Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Gigi shakes her head as she waves her arm to indicate one of the empty chairs along the wall.
I press another quick kiss to Mila’s lips before sitting down.
I spend the next hour watching her work and learning more about my team leader than I ever wanted to know. Gigi is married to Hound, and she has no filter. She doesn’t curb her conversations ever. By the time she’s done in Mila’s chair, she looks fabulous, but my girl looks scandalized.
Her eyes are wide when Gigi leaves the room.
“I can’t believe she told us all of that,” she whispers as she begins to sweep the floor, pausing when the floor vacuum is activated in the corner. “Pierced? That’s insane.”
“Not a chance,” I tell her when her eyes drop to my crotch.
Her laughter is the stuff dreams are made of.
“We have forty minutes until the kids are done for the day,” I say as I stand and cross the room to her. “Was Gigi your last appointment?”
“She was,” she answers, her teeth digging into her lower lip.
I all but drag her from the salon, pulling her through the living room and back down the other hallway.
In the last two weeks, we’ve made the transition from everyone sleeping in Mila’s room to the boys being back in theirs and Sutton in Mila’s room. Mila has been in my bed with me, which has given us plenty of time together. Although, it never feels like enough.
Somehow, I forget what I need to tell her the second our bedroom door closes at our backs.
We spend the next hour working up a sweat, and then ten minutes after that, apologizing for being late to pick up the kids.
Hound must’ve really liked Gigi’s hair because she’s late as well.
Chapter 32
Mila
Vincent squeezes my hand. As comforting as it is, it’s not quite enough to keep my sadness at bay.
I nod my head, trying to convince my mom that I understand why she’s feeling the way she is, but it’s hard.
Watching the woman who was strong while I was growing up deteriorate is gut wrenching.
“I don’t know what I did wrong,” she says, her gaze cast out over the patio. “To have raised two ungrateful children.”
Another squeeze of my hand. Another fight with tears burning the backs of my eyes and nose.
“Neither one of them have been to see me in years. I could have grandchildren I don’t even know about,” she continues.
The advice given by the nursing staff at the facility is to let her live in whatever world she’s currently inhabiting. Trying to convince her of who we are and what has happened to her is too stressful, and it could also lead to uncontrollable outbursts.
Maybe where she’s at in her head is better than reality. In her head, Janet is an ungrateful child, but she’s still alive. I’m the wild child that took off with a man and never looked back. It didn’t take long to understand her mind is thinking of the time I snuck out of the house to meet a high school boyfriend, something Vincent warned we’d talk about later as he tried to keep from smiling.
His jealousy, the way he looks at me as if I’m the only woman he’ll ever look at that way, means more to me than he’ll ever know. The man hasn’t faltered once.
We were in New Mexico for a little over a month before this trip back to St. Louis to move Mom. Vincent explained how it would be easier to keep the power of attorney with him until after the move because trying to transfer it to my name would cause delays. It was the first conversation that we had that didn’t leave me wondering if he was trying to manipulate me. I don’t know when I decided that I was going to trust him until he gave me a reason not to, but that confidence in him has made my life so much easier.
I’ve already begun to think of Farmington as home. It’s no longer the place we’ll be until it’s safe to come back to St. Louis. If it weren’t for Mom, I wouldn’t be here today.
To once again stay under the radar from Keres MC after they burned Janet and Carlen’s house down in retaliation for leaving town and not paying them what they felt was owed, we drove in two days ago and turned right back around almost immediately to drive back. It has been a grueling couple of days, but we were able to make the full trip to St. Louis in one go without the kids.
Because of Mom’s condition, we have stopped for the night at the midway point.
“Eugenia, did you want dessert?” the nurse asks, distracting my mom who looks down at her plate.
“No, dear. I think I’m ready for bed.”