Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
“I’ll clean this up. I don’t have to be at the bar till this afternoon, and you know as well as I do that your phone is about to light up with morning traffic picking up.” How Locke & Key survives with him being the only tow truck driver, and the occasional repossession moment when a friend of his is in a bind, I have no idea. I do know his mom and dad manage the day-to-day operations, answering calls, dispatching him where he’s needed, and dealing with the bookkeeping part of owning a business. Other than that, there’s nobody else. I asked if he ever thought about bringing in another driver to help him out. He shrugged his shoulders, said he liked keeping it small, taxes are a bitch enough, then you gotta deal with an employee who will need time off, a pension plan, health insurance for not only the driver but also their family. He apparently weighed the pros and cons a while ago. Not only is he a hands-on kind of guy, but he’s also book smart.
“Thanks, sugar. I won’t be in the shower long.” He drops a kiss to the crown of my head, then he’s heading back to the bathroom. I snag a discarded shirt from the floor, slip it over my head, and add putting the clothes in separate piles to my list to at least start a load before I need to hit the road.
I make quick work of disposing the leftover salad, garlic knots, and pizza. We probably could have taken a break to put everything away instead of allowing all of this leftover food to go to waste. At the very least, he could have had leftovers for dinner instead of having to figure that out.
By the time I’m done, the trash is full, a load of darks is started in the washer and a light load is ready to be taken care of next. Then I tackle the dishes in the sink. Luckily, he has a dishwasher, unlike me, so it doesn’t take me much time. All that’s left is to wipe down the counters and straighten up the living area and foyer.
Locke’s home has a lived-in feel while still being comfy and cozy. The walls are painted in a deep cream color throughout, he has a cognac-colored leather couch, two oversized chairs that face a massive television, and rustic coffee and end tables complete the area. A rug of some sort would really pull it all together, along with some throw pillows. As it is, there’s a blanket strewn across, a couple of magazines open on the table, and a couple of cups that definitely need to be scrubbed.
“Sugar, get in the shower. I’ll finish this up.” Locke wraps his arms around me when I’m bent over to pick up a pair of rogue socks.
“That was fast.” I drop the items, spin on my heels, and face him.
“Not much to do when you’re not in there with me,” he says with a grunt. I loop my arms around his neck, liking his answer a whole heck of a lot.
“I’m not looking forward to work tonight,” I groan once Locke is cupping my cheeks, head slowly dipping.
“Gonna suck not having you in my bed. Good thing I’ll have you tomorrow night.”
“Yeah,” is the only response I can come up with before his mouth is on mine, and he’s planting a scorching-hot kiss on my lips, leaving me breathless yet again.
8
Jade
“Hey, Mom,” I greet, opening the door to my house. I didn’t bother checking the peep hole. There are only three people who show up to my place without notice: Locke, who’s currently at work saving a stranded customer on the side of the highway, Jace, who’s on a stint at work, where he has to oversee the steel mill plant from sun up to sundown—it’s more likely he’ll stay at his job, sleep in a room off the office in case an alarm goes off, notifying him of an equipment failure—and then there’s my mom, who’s currently standing in front of me.
“Hey, Jade, mind if I come inside?” My stomach sinks to my feet.
“Is something wrong?” I open the door wider and take a step back. While this place is small, I do have a small seating area, with two chairs and a table set up on the opposite side of my queen-size bed.
“No secrets. Remember, that’s our family deal. Now, I’m going to have to keep this a secret, too.” Those are the words she says the instant our asses touch the seats. The little girl inside of me wants to drop her gaze from her mirror image. But I don’t. She’s not admonishing me; she’s not even judging me, and maybe that makes it worse.
“How did you know?”