Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 83167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“But, they’re action men.”
“They’re men like me,” he declared, and her eyes widened. “When I saw him and knew it was him, my skin itched to be out there to take him down. But every other part of me needed to be with you. Trust me. You didn’t fight Smithie’s decision to keep them in the dark and I can tell you feel bad about that. But they got to be in on the important part, being here now for you, and they know it. So get over it. It’s all cool.”
“Right. You’re hot. Have a huge cock. You’re spectacular in bed. You approve of my OCD tendencies. And you’re quick as a whip?”
He grinned at her. “That’s me.”
“Then I hit the mother lode.”
Because he could.
He did.
That being, he pulled her up even as he dipped down, and he took her mouth.
He kept the kiss gentle and light.
He wanted more, and he’d get more.
But he’d take it later.
He broke the kiss and asked, “Chocolate sheet cake?”
“Yeah.”
“You gonna eat that?”
“Probably. But Mom’s just using this as an excuse to get Jet to make one because she loves it. Tex loves it. It’s Eddie and the boys’ favorite. But mostly it’s just because Mom loves it.”
He grinned at her.
It faded before he asked, “What’s up with her arm? That happen from the stroke?”
“Yeah. Her stroke. She had it a long time ago. She fought to get her leg back, but we thought she’d never have her arm. A couple of years ago, some physical therapist was in Fortnum’s, getting a coffee and chatting with Indy while she did. She’d had some success with stroke patients, even years after the event. Indy introduced her to Jet, Jet and Tex talked to Mom, they started working and she got some mobility back.” She shrugged. “Not much. It isn’t strong. She can’t fully grip or lift anything. But she can use it to shove things around to position them and stuff like that. Anyway, something is better than nothing.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Though hate that happened to your mom, baby.”
“Me too. But she survived and takes care of herself, Tex takes care of the rest, so it’s all good.”
“Yeah,” he muttered.
“Mo?” she called, and his focus went back to her. “Chocolate sheet cake means the boys are gonna come over. Since Blanca’s probably watching them, and will hear what happened to me, she’ll wanna know I’m okay so she’ll come over. If Blanca isn’t watching them, one of the Rock Chicks is watching them, so they’ll come over. I need to shower. Get ready, albeit belatedly, to face the day.”
He bent in and kissed her forehead before he said, “I’ll go down and make sure they’re cleared out.”
“I don’t mind them here.”
He studied her closely and saw what he needed to see.
“Then I’ll make that clear.”
She nodded and gave him a little smile.
“Mo?” she called again, even though he was looking right at her.
The smile he gave her wasn’t small. “I haven’t gone anywhere, baby.”
“I know. And that was what I was gonna say. Thank you.”
It might make him fucked in the head, but in that moment, he really didn’t care.
Because Mo knew the most precious thing he’d ever heard in his life was Lottie shrieking, I need Mo!
“You really want a big wedding?” he whispered.
“Is that a problem?” she whispered back.
“Not even a little.”
His girl smiled at him. It wasn’t small that time.
And Mo smiled back.
* * * *
Much later, Mo stood on Lottie’s back porch, feeling his jaw get tight.
Lottie was upstairs, horsing around with her sugared-up nephews.
The entirety of the “Hot Bunch” and “Rock Chicks,” including Blanca, Eddie and Hector’s mother, and two gay dudes named Tod and Stevie, had arrived, and they were having what could only be described as a party.
It wasn’t a rip-roarin’ one, loud and obnoxious.
But Lottie had given them the cue that they needed to be business as usual, so Mo was guessing this was that.
He was also guessing, since the more of them who came over, the more business as usual they acted, the more herself she seemed, this was exactly what she needed.
What was loud and obnoxious was the TV he could hear from the neighbors’ place.
If Lottie was out there, trying to have a moment of quiet to find some peace, it couldn’t happen because her neighbors seemed to want to hear their TV not only from any corner of their yard, but any corner of any of their neighbors’ yards.
“Yo.”
He turned his head and saw Eddie step out on the porch with him.
“Yo,” he replied.
Eddie came to stand next to him and it took a millisecond for his brows to draw together and his head to turn toward the neighbors’ yard.
“So this is gonna be you, not Tex?” Mo asked.
Eddie’s attention came to Mo.
“Learn now, that man is a woman’s man,” Eddie shared. “After she lost it earlier, Tex is strugglin’ with bein’ five feet from her. Any other time, he’d be out here. This time, no fuckin’ way.”