Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“For what?”
He glared at me. “For bitin’ your head off last night.”
“Don’t push it,” Esther ordered me, laughter in her voice.
“Fine,” I replied.
“Noel give you her conditions?” he asked.
“Yep.”
“Here’s mine,” he said darkly. “Any shit happens and I’ll rip the head off you and those dipshits you call roommates.”
“What the fuck do you think is gonna happen?” I asked in disbelief.
“Nothin’,” he replied. “Just sayin’.”
“Consider me warned,” I replied derisively.
“We got eggs!” Flora whispered yelled, running into the room carrying two very dirty eggs.
“Awesome. Now go put those away and wash your hands!” Esther ordered.
“Before you go,” Noel said, coming back into the room.
“I’m leavin’?”
“We’ll be ready to move tomorrow,” she said, shooting me a smile. She rushed back into the kitchen to help the girls.
“You better go home and get the house ready,” Esther said, looking up at me. “Clock’s ticking.”
I had about a thousand things to do before the house was ready for Noel and the girls. I didn’t even have any furniture for their rooms.
“Shit,” I muttered as I hurried toward the door.
“Good luck,” Otto drawled.
I wasn’t an idiot. I knew there was no way I could get everything ready by the next day. Not without a little help.
Pulling out my phone, I stopped in the middle of Otto’s driveway and made the call I never thought I’d have to make.
“Hey, Ma,” I said when she’d answered. “I’m not sellin’ the house. And, uh, I need your help.”
Chapter 11
Noel
“It’s so big,” Ariel breathed, standing next to me as I pulled Diana out of the car. “It’s like a mansion.”
“Mind your manners,” I reminded her as we walked toward the front door.
I’d agreed to move with the girls into Titus’s house and after two sleepless nights, wondering if I was making a gigantic mistake, we were actually going through with it.
Ariel wasn’t wrong. The house was massive.
And there were people everywhere.
“You’re here,” Titus called happily, jogging down the front steps. He looked down at Ariel. “Ready to see the inside?”
“Yeah,” Ariel muttered, glancing to the side of the house where a large play structure was just barely visible.
“After we get you guys settled in, I’ll show you the swings. Deal?”
“Deal,” Ariel replied.
“Titus?” I stopped abruptly as two older men came out of the house. One had dark hair and a big scar across his face and the other was just… huge.
“We’re gonna head out, kid,” the man with the scar said as they passed us. He glanced at me. “We’ll introduce ourselves later, yeah? When things settle down a bit.”
“Thanks for the help,” Titus called as they moved toward a row of motorcycles.
They raised their hands in acknowledgment.
“Who are all these people?” I asked as a couple of other men carried something toward the back of the house. There was a group of women over by the garage, laughing and chatting, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“The club,” Titus replied ruefully as he put his hand out to help Ariel up the porch steps. “When I realized I’d never be able to get the house ready in time, I called for reinforcements.”
I winced. “We could’ve waited.”
I’d just been worried that if I gave myself time to overthink it, I’d change my mind.
“It all worked out,” Titus announced, leading Ariel through the front door.
There were even more people inside, mostly women, and they were moving with a sense of purpose as they waved at us, carrying mops, rags and other various cleaning supplies.
“Hey, guys,” Titus’s mom called, hurrying toward us. “You’re here!”
“Gran!” Ariel called, pulling away from Titus so she could run toward Heather.
“I called my mom,” Titus explained as we moved toward her. “She’s the one who rounded everyone up.”
I nodded, looking around. There was a staircase to the left and on the right was a living room with a big sectional couch facing a TV that hung above a fireplace. A wall separated the kitchen from the living room, and as we got closer to Heather, who was listening to Ariel ramble on about moving, I got a better look at it. The kitchen was massive. There was a long dining room table, a kitchen island that would’ve taken up most of my kitchen in the trailer, and row after row of white cabinets.
I clenched my teeth so my mouth didn’t fall open in awe.
“Kitchen is clean,” Heather announced. “And the fridge and pantry are stocked. I started some chicken soup in the crockpot so you guys don’t have to worry about dinner while you’re settling in. Just drop some dumplings or noodles in at the end and voilà.”
“Thanks, Ma,” Titus said, grinning at her.
“It’s kind of a pain in the ass trying to find stuff in here,” Heather joked, watching as I surveyed the room with wide eyes. “But there’s plenty of storage space.”