Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 72856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“Ready,” I said softly.
“What’s that?” He asked as he made his way around some boxes.
“Something my mom and I made for Jack,” I explained.
“Oh,” he said. “How is your mom?”
I headed down the walkway to Tai’s large truck and waited as he followed behind a little slower.
He opened my door and I placed the present on the console, then squeaked when Tai picked me straight up off my feet and set me down on the seat.
Last night he’d only helped me with a steady hand…today he’d full out picked me the hell up.
I wasn’t a light woman.
In fact, I was on the heavier side ever since I’d had Colt.
Not fat, per se, but definitely not thin anymore.
A little more curvy than not.
I had wide hips, fairly nice sized boobs, and thighs that definitely had no ‘thigh gap.’ I had lost weight since my baby had died, but I was still a handful.
Tai, though, didn’t even look like he was affected by picking me up, causing me to smile.
“She’s good,” I said once he took his seat. “The doctor saw nothing that worried him on her tests this morning. He’s having her take a stress test on Monday, and once she does that, she’ll be released to go home.”
Tai nodded. “That’s good. Very good.”
He pulled around, but slammed on his breaks when a car that’d been parked directly in front of us pulled out and cut him off.
“What the fuck?” Tai growled.
The car sped off, and Tai started forward once again.
“People are crazy,” I said by way of explanation.
He grunted.
“You should see what stupid things people do when the lights and sirens of an ambulance or a firetruck go on,” he grumbled.
I could imagine.
People got stupid when they saw the lights.
“Where does your brother live?” I asked.
“He lives off of Old Highway 42. The Free compound that everyone talks about in town,” he explained almost automatically.
“Ahh,” I said. “I’ve heard about that place.”
The Free Compound as everyone called it was formed by a group of men a couple of years ago. They had a custom bike shop in the front of the land, and they’d built their houses behind it.
It was a compound of sorts with fortress-like security to protect their families, and the talk around the community was that the place was impenetrable.
I didn’t doubt it.
The men that I’d met so far were badasses.
“Awesome,” I said a tad bit excitedly.
He grinned.
“You wanted to go in there, didn’t you?”
I nodded.
He sighed.
“Everybody does.”
***
I was in awe.
I kept looking around like I was in The White House rather than the Free Compound.
Although, technically speaking, The White House had nothing on the place I was at.
“What…how…where…why…” I said, my eyes lighting on everything all at once.
Tai chuckled.
I’d never been to a place quite like this.
Children ran free, this way and that. Men worked on bikes. Women flittered in and out of their houses. Some chased after smaller kids, others were doing housework.
There were people everywhere…literally.
“Don’t they have a lot of kids?” I asked.
Tai grunted.
“They don’t know how to control themselves,” Tai explained. “Luckily, Jack stopped at two. The two he has are handfuls. I don’t think I could babysit more than the two of them,” he hesitated. “And even two is a stretch for me at times.”
I giggled.
“Colt was the world’s best baby for everyone but me. When my mom had him, he slept through the night. Ate everything she put in front of him. Played without wanting to be held all day.” I smiled through the memories. “Then he’d come home and demand that I hold him until bed time. Wouldn’t eat a damn thing. Then he’d be up all night from dusk until dawn.”
Tai smiled as he pulled to a stop in front of a house that was second from the last in the line of houses.
At the very back of the lot I could see Sam and the woman who’d been with him.
“I never caught her name,” I explained, pointing to the blonde woman.
“That’s Cheyenne. Sam’s wife,” Tai explained, getting out of the car and coming around to my side.
I’d already slid out on my own, though, which meant he got a good eyeful under my skirt as it rode up past my hips, getting caught on the leather of the seats, in my haste to get out.
He eyed the movement, then grinned as I hastily tried to pull the skirt back into place.
“That’s why I came around to help you,” he said by way of explanation.
I growled out something not so nice and walked around the truck to stand directly facing the house.
“This is the prettiest house I’ve ever seen,” I breathed in awe.
Tai grunted.
“You should’ve seen the fights these two had over it,” Tai smiled. “They fought over the flooring. The counter tops. The fucking tile in the bathroom.”
I blinked.