Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
He collapsed beside me but took me with him, pulling me onto my side and stayed planted deep.
His hands went around my body, holding on tight, as we both breathed deeply.
“So, so late.” He kissed my bare shoulder.
I giggled. “She’ll never know what we were doing.”
Twenty-Four
Not to be dramatic, but it’s only fucking Wednesday.
—Jasper to Calli
JASPER
She was wrong.
Everyone knew exactly what we’d been doing.
We’d overlooked just one thing.
On the outside, Calli was the epitome of cool, calm and collected. She was wearing an entirely borrowed outfit. Bright red leggings, white socks that came up over the bottom of her leggings. Red Crocs with white fur lining the inside and a black strap that made it look like Santa’s belt. She had her Rudolph sweatshirt on, and her hair was down around her neck.
Literally, she looked so fuckin’ cute that it hurt.
But we’d miscalculated.
The hickey on the side of her neck was so prominent against her pale skin that there was no way you couldn’t see it—hence Calli wearing her hair down.
Searcy looked from that hickey to her sister to me.
“Something you’d like to tell us?” Searcy asked.
“Yeah, my house burned down,” Calli said. “But I was able to save some of the cookies.”
“That’s not exactly what I was thinking you’d be addressing,” Doc grumbled, his glare focused entirely on me.
“Well, then that’s the only thing we’re going to discuss right now until you get that weird look off your face.” Calli looked down the hall. “Where are the kids?”
“There was a surprise visitor,” Searcy said. “He’s right…”
“Koda!” Calli cried out.
I watched, a small smile taking over my face as Calli hit her brother like a battering ram.
Koda, the badass elite fighting machine that he was, went back onto a foot when his little sister hit him.
He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight, a look of relief flooding his face.
“Never had my guts feel so messed up as they did when I heard your house burned down.” His eyes came up to meet mine. “Guess I have the ‘guy that hates you’ to thank for bringing you into his place.”
Calli choked and stepped back, her eyes alight with laughter. “He didn’t save me, really. We were already at his place.”
“I figured as much based on what I heard from Searcy,” he said as his gaze met mine. “Why don’t you introduce me to him?”
We’d met before, of course.
Though we hadn’t spent anywhere near as much time together as I did with the rest of the Hodges siblings.
“Whatever.” Calli rolled her eyes. “I’m going to help Searcy. Boys! How could you not give me a hug?”
The youngest, Dalton, squealed when his aunt came into view.
Calli bent down and snagged the wide-awake little boy from the floor where he’d been doing tummy time in front of the Christmas tree.
My heart stuttered in my chest as I got a good look at Calli with a baby.
I’d always loved babies.
As long as they weren’t mine, anyway.
But the idea of seeing Calli holding a child that we’d made with each other…
“Get that look off your face,” Doc grumbled. “She’s too young yet.”
I snorted. “I think their mom might’ve scared her off of ever having kids. But doesn’t mean that I can’t dream.”
Because that was the dream, wasn’t it?
Having a child with the woman that you loved?
“She did a number on them, that’s for sure,” Doc said. “I thought we’d never have any. Then bam. Now we have three.”
“Jasper.”
I held out my hand for the second-eldest Hodges sibling.
He took it in a firm grip, and didn’t complain about the scars.
“Nice to see you again,” he said.
“I’m glad you made it home.” I dropped his hand. “Calli was worried about you.”
“Calli?” Koda scoffed. “She’s made of napalm and bullets. That girl doesn’t worry about anything.”
As he said this, Calli raised her voice and made a “ah-ah-ah” sound as she saw Pane climbing up onto the counter in the kitchen to do lord knew what.
“She worries about everyone,” I disagreed. “In fact, I would counter and say that she worries too much. It’s just easier for her to hide how she feels than deal with acknowledging those feelings.” I looked at Doc then. “In fact, she thinks the club hates her. And you just tolerate her.”
Doc’s lips thinned. “I see.”
Calli came into view, deposited Dalton in my arms, and walked off.
I expertly repositioned him in my arms, his head going up near my neck and his little butt sitting solidly on my forearm.
“You look like you’ve handled a kid or two before.”
I had a good chuckle at that.
“My dad owned a gym when we were growing up,” I explained. “I had a lot of days in the daycare room so I could watch members’ kids. And then my sister popped out several of her own. I’ve been very involved in their lives since the beginning.”