Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“I’m fine here,” he told her.
She scoffed. “You can’t get up, can you.”
“I could, I simply don’t want to.”
“So you’re going to live there now?”
“I think so, yes.”
She laughed then, and it was a good sound. “Would you like some help?”
“That would be nice,” he confessed.
Luke first darted over to his mother and kissed her on the cheek before jogging over to his father to help him up. Everyone was smiling except Quinn, who was blowing her nose with a napkin.
“Dar, get the box of tissues from the bathroom for Quinn.”
“Thank you,” she said to him, then turned back to me and smiled. Or tried to. The sneeze, and then another, interrupted her.
“You all right?”
“I’m fine,” she sniffled. “Why do you ask?”
“Because your eyes are starting to get a bit puffy.”
“Are they?”
I nodded.
“I asked before I came, and John and Vi assured me you didn’t have—ohmygod, cherry on the cake of my life,” she groaned as Wink came flying into the room like he was being chased by a demon or something, before leaping up on the table and walking over in front of me, only to sit down and stare at Quinn. He really was the cutest thing, and the way he tilted his head as he regarded her was adorable.
“He’s trying to kill me.”
“More likely he senses you don’t like him and therefore must befriend you.” When he took a step toward her, I grabbed him. “See?”
“Yes, he’s charming. Keep him over there.”
“You poor thing,” I said to Quinn.
“You’re saying that because I look like ass.”
“No,” I lied. “But how bad is the allergy?”
“Why? Is my skin getting blotchy?”
“Just a bit.”
“Would it kill you people to call and share the news that you got a cat with Luke’s folks?”
“No. Should’ve done that,” I agreed as she sneezed again.
Wink took that opportunity to dive sideways, run off the table, and leap at Luke.
“Owww, you little shit,” he groused, carefully unhooking Wink’s claws from his cardigan.
All the kids said board at the same time, and Luke, carrying Wink, walked over to his board, where he erased the number two and put a one.
“No swear words is good,” Viola said.
“Yes, but I really wanted Chinese food next Saturday, because I know I’ll be sick to death of turkey by then,” Luke whimpered.
“I’ll take you, Daddy,” Tatum told him. Her board was at five. We were supposed to be having Thai today, but I was thinking, with Luke’s folks here, that wasn’t going to happen.
Quinn sneezed again, and both Tatum and I turned to her.
“Besides the cat,” she said, sounding pretty stuffed up, “I hate rain. Does it do anything else here?”
“Who hates rain?” Tatum asked me, like that was the worst thing she’d ever heard.
“People in flood zones,” I answered her. “Probably Noah. Anyone who’s lived through a hurricane or lives next to a river.”
“The Noah thing is funny.” Tatum grinned at me.
“Do you want an allergy pill? I have lots of different kinds in my medicine cabinet,” Darwin offered Quinn. “Sometimes I have to double up because of my hay fever.”
“I’m right there with you, buddy,” she told Darwin as Griff delivered a second box of tissues.
“How many of these do you think she needs?” I asked him.
“I dunno, but she doesn’t look good.” He sounded a bit grossed out. “Is that a rash?”
Quinn shot me a look, and I bit the side of my cheek so I wouldn’t smile.
“He’s never gonna get married like that.”
“I’ll fix it,” I promised her. But Griff wasn’t wrong. She was getting redder by the second. “You don’t need some kind of shot, do you?”
“No,” she said miserably, scratching her arm.
I got up then. “Come on, we’ll get a Benadryl on the way out, and I’m taking you to this really pretty B and B. You can see mountains from there.”
“Rainy mountains,” she muttered. No way not to like a woman choking on snot who could still make jokes.
“But no cats,” I pointed out.
“That you know of. They probably have a cat named Bernard sitting in the lobby.”
I chuckled, and she laughed along with me.
Once we were in Luke’s bathroom with the medicine cabinet open, I leaned around her and yelled for a glass of water. Luke was there in moments, passing it to Quinn.
“I’m sorry about this,” he apologized. “But in my defense, the cat was acquired while I was out of town.”
I scowled at him. “You love the stupid cat.”
His grin made his eyes glint. “I do,” he agreed before pressing his face to my shoulder for a moment, then smacking my ass and leaving the room, just as Wink jumped in. “Hey, no, buddy. C’mere, you tiny terrorist. You’ve already got her breaking out in hives.”
Quinn groaned. “I hate hives.”
“They’ll go away,” I placated her as she took two pills to be on the safe side.