Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
“Toughest week of my life. But thank God, she’s getting better. Still a little stuffy, though. It’s been hard watching her struggling to breathe.” Holden exhaled. “We hadn’t been getting good sleep before the cold—she’s been a night owl from day one—but that was even worse.”
“A night owl like her daddy, right?” I smacked him on the back. “I thought your years of partying would’ve prepared you for staying up all night, drummer boy.”
“Mav went through that no-sleep phase, too,” Colby said. “But thankfully he’s doing pretty well now.”
“Okay, enough of the Daddy Day Care shit. It’s boring to the single guys among us,” Brayden teased.
I took advantage of a rare lull in conversation to hand Colby something.
“Hey, Devyn gave me this rent check for you. She was on the way down to your place, but I told her I’d be seeing you anyway.”
“Okay.” He tucked it into his pocket. “What’s the deal with that situation? Where the hell did their mother go that Devyn had to fly in to stay with those kids?”
I exhaled. “It’s bad, man. She’s basically MIA.”
“You seem to know the ins and outs of that situation in four-ten, Owen,” Brayden noted. “Something you want to tell us?”
I realized my side conversation with Colby just now hadn’t been so private.
Holden cracked up behind his beer bottle.
Brayden looked at Holden and me. “What the hell is so funny?”
I’d put off filling Brayden and Colby in on my history with Devyn long enough. Holden was the only one who knew the story of how I had really first met her. By some miracle he’d kept my secret all this time, but Holden was known for having a big mouth. So it was only a matter of time before he’d end up spilling the truth if I didn’t.
A waitress came by and took my drink order, but when she left, the guys were still staring at me, waiting for an explanation.
I filled them in on the Vera situation first. “Here’s the deal. Vera Marks took off. She left with some guy, and no one knows where the hell she is. She did the same thing to Devyn when she was younger, multiple times, and Devyn ended up in foster care. The whole thing is very messed up.”
“Shit,” Colby muttered.
“So, wait…” Holden said. “She may never come back?”
“In the past, she’s always returned after a while. We just don’t know when it will be this time.”
I was using we again.
Brayden raised a brow. “We? You seem very invested, Owen.”
Of course, he caught that. I glared at him. “I’ll get to that.”
“Oh?” Brayden’s eyes widened. “I’m intrigued.”
The waitress put my beer in front of me. She also set down a plate of assorted appetizers.
I took a long sip and continued. “Anyway, Devyn had been living in L.A., and her brother called and filled her in on their situation. That’s what prompted Devyn to come out here. She’s not babysitting them as a favor. This was more like an emergency.”
Colby shook his head. “Holy crap, that’s terrible.”
“Well, it actually gets worse,” I said. “Heath skipped school more than once recently, so Child Protective Services showed up at their place. Devyn had to basically lie to them and say the mom is on vacation until Monday. But the truth is, we have no idea when and if she’s ever coming back.”
Holden frowned. “Damn, I knew those kids were trouble, but I never imagined how bad it was. That explains a lot. I really feel bad for them.”
“Yeah. History is repeating itself. The woman is not capable of being responsible.” I took another drink of my beer. “Devyn has a lead that she might be in Boston, though. So I offered to road trip it up there with her to see if we can locate Vera before CPS comes back.”
Brayden pointed his bottle at me. “Wait a minute. Hold up. You need to back up, dude. Why would you offer to go to Boston with her if you barely know her? Something is missing here…”
Holden snorted, and I shot daggers at him.
“Can I please do the honors?” Holden asked. “I’ve been good for so long. Don’t I deserve it?”
Rolling my eyes, I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms. “Go ahead. Tell them. I know you’re dying to.”
Holden leaned in and paused for effect before blurting it out. “Owen and Devyn had a one-night stand.” He sat back to enjoy the aftermath of the bomb he’d just dropped.
Brayden blinked. “What?”
“When?” Colby asked, just as stunned as Brayden.
“Before I knew she lived in the building,” I said. “It was a complete coincidence. I met her at a bar. We had amazing chemistry, which then…carried over to the hotel next door.”
Colby gaped, and Brayden’s jaw dropped.
I relayed a bit more about that night, including how Devyn had taken off on me. I also explained how I’d told Holden the truth at the hospital after running into Devyn, when I’d gone to issue the noise complaint.