Total pages in book: 189
Estimated words: 181808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 909(@200wpm)___ 727(@250wpm)___ 606(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 909(@200wpm)___ 727(@250wpm)___ 606(@300wpm)
“Are there any left?”
Kendra looked at him like he was stupid. “I said there was plenty,” she replied condescendingly.
“I meant cereal.”
The prune-faced bitch’s face tightened. “No, I threw them out. She can’t be tempted if they aren’t there.”
And there it is.
Moon was a firmer believer in letting people sink themselves. No matter how close people watched their winning hands, inevitably, they would fuck themselves over by one slip of the tongue. He liked to call it I’m smarter than you syndrome.
“Maybe.” Moon looked down into Larissa’s clueless expression that told him she was unaware of the battle of wills going on between him and her mother, then studied Kendra’s cunning one. “Or it might make her want them even more.”
Throwing that bait over his shoulder, he walked back toward the kitchen.
“The soup is on the second shelf.” Satisfaction was obvious in Kendra’s voice.
“I’m making us breakfast for dinner.”
“I already ate.”
“Wasn’t planning on making any for you.” Uncaring of how rude he sounded, he placed strips of bacon in a frying pan before taking a bowl out of the cabinet. “I’m making it for Larissa and me. I’ve been at work since seven—I’m starving. I don’t want soup. I agree that Larissa needs something more substantial besides cereal. I’m going to make her a healthy omelet. She taught me her recipe. How does that sound, Larissa?”
“Amazing.” Using the edge of the table, Larissa lifted herself to her feet. “I’ll help.”
Kendra’s expression drew so tight that Moon expected it to crack like a hardboiled egg.
“What about”—Kendra gave Larissa a secretive look—“that paperwork you needed to get done tonight?”
Pretending he hadn’t seen the exchange, Moon started cracking the eggs. “What paperwork?”
Larissa sat back down to open the computer. “I was working on a report. It’s due at twelve.”
Moon raised an eyebrow in her direction. “A.M.?”
“Yes.”
Flipping the bacon over, he walked to the table.
Larissa was looking at the screen so didn’t see him approaching.
Kendra did.
“Moon, you should keep an eye on what you’re cooking …”
Larissa’s head jerked up, her hand immediately going to shut the laptop.
He moved her hand away and raised it again, staring at what Larissa had been working on. “Why are you writing a report on who’s the most successful general in history?”
“Uh … I’m helping my mom’s friend’s son write a topic paper for his history class.”
Larissa sucked at lying. She was so bad at it that all he had to do was give her a certain look and she would spill her guts. The guiltier she felt, the easier it was to find out what she had done. He had found out that little trick when he caught her taking his cigarettes out of his jacket pocket. The first two packs that had gone missing, he had blamed himself for leaving them at the club. When the third pack had disappeared and he had reminded himself to double-check they were in his pocket the night before, it led him only to one culprit. She had sung like a canary when he called her out.
“Helping or doing?” He saw where the curser was in the middle of a new paragraph, so he had no doubt of the answer.
“Uh …” Larissa looked toward her mother then him.
Moon narrowed his eyes on her.
“Doing,” she confessed.
He reached over her shoulder. With two quick strokes on the keyboard, he deleted the paper, then hit another button and deleted it to make sure she couldn’t hit Redo.
He had the satisfaction of seeing Kendra’s astonishment before returning to the kitchen to check on the bacon. Whistling, he started stirring the egg whites in the bowl.
“I can’t believe you did that,” Kendra hissed from across the room. “Do you have any idea how long it took Larissa to write that paper?”
“Too long, considering how many words it was,” he said uncaringly.
“What am I supposed to tell Patrick when he calls?”
“You can tell him, from me, to write his own fucking papers.” Pulling the bacon out of the frying pan, he poured the egg whites in. As the eggs cooked, he made toast, sliced an avocado, and poured two glasses of orange juice.
He slid Larissa’s omelet on a plate and topped the plate with the sliced avocado, two slices of turkey bacon, and a slice of toast. Carrying it to the table, he placed it down before heading back to make his own plate.
His omelet was more substantial, with everything but the kitchen sink and regular bacon that he had fried after Larissa’s was done.
He opened the fridge to search for the jelly he had bought off Ginny. When he didn’t find it, he closed the fridge and went into the pantry to get another jar.
The whole shelf where he had carefully placed the box of jellies and preserves was empty.
He walked out of the pantry and went back to the fridge, this time searching for the store-bought jelly he only used for peanut butter sandwiches. Nada.