Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 93284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
He wrapped his hand in my hair, gave me a deep wet kiss, and let me go. He blew a raspberry on Janie’s tummy, she squealed, and then he handed her off to me. Janie cried, reaching for Sam, but Sam was already out the door with Max following. I heard his bike roar to life and him take off without another word, leaving Ember, Janie and I alone with Gabe the frightening.
Janie was wailing at the top of her lungs, big crocodile tears running down her face, and snot mingling with the tears.
“Ummmm,” I said to Gabe, “I need to go get some shoes on, and afterward we need to hit Walmart so I can get Janie some stuff. Is that alright?”
He nodded, but wasn’t really paying attention to me. He was staring at Ember, who was doing her best to disappear into the couch. I took pity on her and said, “Hey Ember, do you mind taking Janie and getting her dressed? “
She nodded emphatically, and took a still wailing Janie out of the room and down the hall. I stared after them, and felt a little pang in my chest. She missed her daddy, any male attention she soaked up like a sponge, and it didn’t help that Sam was good with her.
I headed into my room, slipped on some tennis shoes and pulled my hair into a bun on the top of my head. I got Janie’s diaper bag ready and we all headed out to Wal-Mart. Three hours later, we arrived at Free and took everything to Sam’s duplex, rearranging some stuff so everything would fit, and not look like we had just bombed his house with baby stuff. I laid Janie down for a nap, and left Ember with her because she was hiding from Gabe. They were doing googly eyes at each other while they thought the other wasn’t looking. It was actually kind of cute; I would have to see if I could talk Ember into coming out of her shell around him.
SAM
“The prints are Justin’s, Sam.” I heard over the phone. “And I know what you are going to say, but they are his. And the weird thing is they were left there on purpose. He left them in the shape of a smiley face. No other prints anywhere else on the page.”
“Justin’s been dead over a year. Something isn’t right. I was the one who identified the body, and it was his body. I’m positive.” I said to Elliot, our resident computer geek, and ex-Army Ranger that served under my command.
“Well it may not actually be him, but if that’s the case, then it is someone who would have had contact with him enough to have his fingerprints. Then took his fingerprints and had a mold made. There is no logical explanation.” Elliot said, sounding just as frustrated and confused as I was feeling.
“Thanks for everything. When will you be getting back here?” I asked
“I’ll be back late Sunday night. I just got Hummingbird into her new place, and all that nice fun stuff.” He answered.
“Alright. I’ll see you soon. I’ll call you if I need anything else. Keep your phone close. Something is fucked up here.” I said, stating the obvious.
Next on my list was to call James and inform him what had happened last night.
The secure line rang four times before it crackled and a disembodied voice that sounded like Dougie. “Oh Captain, Our Captain!”
Yeah, that was Dougie. I loved that kid. I hadn’t been able to teach him as much as the others, but what I was able to teach him he soaked up like a sponge. He was a very smart kid, almost super genius smart. He also had a great sense of humor. He was easy going, and a genuinely fun person to hang around.
“Hey there DD, how’s Kayla doing? How old is she now thirty?” I asked. Kayla was his 2 year old, going on twenty. She had a lot of spunk, and acted a lot like her daddy. We used to watch videos of her that his family had sent to him. James and he used to compare videos of their little girls. They both ended up having them about a month apart. The women that they had them with both ended up doing the same thing as well, so they were really quite close. She was staying with some of his relatives until he got home. He planned on joining us as soon as his tour was up, which happened to be four more months, just like James.
“She’s turned into a little diva with a capital D. My mom is counting down the days until I get home. She can’t handle much more, she could barely handle me. My cousins are giving as much help as they can, but they all have a bustle of kids of their own. So, I hear you are goin’ out with little Chey Chey. How did that happen?” he asked wickedly.
“Ugh, not you too! I know James’ already told you how we met, so I don’t need to explain it again.” I said stubbornly.
“Aye Aye, Captain. So did you find out anything more on what’s going on with her?”
“Yes, that’s actually why I am calling.” I took a deep breath, “Do you think I could talk to James first though? I have an important question I need to ask first.”
“Yeah Cap, here he is.” He said, sounding a little more serious.
“Alright, Cap. What’s up?” James asked
“I have two things I need to talk to you about. First, I wanted your permission to marry your sister.” I told him. Oh god, it would kill me not to have his consent, but I would do it anyway, with or without his support.
A deep breath was taken from James, and then he expelled it and said, “I never thought I had to warn you off my sister. But I’m glad I didn’t. There is no one that I’d love more to be with my sister who means the world to me. Isn’t this a little sudden though?”