Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 132031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
“All of them.” Obviously.
She laughed and nodded, bringing the plate to Dev with a napkin and utensils. She went for the refrigerator. “I invited your father to Thanksgiving only under duress.”
“Why duress?” Dev asked about her terrible decision.
His mother’s face contorted as she brought a cold bottle of water to him. “Your father’s got something going on. He feels like he’s being watched closer than normal. He’s so reckless and full of ego. It could be anything. What do you know?”
“Let’s see. I know he’s a motherfucker,” Dev answered, twisting off the top to his water bottle. “He’s pretty sure I’m gonna grow a titty because I’m tryin’ to be a mama to the girls.”
Her jaw set and eyes narrowed as she brought the plate from the microwave to him. “He believes all parenting should be done by the mother. It was my role to do everything. He makes me crazy.” She gripped the edge of the counter and bowed up like a boxer ready for their next fight. He grabbed a chicken leg and took a big bite. Flavor exploded over his tongue.
“Are you eating?” she asked, causing him to look down at the food. He resisted the urge to open his mouth to show her the chewed bite inside. “I mean regularly.”
He shrugged. Maybe he’d send Millie on a grocery run tomorrow. When she dropped the haul off at his house, she’d see how clean the apartment was.
“Have you heard from Tena?”
His brows furrowed. Wasn’t she just asking all the questions tonight. The lump of chicken he’d started to swallow lodged in his throat. He forced the food down, reaching for the bottle of water.
“Jesus, Mom. Why come at me that way?”
“Dev, she’s their mother and they’re hurting,” his mother explained, drawing straight up confusion from him.
“She’s a selfish cunt,” he replied. Tena was trash to him.
“You know I don’t like that word.” Whatever played behind her eyes was probably better left unsaid. He’d only get angry and pop off, offering no real comfort.
“The difference is that she is one,” he tried to appease her, and took a big bite of the mashed potatoes.
They didn’t taste quite as good as they might have had they not been talking about Tena.
“Well, I’ve done some things you need to know about. I have an attorney ready to fight for sole primary custody. We don’t want Tena dropping back into their lives and creating chaos again. She’ll have to follow some structure. It’ll help in the long run.”
He hadn’t thought about that and nodded. Except as far as he was concerned, Tena could walk off the edge of the world and die.
“I also have some fun things for the girls planned tomorrow and Tuesday. Then Abi wants to help me make Thanksgiving dinner. I’d like them to stay here this week and longer,” she started. That drew his gaze to her. No one had ever had any faith in him being a father, no matter how hard he tried. His heart ached that his mother seemed on board that same train. “I know it’s a long drive for you, but after your holiday rush, you could move in here too. We could tackle raising the girls together, the way you want them raised.”
He let those words soothe the irritation building.
“I have money set aside…” she started.
He vehemently shook his head, cutting her off. “This is my deal. I’m payin’ for my kids. So, you’re sayin’ I’d sell the Sunnyvale property and the girls would live here full-time? Go to school around here. What school district is it?”
As if he had any idea what school districts were any good in the first place.
“Honey, it’s Carroll ISD. An excellent district. We could get a nanny for after school, when neither of us can be here. I’m not trying to take over. I only want to enhance what you’ve started. They’re wonderful children. Abigail is so smart. Mae is equally creative. I was poor and young when you were born. I wanted the same things for y’all…” She shook her head. “I’m on board with what you’re doing. I want them in a place where they can remain children.”
Not only was she on his side, she just signed on to help.
Relief flooded him. He hadn’t wanted to go against her too.
Dev put the fork down and reached for the napkin, wiping his mouth.
The instant emotion of finally having someone who wanted the best for his daughters had tears stinging his eyes. He reached for the water bottle, gulping several long drinks to hide his over-the-top reaction.
When he could hold it together enough to speak, he told her his plan. “I was thinkin’ about sellin’ the Sunnyvale house and expandin’ onto my apartment, takin’ the first and second floor. Maybe stick them back in the private school Abi was in… But it’s my busiest time of the year. I’ll make a ton of money over the next five weeks if I can put in the hours, and that’s as far as I got.”