Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
I let him, and not only because I was hugging him the same way.
“Hey, man.”
Dad and I broke at this new voice, and I turned to see Roam there, smiling at his brother.
Then I watched as they went in for a man hug, pounding on each other’s backs in a way it didn’t look like they felt it, but it hurt me.
They let each other go exchanging another smile before Roam came in for a hug from me.
“Oh my God,” I said, still hugging him (his were nearly as good as his mother’s). “I’m so glad you’re here.”
He moved away, saying, “I am too, if the smell in the kitchen is anything to go by.”
Moses came in next, and I got another hug and a “Hey there, darlin’. Lookin’ good.”
“You too, Moses,” I replied.
He let me go, and Dream strolled in.
Since she’d hogged Dusk and Feather without telling their fathers they existed, she’d had to give them up for this Thanksgiving to their dads, even if Feather hadn’t had a Thanksgiving yet. They got testy, so to keep things copasetic, she’d given in.
“You left me out there,” she accused Luna.
Luna made no reply to her sister, she turned to me.
“Brady and Knox also came,” she explained (part of) Dream’s bad mood.
Whoa.
Cap didn’t give up too much, because it wasn’t his to tell, but although Gabe was home in Grand Junction with his mom and dad, and Liam had gone to LA to spend Thanksgiving with his parents, Darius and Malia, and his little sister, Antonia, Knox and Brady had some family issues going on.
They’d been at loose ends for the holiday, and NI&S suspended operations for Thanksgiving (at least this branch did, they didn’t have any cases that required them to work).
Apparently, Luna (or Louise, or both) had stepped in.
“We’ve had to put in all the leaves for the dining room table, and it’s gonna be a tight squeeze, but we borrowed some chairs from the neighbors, so we’ll all fit,” Louise declared.
“Glad I doubled the green bean casserole,” Cap muttered.
I was too.
Though, I’d learned my pudding fed an entire apartment complex, so we were all good there.
Cap was ushered out, and I was pressed into table-setting duties, doing this with Luna.
Then we were shooed out of the kitchen by the mothers, and Luna and I hit the back patio and scrunched in with the men (and Dream, who was sitting with her arms crossed on her chest, glaring at the TV, but…whatever).
“Cap and I are moving in together,” I told Luna.
She frowned. “You’re leaving the Oasis?”
“No, sister, he’s gonna do the setup so I can organize the crap out of my closets. I’m going to cycle out spring/summer and fall/winter wardrobes, we’re gonna switch out to his pots and pans, and we’re gonna put our extra stuff in storage and stay put.”
“Rad!” she cried.
Totally.
“That’s news,” Roam noted to his brother.
“You knew it was gonna happen,” Cap replied.
“Yeah. Took your time. I lost a hundred bucks on you,” Roam returned.
“What’s this?” Luna asked.
“We had a pool. When they’d move in together,” Roam explained.
“I lost a hundred bucks too,” Brady said.
“I lost mine two months ago,” Knox added.
“I think Mace had October fifteenth, so he wins,” Brady put in.
October fifteenth?
That was around a month after we met.
“Oh my God! Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Luna snapped.
“Next time, we’ll do that,” Knox said.
“You better,” Luna warned.
Dream got up. “I’m gonna help the moms.”
She swanned out.
Scott sighed.
No one else paid attention.
What I was paying attention to was Roam and Moses giving each other looks.
Eventually, Moses muttered, “Don’t you dare.”
“What?” Cap asked.
“I can tell my shit,” Roam said.
“Your shit is tied to our shit,” Moses retorted.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Tex boomed. “Roam is joining the Phoenix team, and Shirleen and Moses are moving down. So are Nance and me.”
“Oh my God!” I screeched, jumping out of the loveseat Luna and I were wedged into with Scott.
I was so happy about this for Cap (and me), I was not embarrassed I did a girlie cheerleader jump (I would have done splits if I wasn’t in a cute, faux leather mini-skirt, cowl neck sweater and booties—totally had a fall/winter wardrobe—also if I could do the splits, which I couldn’t).
Cap was grinning at Roam.
That just made me happier.
I hugged Moses first, Roam next and Tex last.
Only for Tex to boom, “What’d I say about hugs?”
I jumped away from him and retorted, “Suck it up, big man. This is cause for celebration.”
“Tell me you did not tell my son we’re moving to Phoenix without me being there,” Shirleen demanded from where she was standing in the door.
“We didn’t, Tex did.” Roam threw Tex under the bus.
Tex reached forward, grabbed some party mix, tossed it in his mouth, and with that only partially chewed, he said, “Don’t know what the big secret is.”