Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“It’s a blur,” I state. “The past ten days have been a blur, and I really wish I remembered most of it.”
The guys all laugh as they get up and start packing their lockers. I get up, putting my phone away, before walking over and grabbing a garbage bag to throw shit out. “What are you doing after this?” Xavier asks as he leans over and throws some of his stuff in my garbage.
“No idea,” I say truthfully. “I’m going back home in a couple of weeks to stay at my lake house and start training. You?”
“Family vacation,” he replies, opening his backpack and tossing in some of his hockey tape. “Why don’t you and Penelope come?”
I look over at him. “I don’t know.” I chuckle. “It’s a family vacation.”
“And you’ve been a part of that family longer than I have. You are practically there every Sunday for lunch.” He points out a little fact that I usually forget since it’s become a ritual with Penelope and myself.
“Yeah,” I agree. The minute I found out about Penelope, the whole Grant-Stone family was behind me. There was never a moment they judged me or made me feel like a horrible person for any of it. I mean, it took Julia a while to warm up to me, but that is only because she was the one who was the caseworker for Penelope. “Maybe.” I think about how much fun Penelope would have. She loves her time at the lake, but she would really love to go to the beach. “Are you sure this is okay?” I look back over at Xavier, who just nods his head. “It’s a family vacation. I don’t want to intrude.”
“Please,” Xavier pffts me. “Cooper,” he calls over to Cooper, who is tossing all his shit into his equipment bag. I don’t even think he’s looking at what he’s putting in there. “How many people coming on the family trip?”
“Fuck if I know. I think we were up to eighty,” Cooper answers, shaking his head.
“So would two more matter?” He motions over to me, and he just laughs.
“Fifteen more wouldn’t matter at this point,” Dylan interjects as Michael laughs.
“I’m dreading this plane ride,” Michael groans, looking over at me. “Just make sure you bring earplugs.”
I think about it for a second, and perhaps I should have thought about it a little more, but I can’t help myself. “This sounds like so much fun. What’s the worst that can happen?”
The whole group of guys moans when I say that. “Well, one year, I woke up, and my brother was wakeboarding naked,” Cooper says of Chase, “and then my daughter drew a picture at school about it.”
“One year,” Dylan holds up his hand, “Wilson and Franny got caught doing it against a tree.”
“We didn’t get caught,” Wilson says, laughing, “and we weren’t doing it.” He just smirks. “I was feeling her up, and her ass got stung by a bee.”
“That’s my sister,” Cooper groans and pretends he’s going to vomit.
“One year”—Michael puts his hand up—“Alex ran away from Dylan.”
“She didn’t run away,” Dylan denies. “She was giving me space.”
“She took a plane and left the island,” Michael points out. “That’s leaving you.”
Dylan just flips him the bird. “One year, Michael fell asleep in one of those hammock things and had a glasses sunburn on his face.” All the guys laugh, even Michael.
“Needless to say, you never ask what can go wrong because with my family,” Cooper says, “the possibilities are endless. Especially now that Matty and Christopher are allowed to drink.”
“They got shit-faced two years ago,” Wilson adds. “We found them throwing up in the bushes.”
“Well, that sounds like a great time,” I say, “if it’s not too much trouble.”
Cooper picks up his phone and dials someone, and as soon as I hear Matthew’s voice, I just listen. “Dad, Tristan and Penelope are coming with.”
“Perfect, we have five extra houses, just in case,” Matthew replies, and I look over at Xavier.
“Just in case?” I whisper, and Xavier just shakes his head.
“Don’t make me judge my future father-in-law,” he says, and I laugh. It takes us about three hours to clean out the lockers, and the boys take one more picture before we all walk out.
When I finally pull up in the driveway, my phone pings with an alert and an email comes in from Matthew with all the trip details.
Grabbing the bag from the back seat, I walk up the path and open the front door. “I’m home.” The door to upstairs is closed, so I know she isn’t upstairs. I walk into the house, putting my bag right at the entrance to the dining room that we only ever use during the holidays. “P,” I yell her name and still hear nothing when I walk into the huge family room. It’s the whole reason I bought this house. It’s in the middle of the house, attached to a giant kitchen with an even bigger island. It’s where we spend most of the time.