Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“You’re forgiven.”
“Easy as that?” I murmured.
“I was being pushy,” Myla replied. “I get it. It was time for me to go.”
“That’s not—you weren’t.” How the fuck did the guys with old ladies do it? How did you explain shit without actually explaining it?
“I was,” she argued. “It’s cool. I get that you guys needed some time to yourselves. Just took a minute for that to sink in.”
“That’s not—” I needed to just tell her what was going on or at least let her in on enough so she understood why she couldn’t stay behind with me. “Let’s talk when I get back, yeah? I think we’re headed out tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.”
“You didn’t overstay your welcome, Myla,” I said, hating that I’d made it seem that way. I couldn’t get shit right with her. “Christ. You know I’d rather you were with me.”
“Sure.” The tone in her voice made my stomach clench with nerves.
“Call you when I’m back?” I asked.
“Yeah, drive safe tomorrow.”
“Always do.”
“Okay, bye.”
She hung up.
“Fuck,” I whispered, dropping the phone on my chest. I needed to figure shit out or she was going to completely write me off.
We left for Oregon the next morning, and the ride was surprisingly uneventful. Following behind Aunt Ashley’s RV and Aisling and Aoife’s cars in the rain was pretty fucking miserable, though, and I was happy as fuck when we finally turned onto Aunt Ashley’s long driveway and slowly made our way to the property.
The house wasn’t anything spectacular with only two bedrooms, but it was well maintained, and the decks were fucking awesome. There was a fenced area out back for animals, a small outbuilding for them to sleep in at night, and a large garage with a carport connected. Aunt Ashley backed the RV into the carport like a pro before we’d even made it up the driveway.
I stared at it all.
I was supposed to buy it. That was the plan. I was supposed to be moving into that house in just a few days.
I watched as my sisters piled out of their cars and Aoife helped Sean out of the back seat. He went running into the grass, his arms above his head as he yelled like a maniac. Fearless.
He hadn’t realized yet that his dad wasn’t coming back.
When our dad died, Aisling had only been a little older than Sean was. I remembered her curled into a ball on Aoife’s lap. She might not have understood, but she’d known something was very wrong. Sean didn’t have that knowledge.
“Seanie,” Saoirse called teasingly, running after him. “Halt! You’ll get lost in the tall grass and we’ll never find you! The wolves will have to raise you!”
That was the difference. Seanie had us. We made it okay for him.
When we were kids, we’d only had Aunt Ashley, and our mom had sent her away.
“I’m gonna head home,” Gray announced, walking over to me. “You’re good here. I’ll make sure there’s someone up at the road for the next few days, just to keep an eye on things.”
“I appreciate it,” I replied, reaching out to shake his hand. Gray had always been a bit standoffish, and I doubted we’d ever make friendship bracelets, but over the past week he’d come through in a big way. I owed him.
“No problem, man,” he said with a nod. “Family.”
The women and Sean made their way into the house, their hands full of random bags, and Bas met me at Aoife’s trunk.
“Hey, man, I just realized,” he said with a grimace, jerking his chin toward the house. “Supposed to be movin’ in this weekend.”
“Might be a little crowded,” I replied, popping her trunk.
“Blows.”
“It’s no big deal,” I replied. It wasn’t worth thinking about. Shit happened. I’d have another chance to buy a house. It might take a while, but it would happen. It wasn’t like I hated living with Titus and Noel.
“Still, the parties we coulda had out here,” Bas said wistfully as we carried the boxes toward the house.
“Ask Aoife,” I replied. “I’m sure she’d throw you a party.”
Bas scoffed.
“Who’s having a party?” Aunt Ashley asked, opening the door for us.
“Bas,” I said, moving past her. “He wants to get drunk and pass out in your field.”
“Aw, Sebastian,” Aunt Ashley crooned, a small smile on her face. “Didn’t you do that in high school, honey?”
“Never too old to pass out in a random field, Auntie,” he replied, making her giggle.
I brought the box over to the wall in the living room and set it down.
“Cian,” Aoife called.
When I turned, her shoulders were slumped and her eyes were glossy with tears.
“What?” I looked around for whatever could have set her off.
“It’s your house,” she said, lifting her arms and dropping them to her sides. “It’s supposed to be your house.”
I scoffed.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, wincing. “Fuck.”
“It’s fine,” I replied, walking toward her. “If it’s a choice between you and Seanie living closer or having to live with Saoirse again? Please. No question.”