Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“Hello?” she answered cautiously.
“Hey, Lou,” I said, getting nervously to my feet. “Where the hell have you been?”
She laughed quietly. “Oh, I’m around.”
“I haven’t heard from you in over a month.”
“Well, you’ve been busy,” she hedged. “I was letting you and Harper get all settled in and stuff.”
“We’ve seen Myla and Frankie,” I reminded her, unwilling to let it go.
“Yeah, I was busy those nights.”
I didn’t reply. Usually, if you waited long enough, people spoke. No one liked awkward silences.
“It’s just different now,” Lou said finally. “Which is fine. I’m happy for you. I just don’t think I really fit into your life anymore.”
“That’s bullshit,” I argued as Harper silently came back down the stairs. “We’re friends.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“What does that mean?”
“Bas, we were together all the time. Three or four nights a week. That’s not how it is now. You have Harper.”
“So, because I’m not hanging out as much, we can’t hang out ever?” I asked in frustration.
“We’ll hang out,” Lou said. “Okay? I’m sure I’ll see you at a party or whatever.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it again, unsure what to say.
“Take care, Bas,” she said. Then she hung up.
“You okay?” Harper asked from the bottom step.
“Lou,” I replied, gesturing with the phone.
“Didn’t sound like it went well.”
“I don’t think I fuckin’ handled it right.”
“What did she say?”
“That she’d see me eventually and that things were different now because I’m with you.”
Harper nodded.
“It’s not like I could ask her if she was into me, and that’s why she fuckin’ disappeared when we got together.”
“Don’t do that,” Harper frowned.
“I wasn’t goin’ to,” I replied. “I don’t want to embarrass her or call her out.”
“She’ll come around eventually.”
I groaned as I walked toward her, wrapping my arms around her waist. Because she was standing on the stair, our heights were much closer than usual when I kissed her.
“I wasn’t tryin’ to fuckin’ hurt her,” I said, sighing. Guilt hit me hard when I remembered how Lou’s voice was all stiff and stilted. “I feel like shit.”
“It’ll all work out,” Harper whispered. “Isn’t that what you told me?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I brushed her hair out of her face and ran my thumb along her jaw. “So…you want a house?”
“Yes,” she said as I lifted her and started up the stairs. Her legs wrapped around my waist. “Two stories. At least four bedrooms. Do you think three acres are enough, or should we think bigger?”
Chapter 18
Harper
I was happier than I’d ever been in my entire life.
It had been two months since I’d moved in with Bas, a month since I’d started working with Bird, and two days before, we’d put an offer on a dilapidated house on five acres that was about half a mile from my parents’ house and that Uncle Tommy told us had good bones. I couldn’t really see the vision yet, but I had fallen in love with the crown molding and large bay window that Uncle Tommy had assured me he could restore.
Everything was falling into place.
“I probably should’ve driven the rental truck,” Bas said, glancing at the rearview mirror in my new SUV.
“Contrary to popular belief, Forrest is no longer twelve years old,” I reminded him. “He drives the wrecker all the time. I think he can handle a box truck.”
“You sure?” he said, smirking at me. “He can’t be older than thirteen.”
“I don’t know why he lets you guys give him so much shit,” I mused, leaning forward to turn on my heated seat.
“It’s when we stop givin’ people shit that they should be concerned,” Bas replied, switching lanes.
“True.”
“Did you ever find out who’s meetin’ us up there?” Bas asked, a little nervously.
We were finally going to go through his childhood home, and he’d been on edge since we’d started planning.
“Myla and Cian. Frankie and Gray. Brody. Titus.” I counted off on my fingers. “Everyone else had stuff going on this weekend.”
Bas nodded.
“And you told Arlo we’d be there,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, he wasn’t sure if he’d make it out.”
Reaching over, I set my hand on his thigh.
It was a huge fucking day.
When we’d discussed going through his mom’s house, he’d debated whether or not he should use that to reach out to his brothers and hadn’t come to a decision until the last minute. He’d sent a letter to Mateo in prison, but he hadn’t heard back yet, and my poor man had been jumping out of his skin every time his phone rang since then.
“If he shows, he shows,” I said pragmatically. “If he doesn’t—you’ve already made the first move. Now it’s up to him.”
“I’m worried we’re not gonna get through it all today. There’s a whole life in that house.”
“Probably not,” I agreed. “That’s why we got the storage unit. Relax, baby.”
Bas nodded, but he didn’t relax a single iota.
“If it’s too much, we’ll just come back a different day,” I said, running my thumb back and forth over his jeans. “It’s not a big deal.”