Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 69794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“You mean, when you weren’t in prison for killing people, right?” Seraphina snorted.
Court turned to her and leveled her with a look that would’ve unnerved me had I not known him as well as I did.
“Are you lecturing me on killing people?” Court asked bluntly. “You, who killed your own baby sister, then saw no prison time for it? You, who broke up her parents’ marriage? You, who has yet to show regret for your actions? I literally watched you walk out of a bar and get picked up by your driver yesterday. Good on you getting in the car. But correct me if I’m wrong. Didn’t the bartender have to take your keys away? You were going to try to drive home.”
My sister’s lips pinched.
I turned to her, angry as hell.
Then Iris placed her hand on my cheek, and I remembered where I was and who I was with.
Dad started signing again, but I ignored him in favor of tuning everything out.
By the time Court was done with his discussion, I was fuming mad and ready to lose my shit.
Good thing I had Iris here.
If she hadn’t been, I might very well be seeing the inside of a jail cell.
And that wasn’t something I could allow if I wanted to go back to my teaching career.
TWELVE
The female version of ‘tea bag’ is called ‘clam slam.’
—Nettie to Magnolia
MAGNOLIA
I grinned as I saw them pull up in their fancy Uber.
Court got out first and waited for a long moment before reaching in and grabbing Iris’s booster seat.
Iris appeared moments later, and she waited for Beau before following him to the plane.
I grinned from my position mid-bus as I waited for the ladies in front of me to grab their belongings and get out of the bus.
Nettie, who was directly behind me with her bag, said, “That’s super cute. I don’t know how he gets her to talk to him. I’ve tried so hard, Magnolia.”
I looked over my shoulder at my friend.
“They have a special bond,” I admitted. “Their love of documentaries and sign language bonded them pretty quick. But I think the reason that she loves him so much is because he treats her like she’s normal. Like she isn’t flawed. And I know that you do, too. But he just gets her on a level that most don’t.”
“I’m sad that you’re leaving at the end of the season,” she said. “Next year really would’ve been my year to make her like me.”
I stepped forward a foot. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing plenty of each other. I like it up here, and I know that Iris does, too. It’s an adventurer’s paradise.”
“I love Montana,” she agreed. “I had no clue how much until I moved to Miami. I loved the sun and the sand. The beach. But the beach doesn’t beat the mountains.”
I agreed.
Plus…
“It’s way nicer weather-wise here, too,” I said. “I just need to convince my best friend to move up here.”
“Does she not like it?” she asked.
We took another few steps forward as I answered, “Merrill is a sun and sweat girl. She says that it’s too snowy in Montana.”
“That is true,” she agreed. “It snows a lot.”
We were finally next off the bus, and the team manager took our soccer gear and bags from us as we got off.
“Thank you, sir.” I patted him on the back.
He winked. “Kissing up will get your stuff off first.”
I snickered as we made our way over to the men.
Weaver was there with Nettie’s daughter fast asleep on his shoulder. Iris was standing next to Beau, leaning against his leg, watching a couple of birds that were flying over the airport.
“Hey, kiddo.”
She looked up at me and smiled, then went back to her bird watching.
“I see she’s wearing clothes,” Nettie observed.
“You’re lucky,” Weaver drawled. “Everything was packed. I had to buy this in the gift shop in the stadium. I would’ve gone back up, but apparently there’s no re-entry once you’ve left.”
“It worked out,” Eddie said from our side. “How would you have gotten us churros otherwise?”
Weaver shot her a wink.
Court leveled his gaze on me and said, “Are you sure you have to retire this season?”
I flushed at the intensity in his eyes. “Yes, I’m sorry. I’m ready to start my career.”
A car came to an abrupt stop just feet from where we were standing, and Beau instinctively turned his body so that it was in between the car and Iris, even though the car came from nowhere and stopped really close.
It was no surprise when Seraphina and Mr. Vanderbilt got out.
I let my eyes travel from one to the other.
I’d never officially met them, but I’d seen Mr. Vanderbilt several times in passing. Seraphina, I’d only seen in town. And the only reason I’d known it was her was due to the fact that she’d gone out to eat, racked up a thousand-dollar bill, then hadn’t tipped.