Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
I growled low under my breath, ready to toss each one of them out by their hair—whether their husbands allowed it or not—but came to a stop when the woman beside me giggled.
It was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.
I hadn’t heard her laugh in days, and even that was over the phone.
“She’s right,” Ande whispered, though every one of them heard it. “This is an apartment.”
I felt my eyelid twitch.
The giggle she released once again calmed something inside of me. An invisible monster that seemed to only appear when she was hurt.
“Not you, too,” I groaned.
“We’re not usually this mean to him,” Val called out, her sprawl on the couch telling me that she’d had a really long day. I almost felt bad for being annoyed that she was here. “But you’ll soon come to learn that Keene is very annoying. God forbid you ever use the term ‘car’ in reference to his ‘truck.’”
I felt Ande’s eyes on me, and I couldn’t help but look down at her.
I studied her face as I tried to ascertain if she was okay with being here with them all.
She looked… happy.
“Who’s playing again?” Ande asked.
I walked over to my favorite chair, pushed it forward, and dumped Zip onto the floor.
“Hey!” she cried out, rolling over onto her back and going for a kick to my dick.
I sidestepped her, then deposited my ass into the chair. Once I was safe from Zip, who was saved by her husband, Nash, I pulled Ande into my lap.
“Slone, our brother-in-law, plays for the Longview Liners,” someone called out. “This is his last year before retirement.”
“Which one is Slone?” Ande asked.
There was a barrage of yelling as everyone pointed out who was who, and then we watched in silence as the rest of the game was played.
Well, Ande and I were silent.
My sisters and their husbands, and their thousand and two kids? Not so much.
“Whose kid is this one?” Ande whispered when one of them came up and handed me a drawing of Simi.
“That’s Zip and Nash’s. His name is Nash. He’s the biggest demon of them all,” I answered as I looked at the drawing of Simi. Then I had a good chuckle. “He drew you as big as a house.”
Simi flipped him off.
“Did anyone order actual food?” Winston called as he made his way into the apartment. “I’m starving.”
I held out my hand for Winston to shake, then went back to watching the game.
Ande watched everyone around her talk and ignored the game.
She added in a tidbit here and there, and eventually, I knew that meeting them today was a good thing.
She was already so sad, and by them being here, they were taking her mind off the fact that her sister had just died.
And for once, I was grateful for their overbearing personalities.
I must’ve missed a part of the conversation, because when next I tuned in, they were talking about something completely different than when I’d exited the conversation.
“Technically, when someone tells you to ‘break a leg’ before an audition, it’s because they want you to end up in the cast,” Zip offered up.
“So, what does it mean when you tell someone to break a leg when they’re leaving to play a football game?” Tony looked worried.
“That you should probably make sure you don’t say that before he goes and plays in a professional football game anymore, because you pretty much just wished that he would actually break a leg.” Winston snorted. “So, food? Y’all want to go grab a bite to eat since it’s almost over?”
Everyone agreed but us.
“Do you want to stay or go?” I asked, curling her wild hair around her ear.
And it was wild.
After her crying jag, as well as the nap in the truck, followed by the walk outside where the wind was blowing like crazy… it was all over the place. It only made her appear cuter, though.
I tugged her into me a little bit tighter.
Ande’s sigh of contentment made my heart melt.
I stood up, and she dropped her legs, allowing herself to hang freely from my arms.
“I’m so jealous when guys pick women up for a hug. Us fatties want to fly, too,” Crimson whined.
Winston pinched the bridge of his nose, as if he was debating whether to go there or not, but I didn’t spare him any time to think on it.
“Are you just going to let her speak about herself like that, Winston?” I teased. “But I hate to say this, sis, you are rather large. You’ve definitely put on the pounds.”
And suddenly I had a popcorn bowl coming straight for my head.
I caught it, but the popcorn that was inside the bowl still spilled everywhere.
“Hey, what was that for?” I asked.
“That was for your utter lack of niceness,” Crimson snarled.
“Jesus, Crimson. Learn to take a joke,” Tony drawled. “And shut up, my man’s in.”