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)
My stomach sank.
Gifts.
“Shit,” I said. “I don’t have any. All of the ones I got for Calli burned in the fire.”
Gunner’s eyes met mine. “I’ll tell her about the two hours you fucked off at work the other day to find her chips she would eat.”
I opened my mouth to tell him that wasn’t necessary, but then the kid in my arms let out a fart that most grown men would be envious of.
Then started filling his diaper.
I started to hand him off to Doc, but he held up his hands. “Oh, no. You wanted him. You got him.”
I was sure he expected me to argue, but again, I was an old pro.
I took him back to the room that he shared with his brother and got him cleaned up as quietly as I could seeing as Pane was asleep.
I’d just finished changing the youngest Hodges when Pane lifted his head up.
His hair was sticking every which way but straight, and he had a tiny handprint on his face from where he’d fallen asleep with it under his cheek.
He sat up in bed and wobbled on his behind before he lifted his hands up to me.
I finished zipping the tiniest zipper in the world and walked over to the kid.
He dropped one hand down and grabbed hold of his blanket, then held on as I lifted him into my arms beside his brother.
“Seepy,” he murmured as he buried his face into the burn scars against my neck.
“You can go back to sleep,” I said.
He muttered something I couldn’t understand and tossed the blanket over both of our heads.
I chuckled and stopped maneuvering my face around so that I could half-ass see as I made it down the hall toward the loud talking.
The first person I saw happened to be Anders.
“Hey, a little help, kid.”
She reached up to take the blanket off my face, but that was all I got as she continued toward the crowd.
I rolled my eyes as I moved into the room, my eyes automatically searching for Calli as they always did when I knew that she was around.
“There you are,” Calli called. “Come sit down.”
I noticed Gunner beside her, but took the seat anyway.
I hoped that he didn’t tell her about the chips.
I didn’t want everyone to know how desperately far gone that I was for Calli.
I’d heard enough shit from them over the last hour or so to last me a lifetime.
“You want some help there?” Calli asked as I took my seat.
I leaned back in the chair, put my feet up on the ottoman that was directly in front of me, and shook my head. “Nah.”
Her face softened.
The impromptu Christmas was everything as we spent time with the Truth Teller family.
The kids were everywhere—minus the two in my arms—the parents were watching the chaos, and the kids sang Christmas carols at the top of their lungs in the worst pitch I’d ever heard in my life.
“So, Calli,” Gunner started.
“Calliope to you,” I grumbled, glaring hard.
He only grinned for a short second at me before turning back to Calli.
“What?” Calli asked semi-distractedly.
She was busy helping Copper’s boy open a remote control car, so she only gave him half an ear.
“Last week, I walked into the break room where we were at Duncanville High School.”
Calli finally admitted defeat and tossed the toy car at the closest man—Webber.
Webber caught it and pulled his knife out of his pocket before easily cutting the toy car free.
He took over the batteries, causing Copper’s son to toddle toward Webber now, giving Calli free rein to look at Gunner.
Gunner flashed a smile at her. “And you know what he was doing?”
Calli flashed a confused look in my direction before she gave Gunner her full attention. “No, can’t say that I do.”
“He had all these potato chip bags everywhere,” he said. “He had on gloves, and he was pouring all of these chips out onto the table.”
Calli blinked. “Okay?”
“And so I walk in there and ask him what he was doing,” Gunner said.
I groaned and let my head fall back on the couch, jostling Pane just enough that he repositioned himself directly against my neck. I was fairly sure that I could feel his drool leaking down into the hollow of my collarbone.
“What did he say?” Calli sounded much more curious now.
Shit.
“He said that he was pulling out all the folded chips,” he said. “And he was going to give it to you for your Secret Santa gift.”
Calli’s head whipped around, which I could barely see from my exhausted position on the couch.
I brought my head up and my eyes met hers.
“You know I like the folded chips best?” she asked.
“The man knows a lot about you,” Doc said. “Kind of like how you wanted to decorate your place for Christmas, but you weren’t willing to do it without anyone else joining in.”