” I asked Knox.
“Byron is an accountant. In other words, that’s a big no. Did he agree to be your Brody?”
Brody was that computer whiz on payroll up in Denver.
“If I get him a date with Dream.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Serious?”
I nodded.
“Maybe there are some risks he’s willing to take,” Knox suggested.
“Maybe,” I allowed.
“Are you going to finesse that?”
“Can you assure me no unsavory detritus is going to infiltrate Byron’s life in a way that makes it dangerous to date him?”
“Life throws curve balls, baby,” he said quietly. “What I can say is, he’s a solid guy. He’s sharp as fuck. And he makes a small fortune doing what he does.”
Something to think on.
“Did you have a good day?” he asked.
“Outside learning about Byron, yeah.”
His head ticked. “Are you pissed about that?”
“You guys could have told us,” I pointed out.
“According to Byron, that’s need to know,” he replied. “Though, I encourage you to look at it in the sense that we knew you women would find out, and that was why we started a pool.”
I guessed that was complimentary.
Mom appeared in the doorway, eyes on me. “Time to strap down the kids. Can you help with that, smoochface?”
Smoochface.
Mom had a way with an endearment. I kept thinking she’d eventually run out of them, but she kept coming up with new ones.
Like smoochface.
I pushed out of my seat, saying, “Yeah.”
I noticed Knox getting up, thus I turned to him. “You are not hefting around children with a bad leg and bad shoulder.”
“None of them weigh even fifty pounds,” he retorted.
God!
He was driving me crazy.
“Are you going to backtalk me every single time I say something, that something being said trying to look out for you?” I returned.
He grinned even as he bent, scooped Feather up under his arm like she was a sack of flour, she squealed in delight, and he replied, “It’s more fun that way.”
Ugh.
I saved Harmony from the confines of the playpen, called to Dusk, and headed to the dining room.
Knox and Feather followed.
“Okay, so, your mom and me have made a decision,” Dad declared halfway into us scarfing down Mom’s scrumptious lentil pasta.
Great, so this wasn’t a let’s-just-spend-some-time-together family dinner.
Dad had an announcement.
Shit.
Dream and I looked to each other.
She turned her attention to go between Mom and Dad.
I shifted mine to Knox, who was studiously slurping up pappardelle noodles.
He was uncomfortable and I knew this because, until that point, he was completely at ease at our family table.