Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“I’m awake,” I whispered, keeping my back to him.
“You get any sleep?” he whispered back.
“A little.”
“Meet me outside in half an hour,” he ordered, giving my foot a squeeze through the blankets. “I’ll get us some coffee.”
“Shit,” I said, sitting straight up.
“Texted Kara for you last night,” he said, reading my reaction. “She’s openin’ today.”
“Fuck,” I muttered, falling back on the bed. My mom huffed and rolled away from me, reaching for my dad’s empty place in bed.
“Just relax,” my dad said. “She’s got it.”
I nodded and stayed where I was as he left the trailer. I tried to relax, I really did, but within a few minutes, I was up and reaching for my phone. Kara answered on the first ring.
“You okay?” she asked, without bothering to say hello.
“I’m fine,” I replied quietly, letting myself out of the trailer. I sat down on one of the lawn chairs out front and stared at the newly built house. “I just needed to get out of there. Sorry I didn’t let you know.”
“I don’t blame you,” she said flatly. “I heard you leave last night. Your dad texted before I could get worried.”
“You’re cool opening for me today?” I asked apologetically.
“Yep,” she replied. “I didn’t really want to stick around there either.”
“Has it been busy?” I asked, holding my breath.
“Not really,” she said quietly. “Steady, but not normal.”
“I didn’t really expect otherwise,” I mumbled.
“I think we should start spreading it around that they spit in the drinks,” Kara said conversationally. “Fight fire with fire.”
I choked on a surprised laugh. “No way.”
“I’m serious,” she said. “I’m done letting people fuck with us.”
“Bring it down a notch,” I said, smiling. “I don’t think they’ll fuck with us anymore.”
“Wanna bet,” she said darkly.
“If they want to keep their jobs, they’ll shut the fuck up about us,” I pointed out. “Plus, Tabitha looked like she was going to shit herself last night.”
“She showed a little backbone for a second,” Kara said grudgingly. “And then she was trying to hide behind Bishop.” She cackled. “Did you see that?”
“It’s burned into my memory,” I replied dryly.
“Yeah,” Kara said with a sigh. “That whole situation was fucked.”
“I told him I didn’t want a relationship,” I reminded her… and myself.
“Still,” she said. “He didn’t have to go out fucking crazy bitches.”
“That’s fair.”
“And he brought her to our house? On what planet did he think that was going to go over well?”
“He lives there, too.”
“Then he should move the hell out,” she grumbled.
“Calm down,” I said, comforted by the fact that she seemed even angrier than I was about the whole thing. “He can do what he wants.”
Kara was quiet.
“My dad figured out how to save the cart,” I said after a moment. “Well, sort of.”
“Yes,” Kara hissed. “He’s going to scare the crap out of them, right? Please tell me he’s planning on going in to their work—no! He’s going to their houses, isn’t he?”
“Neither,” I said, laughing. “We’re going to move the cart and rebrand.”
“Oh.”
“We’ll be at the new location starting Monday.”
“Damn, Casper doesn’t mess around,” she said with admiration. “Well, put me to work. What do you need me to do?”
We talked for a few more minutes about how she could help and we hung up when my dad stopped by the cart for our coffees. I stayed in my spot, enjoying the sun on my face until he pulled back up in front of the trailer driving my mom’s SUV.
“It’s weird to see you driving that thing,” I said as he strode toward me.
“Hard to pick up coffees on the bike,” he replied with a grin. “I had Kara make you what she thought you’d want.”
“Thanks, Pop,” I said, taking the coffee cup.
“Your ma show her face yet?”
“Nope,” I said, taking a sip.
“Figures,” he replied. “If I didn’t get her coffee she’d be up bitchin’ that I hadn’t, but since I did, she’ll sleep until it’s cold.”
“I was just enjoying the quiet,” I said, tilting my face back toward the sun.
“Yeah, it’ll be nice to have the work finished around here,” he replied, sitting in the chair next to me. “Boys won’t show up for another hour, just so you know.”
“Thanks,” I said, glancing at him. “Not really ready to see him yet.”
“Relationships are hard,” he said, nodding. “Don’t matter if they’re just startin’ or thirty years in.”
“We’re not in a relationship,” I reminded him.
“You wanna be?”
“I don’t know.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit.”
“It is,” he said calmly.
“He was screwing around with other people,” I said in frustration. “How am I supposed to just overlook that?”
“He cheat on you?”
“Not technically.”
“That’s right.”
“I still don’t think I can get past it,” I snapped, getting to my feet. It didn’t feel like a conversation I could have while sitting down. “When I think of him, all I think of is him screwing around with Tabitha. Where’s the goddamn loyalty? I didn’t want to be with anyone but him. I still can’t imagine being with anyone else!”