Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Max shrugged. “It’s comfy if I do say so myself. But I did not sleep out there because my wife was angry. She prefers I sleep on the couch so she can wake me up and yell at me some more. The tiny house is for guests and those times when I need to be close to the mares. We’ve got two who are going to foal in a couple of months. I’ll sleep out there when we’re getting close, and it’s got a place for Noah, too, so Animal Doc and I can switch off if the birth gets difficult.”
“It’s a cute place.” Rye sat back. “I’m afraid all of our bedrooms are taken now, so if we’re going to have our sister spend time with us and not sleep in Paige’s room, we needed some space.”
Her niece’s room used to be hers. She’d grown up there, the space morphing from pink and princesses to rock star posters and some black paint from her goth phase. The first time she’d seen that room as a little girl’s, she’d gotten teary because she’d known she would never be the daughter of the family again. It was Paige’s place now, and she was so happy to be her aunt.
“I’m sure I’ll love it,” Brooke said, trying not to sniffle. It would be good to have a space for herself.
She might have to live in that tiny house and work here at Stella’s for the rest of her life and pretend she was doing something important.
“Hey, if you want to stay in the big house, I’ll make room,” Rye said, looking at her with sympathetic eyes. “We held off on using that fourth bedroom for as long as we could. I probably should have squeezed my office into the living room.”
Absolutely not. “Rye, I don’t live there. I’m happy Paige has my room. I’ve shown her all my hidey-holes, and when she’s a teen I’m going to teach her how to sneak out the west window.”
“What?” Max’s head came up.
Stella laughed. “Oh, I remember the days. I’ll be back with lunch. Let me know if I need to heat up a bottle for Eli.” She leaned toward Brooke, whispering conspiratorially. “We keep a bottle warmer in the kitchen now since we are in a baby boom. They are coming up everywhere, and soon we’ll have three more.”
“Four because the Stark-Warner clan is in town, and they’re staying for a month or two while Logan’s on summer break.” She had lunch with Georgia once a month or so, but they lived on the Upper East Side and she was down close to Battery Park. And everyone was busy. So busy. She never had time to do anything because she was busy making her boss look good.
“Teeny and Marie are going to spoil that baby rotten,” Stella announced and winked as she walked away.
Brooke slid out of the booth. “I’m going to wash my hands before we have lunch. Thanks for that, by the way. And for the ride out to the house. I’ve heard that the Farley brothers have started up their own ride share service.”
Rye shook his head. “Why their parents let them fix up an old limo, I have no idea. It’s a menace, but at least they drive like old ladies. The new schoolteacher used them so they wouldn’t feel bad. It took forty-five minutes to get from school to her sister’s house. In the valley.”
Well, she liked a nice drive so she wouldn’t complain. “I’ve already put the app on my phone.”
“Let me know if you need to go somewhere,” Max offered, though she didn’t want her brother driving her around.
She turned and walked to the bathroom, taking a long breath. She had time, but she needed to figure out how she was going to tell them she didn’t have a job anymore.
Keep it together, Brooke. It’s a couple of weeks at home, and Gemma will help you come up with something.
“Brooke Harper?”
She looked over, and a familiar face was at the sink. Cleo Rhea. She’d been one of the forty-seven students in Brooke’s graduating class. Brooke hadn’t been particularly close to her, but she’d liked working with her on theater projects. She felt a smile slide over her face. “Cleo, what are you doing here? The last thing I heard you were working the LA theater scene.”
Cleo was a thin young woman with a long blue bob and a nose ring. She was clearly in her witchy phase as she wore a flowy white skirt and a T-shirt that said Theater is Magic. The white contrasted to her gorgeous dark skin. She gave Brooke a hug and stepped back to look her over. “And I heard you were taking over the fashion scene in New York.”
Brooke sighed and shook her head. “I’m working at a house but definitely won’t be taking over anytime soon. I’m in town for my sister-in-law’s baby shower.”