Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 75240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Her eyes, exactly like mine and Alec’s, stared at me with a haunted look to them.
“He did.”
“And what did he have to say?” I asked tightly.
“He said that he’s sorry he missed your birthday and that he’ll get your birthday present to you next week when Bitsy is out of town,” she admitted reluctantly.
Alec laughed before I could, and I turned to him with hilarity in my eyes.
“We’re both going to hell,” I told him.
“Yup,” he agreed. “She probably doesn’t realize that he’s going to give you a present, otherwise the bitch would’ve thrown a fit and informed him that they didn’t have the money to waste on his kids.”
“No shit,” I said. “She’s something else.”
“She’s going to be my teacher next year,” Ariel murmured. “There’s no way that she’s not going to be. She’s the only chemistry teacher we have.”
I pursed my lips.
“Can’t you take college credits?” I asked.
A truck pulled into our lot, but at the same moment Alec asked, “Will you hand me a three-quarter-inch wrench, Ang?”
“Yes, I can use college credits,” she said, sounding contemplative. “Why?”
I handed Alec the wrench, then turned back to her as I waited for whomever was pulling up to the bay doors to come in and announce him or herself.
“So, this summer you’ll take chemistry, and then that’ll transfer to your high school and college credits. Two birds, one stone,” I said, proud of myself for thinking of it.
“Alec.”
That voice, oh God, that voice.
Turning around, I lifted the cookie that I’d stolen from Ariel to my mouth and ate it in one bite.
“Hey, man,” Alec called to Bowe. “I’ll be with you in just a few.”
“Need a hand?” he asked.
Alec shifted his large bulk sideways and grunted. “Wouldn’t mind it.”
And just like that, Bowe was pressed up against me, for the second time in less than twenty-four hours.
How was a woman supposed to deal with situations such as these?
If I moved to one side, I’d bump into Ariel. Alec blocked me from the front. Bowe from the back, and Alec’s tool chest finished off the box from the other side.
Just, perfect.
At least today I was in jeans and a t-shirt instead of bike shorts and a tight top.
One didn’t wear nice clothes to a mechanic’s shop, especially my brother’s. My brother was a slob, and anywhere he went, his mess was sure to follow.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Bowe since I had no other recourse but to act like nothing was bothering me.
“This is my car,” he said.
I blinked, surprised.
“It is?” I asked. “You race?”
He nodded.
“I do.”
“When?” I wondered.
The man already built houses on top of being a full-time firefighter. Now he was adding racing to the list?
“On the weekends that I’m not on shift or working,” he said. “It’s happened a lot more lately than it usually does.”
“Why?” I asked, looking up at his face for the first time.
“We’ve been slowing down on flippin’ houses,” he grunted when Alec moved, letting go of his half of the weight.
His arm strained, and I licked my lips, admiring the way his bicep bulged with the added weight.
He looked different today, and I realized then that it was the fact that he actually had a shirt on.
Any time I saw him when he was outside of work, he never had a shirt on. In fact, it was a surprise to see him at work with a shirt on since the majority of the time I saw him when he was working at his project house.
Though, I had to admit, I hadn’t seen him much at all lately since I hadn’t been working for July anymore.
“How’s your grandmother?” I asked him, watching his face for any signs of discomfort.
Surprising me, he smiled, wide and true, and then looked down at me.
“She got out of the hospital and is actually going to start staying in the same facility my grandfather is staying in,” he smiled.
“Your grandfather’s in a facility and your grandmother’s not?” I didn’t know how to shut up. Seriously.
Had I realized how upsetting that certain topic would be for him, I would’ve never brought it up.
Instead, since the man was so fuckin’ nice, he spoke about it even though I could tell it hurt him to do since I was looking at his face as he explained.
“My grandfather has Alzheimer’s.” He grinned, even though I could tell that was the very last thing he wanted to do. “He’s been going downhill for a couple of years now, but it was only a couple of months ago that we decided to move him to a home that specializes in care for the elderly with life altering diseases.”
“Oh,” I murmured.
That’s when my sister chose to step on my foot, causing me to turn my head and glare at her.
“Ow,” I said through clenched teeth. “What was that for?”