Total pages in book: 202
Estimated words: 193561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 968(@200wpm)___ 774(@250wpm)___ 645(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 193561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 968(@200wpm)___ 774(@250wpm)___ 645(@300wpm)
“Thank you, sir.”
“Lose the sir. I’m Grey.”
“Thanks, Grey.”
“You can look at me, Luke.”
He slowly lifts his eyes.
“Your folks,” I ask. “They worrying about you?”
He shakes his head. “Got none. He ran off years ago. She’s dead. Why?”
“You got anyone you wanna call and say you’re okay?”
Strangely, Stacy didn’t ask to make any calls last night. This isn’t just concern. It’s also a test with this kid. My instinct is pretty well-honed, but I know Meadows played with potions, so I don’t want to leave anything to chance.
“Anyone worried about you?” I add.
“I…” He thinks for a moment. “Maybe that oughta be left up to Stacy. She’s the closest thing to a mother I got.”
“Oh yeah?” I ask.
“Except maybe Aunt Shea. But Aunt Shea ain’t well and she prolly don’t even know I’m gone.” He shrugs and opens the cereal box. “Stacy’s like a mom to all of us in the pack and she’s still pretty young, too young prolly to hafta be, so I’m glad to see her land in a place like this.”
Stacy comes into the kitchen, freshly showered but with concerned eyes, bouncing between me and her cousin. She’s dressed in denim shorts and a black and yellow tee I recognize as being Bailey’s. Her hair is pulled into a braid that starts at her crown and ends with a small red hair tie. She’s wearing makeup today. I know my sister brought some of that stuff over. Like last night, she wears just a subtle amount of it, but it looks good. She needs more clothes. These clothes hold a hint of my sister’s scent despite smelling mostly like laundry detergent.
She comes straight to me and I wrap both arms around her and kiss her throat. “Mornin’, Blossom. You look fresh and pretty.”
“Hey,” she whispers and kisses my jaw softly, putting her arms around my middle. “Thanks.”
Despite that I can see and feel concern, my woman’s gaze on my face is pure love. She looks to the side at her cousin.
“Mornin’ Lukey. How’d you sleep?” she asks.
Luke has a mouthful of cereal. He gives her a thumbs up and shoves another spoonful in before even swallowing what’s in his mouth.
“Coffee?” I offer.
“Yes, please,” she says. “You want me to make some breakfast?”
“Cereal’s good for today,” I say. “The Silver Hills beta that survived last night is asking to talk to you. I’m gonna go down there and find out who it is and what he’s got to say.”
“Oh,” she says, and she looks tweaked.
Joel says both Cade and Sean tried to get him talking last night and he said he’d only speak to Stacy.
She looks at Luke and it looks like she might be about to ask him a question, but I see and feel that she’s torn about something.
“Coffee, Luke?” I finally offer after a long silence where Stacy continues with her inner battle.
He shakes his head. “No thanks.”
She looks at Luke and twists her mouth as her eyes hit the box of cereal, wrinkling her nose like he’s eating a pile of steaming shit.
I say, “Unless you feel like something more substantial, then have at it.”
Her eyes light up and she moves to the kid and puts her hand on his head and ruffles his mop of blond hair. “Guess what, Lukey? Grey has a waffle maker. How about waffles with fruit?”
Luke perks up, then his shoulders slump.
“But I already have this,” he says with his mouth full, face disappointed.
“You’re a growin’ boy,” I put in. “If you can fit waffles in your belly, too, why wouldn’t you?”
He swallows down what’s in his mouth and smiles big. “I could definitely fit some waffles in this belly.”
She looks at me again, love shimmering in her eyes, then asks, “Any news?”
“Jase and Linc probably won’t be there yet, but I suspect I’ll hear something soon.”
***
My sister shows up ten minutes later and I’m not sure what her agenda is at first and don’t think too long on it because she’s always the first to nose around when something’s happening, though it’s not just to be nosy, also to help wherever she can.
When we sit down to eat, Luke is looking at Bailey with stars in his eyes. Mostly his eyes are pointed at her rack, until he catches me watching him do it and his face goes red as I give him a look.
Bailey is being chatty with Luke and with Stacy, but something is off with her too this morning and I know my sister well enough to know with how she’s acting, there’s method to her madness. She’s fidgety. She’s already asked me half a dozen questions that I don’t have the answers to about how long Linc and Jase will be gone, what they’ll be doing while they’re there.
“We’re getting the lay of the land, then we’ll make a decision,” I say. “Our buddy hasn’t had much to report as the place has been locked down and we suspect they got his drone, but now we know from Luke that these guys left before he got there.”