Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Kent had a toddler called Asher and an energetic dog called Digger. She wasn’t sure which was cuter.
“I’m going to tell Abby that you called her a hooligan,” Zeke told him.
“Haha.”
Zeke squeezed her hand. “You doing okay? This must all be a big change for you.”
“You have no idea. I didn’t know places like this existed.”
“We want you here, Devi. And so does Hayes. Once he’s in, he’s all in. I think you know that, though, huh? He’s not a man you will ever have to worry will hurt you or be disloyal. You might need to whack him on the head if he becomes too intense over your safety.”
“He’s been talking about wrapping me in bubble wrap. And today I caught him looking up ways to babyproof the cabin. I do know not to drink the cleaning fluid under the sink, you know!”
Zeke threw his head back and laughed. She had to smile.
“Dear Lord. You’re in such trouble with him,” he told her.
“I know. Truth is, most of the time, I like it.” But eventually, she thought they were going to need to have a chat about where the line was.
“Devi! Devi, where are you?” Hayes’ frantic voice hit her and she winced.
“Shit,” she said, trying to stand.
“She’s over here,” Zeke called out, holding her down. “Let him come to you.”
Hayes suddenly appeared. “Fuck, baby. I thought I told you to stay put. What happened? Did you fall over?” He crouched and started running his hands over her. “Does anything hurt? I’m going to go and find Doc. Zeke, stay with her.”
“No. Wait! I’m fine. Really. Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. But I’m not hurt. I don’t need a doctor.”
“You’re sure?”
“I am. I promise. I just got a bit tired. That’s all.”
He lifted her so they were both standing and hugged her tight. Shit. She shouldn’t have moved away from where he’d left her. She could feel his heart racing.
“We just came over here to talk,” Zeke said, standing as well. “It can be a bit overwhelming with everyone around.”
“I knew it. This was too soon, wasn’t it? We’re going home.” He picked her up in his arms, holding her against his chest.
“Hayes! Hayes, put me down.” She wiggled in his arms.
“Don’t move,” he bossed. “I’m carrying you home. This was too soon. You’re tired. You need to go to bed and rest.”
She groaned. She could just see it now; she was going to end up in bed for the next week. “Hayes, I don’t need to go to bed. I just needed a breather. I feel fine now. Please, put me down.”
“Come on, if you steal her away now they’re just going to want to hold another party,” Zeke said.
Hayes grumbled to himself. “Fine, thirty more minutes that’s all.”
“Yay! Just enough time to make three more s’mores.”
“You can have one more s’more. And I’ll be the one making it. You’re too clumsy to be near fire.”
“Hey! I am not clumsy. I’m graceful, darn it. Graceful!”
“Sure you are, baby.”
48
It was getting cold in here. Devi glanced at the fireplace. She’d never lived in a house with a fireplace before. Not that they seemed that hard to work.
Open the door, shove wood in, bask in the warmth.
Done.
Only, the fire was dying and she didn’t want it to go out. Who knew how long Hayes was going to be? He’d gotten some sort of urgent phone call and had had to rush up to JSI headquarters. And she doubted he’d had a chance to call anyone to come sit with her. Not to mention that the weather was terrible outside. No one would willingly go out in it.
The wood is right there.
With a shrug, she got up and grabbed a piece of wood with her good hand.
Hmm. Wait. That wasn’t going to work. She set it back down and reached for the handle. Ooh that was hot, she used a cloth next to the fireplace to protect her hand and opened it. A whoosh of heat hit her, making her eyes water.
Wow.
There was some real heat in that fireplace.
Well, duh. It’s a fire, Devi.
Shaking her head at herself, she grabbed the piece of wood again and shoved it into the fire. Only, it didn’t go fully in. Obviously, she hadn’t given it enough of a shove.
Shoot.
She didn’t want to reach in and push it with her bare hand. What to do? Then she noticed a metal poker sitting next to the fireplace.
All right.
That seemed easy enough. Grabbing the poker, she shoved the wood in and embers flew out, landing on the floor.
“Oh no! Oh shit!” she cried, worried the embers would catch and create a fire.
So she stomped on the fire with her slipper-clad feet. The smell of burning rubber filled the room, making her wrinkle her nose and quickly take off her slippers. Then she noticed that the door to the fire was still open and smoke was starting to fill the room.