Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
“Watch from the stairs,” I replied dryly, getting to my feet. I shooed them away.
They grumbled but did as I asked as I moved toward Curtis, rubbing Isla’s back gently as I passed the couple.
“She can’t stay here,” Greg said as I reached them. “She’s still in high school, for god’s sake.”
“I’m aware of that, Greg,” Curtis replied, gently sliding his arm around my shoulders as I reached him. “But they’re almost adults, and bossin’ them ain’t gonna do shit. You know that.”
“She doesn’t have a choice,” Greg said stubbornly, his chin jutting out.
“Christ,” Curtis muttered, wiping a hand down his face in frustration. “Listen, why don’t we sit down and talk to the kids about this, yeah? They’re not fuckin’ stupid. They’re just young and panickin’ about bein’ separated.”
“We can do that,” Isla’s mom said quickly, glaring at her husband. She looked at her daughter. “Can I—”
“Of course,” Curtis replied, gesturing toward Dylan and Isla.
Deb hurried toward them.
“Just moved in so I can’t offer you coffee,” Curtis muttered. “But let’s do this at the table. It’s the only place to sit.”
“Hey,” I murmured quietly as Greg walked away. “I don’t need to be here for this.”
“Fuck,” Curtis replied just as quietly as he looked down at me. His fingers feathered across my hairline, stopping just before the sore spot.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not.”
“I’m gonna take the kids out, pick up some groceries, hit some thrift stores—that kind of thing, okay?” I said, ignoring the way his arm around me slid away until his hand rested lightly on the side of my throat. “We need food, and Finn and Jesse both need beds and dressers.”
“You wait until the weekend, and we can hit up some garage sales,” Curtis replied. “People are just startin’ ’em up with the nice weather.”
“We’ll do that too,” I agreed. “But we don’t even have ice. I need to hit up the store at least.”
Curtis grimaced. “Yeah, all right.”
I waited for him to let me go, but he didn’t.
“We’ll be out of here in ten,” I said, mentally calculating how long it would take for Finn to get ready.
I froze as Curtis’s hand tightened and he bent toward me, brushing his lips over mine. When he pulled back, I watched his face, wondering what the hell that was for.
“Makin’ it real,” he whispered.
He let go of my neck and reached for his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. He flipped it open and pulled out a stack of bills, offering them to me.
“What are you doing?”
“For groceries.”
“I can buy groceries,” I argued. It wasn’t like we were destitute. I could buy some fucking milk and eggs.
“Take it,” he ordered, holding it between us.
“No, I got it.”
“Teddy.”
“Curtis,” I retorted in the same tone.
He let out a huff of exasperated laughter and then bent again, and this time, the kiss was firmer, longer, and wetter. When he pulled away, I chased his mouth with mine, forgetting where I was.
“Go,” he ordered, patting my ass. “I’ll take care of this shit.”
Chapter 6
Teddy
I didn’t notice the cash until I was ushering the kids toward the truck. Curtis had used the toe-curling kiss to distract me so he could stuff it into my back pocket.
“Oh, crap,” Jesse said, reaching for a drink carrier sitting on the hood. “We forgot to bring these in.”
I shot them a questioning look as I threw my fanny pack over my shoulder and across my chest.
“Curtis saw the door was open, and he set these down as he booked it,” Jesse explained, looking down at the cups. “Here, this one is yours.”
They handed me a cup with a little chocolate-covered espresso bean on the top.
“You got me coffee?”
“Curt asked what you normally get,” they said. “He paid too. Uh, should I bring his in?”
“Thanks, Jess.” I looked at the coffee I hadn’t even asked for. “Yeah, run it in.”
Finn and I loaded up, and less than a minute later, Jess hopped into the truck with us. While they were searching for the closest grocery and thrift stores, I took my time driving out of the neighborhood in the direction we’d entered it the night before. The neighborhood looked like it had been built about thirty years before. There were mostly two-story houses like the one we were renting, some of them smaller, but none of them were much bigger. Down the street, I jerked in surprise when a familiar face waved at me from a driveway.
After checking my mirrors, I slowed to a stop as Jesse rolled down their window.
“Hey,” Curtis’s sister-in-law greeted, walking toward us. Her hair was up in a messy bun at the top of her head, and her face was flushed. Behind her, there was shit all over the driveway, and all the doors to her SUV were thrown open. “I’m taking advantage of the girls being at their grandparents’ house,” she said, grinning. “And swamping out the car. It’s filthy. I think there might be shit growing in there.”