Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
It looked like they were having a full-blown conversation now. “Oh yeah?” he said as he sat on the sidewalk next to her, careful to avoid where she’d gotten sick.
“Yep. Name’s Tate. You know ’im?”
Oh shit. His heart sank. This mess of a woman was Tate’s mother? There was no way in hell he could leave her here wasted on the side of the road, soliciting random men for twenty freaking dollars.
“I do know him. He’s a… friend.”
“Mmm, I bet he is.”
What? He’d be ignoring that comment.
“Hey…” He climbed to his feet. “How about I take you home? My car is just down the road, and I know Tate would feel better if you were home so you could get some rest.”
“You got any booze?”
He had wine at home, but there was no way he’d be giving her any. She reeked of alcohol, and he wasn’t convinced it was the only substance in her system. “Sorry, fresh out. Here, let me help you up.” He held out a hand, which she took. Hauling her to her feet was no harder than if she’d been a child. This woman needed to gain some serious weight.
“Whoa.” She lilted to the right with a cackle.
“Easy there.” Liam slipped a hand around her slender waist. “Lean on me if you need to.”
The short distance back to the studio took twice as long as it should have since Tate’s mother could barely stand. Two cars honked as they whizzed by, and one person leaned a head out the window to shout something about junkies.
Lovely people.
“Okay, here we go.” He propped her against the car as he opened the passenger door. She practically fell in ass first. Liam had to lift her legs to turn her into the car.
“Remind me to give you a blowie as a thank you.”
His stomach turned. Poor Tate.
“I’m gay, ma’am. Sorry, but the offer’s wasted on me.” Even if he was the straightest man in the world, he’d never take her up on it.
“Oh. I could peg ya. You want that?”
“Uh, no, thank you. I’m good,” he said, nearly choking on the words. “Let’s just get you home so you can get some rest.” After making sure her limbs were out of the way, he shut the door and jogged to the driver’s side. “I’m going to need you to direct me where to go, okay?” he said as he started the car.
Her head lolled his way. “Uh-huh. How do you know Tate?”
Tate. Shit, he should probably text him and let him know what was happening. He grabbed his phone and shot off a quick text, letting Tate know he’d be taking his inebriated mother to their trailer. “Uh, he did some tile work at my dance studio.”
“He’s a good boy.”
“The best,” he said as a lump lodged in his throat. “So where are we going?” he asked after swallowing.
Thankfully, she managed to navigate them to the trailer park without issue. Liam soaked in his surroundings as they drove through the park. Some trailers seemed nice enough, well-maintained, and cared for. Others had been neglected and sat dilapidated on their lots. Tate’s seemed somewhere in the middle, though a bit closer to the cared-for side.
“Park anywhere,” she said, waving a hand. Before he’d managed to kill the engine, she was out of the car and stumbling toward the few steps leading up to the door.
“You good, Marissa?” A woman’s voice sounded from across the dirt road.
“Get off my ass, Whit. This nice boy’s just taking me home.”
Whitney. Wasn’t that Randy’s wife? God, hopefully, she wouldn’t think this was something it wasn’t.
He followed her up the steps and into the trailer. Before disappearing inside with her, he cast a glance over his shoulder and saw Whitney frowning at them with a wrinkled brow.
This was the first time he’d been in Tate’s space, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious as hell. He wanted to explore every inch of the place and see what else he could learn about the man he’d become smitten with, but he had a very intoxicated woman to contend with.
“I need a drink,” she mumbled as she staggered toward the refrigerator.
“Um.” Liam gently cupped her shoulders and steered her away. “How about you take a nap first? Which way is your room?”
Huffing like a disappointed child who’d just been told no, she turned toward a small hallway. “It’s down here.” She bounced off the wall twice but managed to make it into her room without incident. A queen-size mattress and box spring were shoved in one corner without a bedframe or headboard. There wasn’t room for much else besides the dark wood dresser. Piles of clothes were strewn around, and a crooked flower painting hung on the wall with a long cobweb dangling from one corner.