Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
“Babe, I work with your brother. It was easy to get the ball rolling. He needed a machine. I’ve got it. They needed the manpower. Got that, too. I told you I’d do anything to see you be as successful as possible. Now, are you ready to get things to your liking?” All I can do is nod. Words are hard, my eyes are filling up with water, and this man, my family, his family, they all do so freaking much that words will never be enough, not ever. “Kody, babe, you okay?” he asks. I suck back the tears and get myself under control.
“I will with you by my side. I know this took a lot, and I’ll never be able to repay you, Jameson.” I can’t help myself. My arms band around his waist, and I plant my forehead on his chest. I feel him inhale and then exhale.
“Kody, you do more than you could ever know. This isn’t a tit-for-tat situation. We help one another out when we can. Now, I hate like hell we gotta quit having a moment, but our families are about to attack, and that includes JoJo. My daughter isn’t happy when she’s not getting your attention.” Jameson isn’t wrong. She loves nothing more than to be right in the middle, and I’m her friend, not Jameson’s anything.
“Thank you.” I lift my head. The cat’s out of the bag. Everyone and their brother knows we’re together now. Jameson wasn’t hiding it from anyone, not even Josephine. The two of them talked. He told her I’d never take the place of her mother, and he’s right. I don’t want that either. Emma gave her so much, and she’d keep giving her everything she could if her life didn’t end so tragically.
“Welcome. Now give your man a kiss and get your ass to work. I wanna see my woman shine.” Crazy man. He barely gets the word out, and his mouth is on mine, sliding his tongue inside and teasing me relentlessly until I’m panting.
“Woohoo! Get it, boy!” We pull away from one another. Matthew and Shaun are standing together, arms on each other’s shoulders and making catcalls. They’re a bunch of teenage boys, I swear.
29
JAMESON
There’s something about watching your woman do what she loves. Her happiness is so infectious that you’re smiling and laughing while being the gopher bitch.
Iced coffee, check.
A charged battery for her camera, check.
Interacting with people waiting, check.
If this were any other person, I’d be saying fuck this, especially with the pile of shit starting next week. A project we’re all fucking dreading, every last one of us. I made a proposal to get the job done faster. Of course, it means being away from Kody and Josephine for a week straight. Mom and Dad are going to pick up where Kody can’t, though she’s made it clear there’s nowhere else she’d rather be than with JoJo. After today, her schedule might change, and her business might pick up substantially.
“You did good, bud. Glad you finally saw what everyone else did.” Matthew knocks shoulders with me. There was a shit ton of other shit I did, too. Our families congregated, took shifts, and helped where we could. Though Josephine stole the damn show with Kody taking pictures of her first. My little girl is a ham who loves the attention, and she got it in spades. Then she proceeded to stay glued to Kody, who gave her small little tasks, moving this or that, with the patience of a damn saint.
“She’s the fucking best, man. It’s gonna suck next week.” Matthew and Lacey probably aren’t liking this too much either. Shaun and a couple of the other guys will. They’re single, plus it’s money. I’m offering unlimited overtime in order to get this job done as long as we remain safe. We’ll get hotels to eat, sleep, and shower; otherwise, we’re working.
“It will. Lacey isn’t big on the idea. The money will help, and that eases the burden a bit. We’re going to start trying soon, and we both want some extra padding in the savings account.” A long time coming for those two. They were married before Josephine was born. Now that they’re actually taking the plunge, it looks like JoJo will have a cousin, and just maybe a little brother or sister, too.
“Glad to hear it. It’ll be nice to have another one running around, keeping us on our toes.” My eyes take in Kody. She’s got Josephine on her hip, camera in her hand, holding it up for JoJo to look at and snap pictures. I can hear the two of them giggling. It’s damn music to my ears.
“Don’t tell Mom or a soul. Lacey will have my balls. She doesn’t want the pressure of anyone knowing in case something happens.” My eyebrows furrow, thinking there’s a problem. “No, no. Nothing like that. She’s erring on the side of caution, and I’ll be in her corner no matter what.”