Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
I’d just gotten the screaming infant in the bathwater when the doorbell rang.
I ignored it.
Whoever it was must’ve realized no one was coming because they let themselves in.
“Searcy? Calliope?”
I narrowed my eyes as I reached for the discarded pacifier that I’d accidentally tossed to the floor with Dalton’s clothes.
I was just washing it off and plugging Dalton’s mouth with it when Jasper arrived.
“You know he has an infant bathtub, right?” Jasper asked.
“Sure, but a sink works just as well.”
“Sinks are gross.”
“Sinks are gross if you don’t wash them,” I pointed out. “I’ve washed this one.”
That’d been what I was doing while Searcy was getting thrown up on—cleaning her house.
She refused to hire a cleaning lady, which was fucking stupid. She had the money.
But she said it was a pride thing. She could do it on her own.
And hell, maybe she could. But why would she want to?
“Okay,” he said as he walked to the sink. “Why’s he crying?”
“No idea,” I admitted. “He’s been fed, changed, and burped. He’s been swaddled. Unswaddled. Rocked. Put down. Now we’re trying a bath.”
The bath had somewhat worked. His screams were now down to whimpers.
“Looks rough,” he said. “Maybe he has gas.”
“If he does,” I said, “I don’t know what to do about it.”
Jasper walked right up to the sink and looked down at Dalton, who had a pitiful look on his cute little face.
Jasper reached down and lifted Dalton’s legs up high, pressing them against his belly. He released them, then repeated the move multiple other times when, sure enough, the loudest, wettest fart sounded.
“There you go,” Jasper said. “Where’s Searcy? Doc wanted me to drop this off to her.”
I eyed the envelope. “What is it?”
Jasper shrugged. “If she wants you to know…”
I rolled my eyes as I said, “Watch him. I’m going to get soap.”
I didn’t give him the chance to argue, leaving as fast as my legs would carry me.
I barged right into the room where my sister was showering and said, “Where’s the baby soap?”
“Top drawer next to the bath,” she called out, standing in the middle of her massive shower with her head facing the spray. “He likes the yellow one best. The purple makes him grumpy.”
I took the yellow and left her to her shower, stopping in Dalton’s room for a change of clothes and a damn big ass diaper.
When I came back out, Jasper was leaning over the sink, his muscular forearms resting against the small space between the countertop and the lip of the sink.
I laid the clothes out on the counter and allowed Jasper to continue the baby watching as I ran a load of clothes, folded a load, and separated the adults’ clothes from the kids’.
I drew the line at Doc’s boxer briefs and kicked those into the corner with the rest of his shit that smelled like smoke.
Once I had everything folded, I started with the toys that were spread literally everywhere.
I’d just picked up a couple of random Cheetos when Jasper came into the living room and plopped down onto the sofa. He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table I’d just freshly cleaned and maneuvered Dalton up onto his strong shoulder.
I felt my mouth go dry at the sight of him holding a baby.
The man was magnetic before, but him holding a kid? I didn’t even want kids and this was doing it for me.
He grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over himself as he closed his eyes.
I left him to it, thankful for the help.
I pulled out the vacuum and gave the living room, kitchen, and laundry room a quick clean before putting it back where it belonged. I went to the kitchen to clean up from the bath, got everything put away, then got started on the Crock Pot dinner that Searcy had planned for the night.
I’d just gotten the roast into the pot when Searcy came back, hair dry, and a fresh set of clothes on her body.
“You smell better,” I said as I threw the bloody plastic into the trash.
“I feel better,” she admitted. “What’s Jasper doing here? Not that I’m complaining.”
I pointed to a legal envelope, and her breath caught.
“What is it?”
She looked wary.
“Seriously…what is it? You’re being shady. He was being shady. Just tell me.”
She walked to the table and pulled out the envelope, staring at its contents.
She took a deep breath, then turned to me.
She handed me the papers, and I frowned at what I saw.
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF POSY KASE HICKS AND SEARCY MADDELYN HICKS.
My stomach instantly soured.
“Why…why’d you do this?”
She leaned her hips against the counter as I handed her the papers, unwilling to read any further.
She crossed her arms over her chest, the papers tucked against her belly, and started to explain.
“I have three children.”