Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 171979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 573(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 573(@300wpm)
Speeding up to keep up with Colby, Kent laughingly told her from over his shoulder, “Sage, I couldn’t fool you if I tried, could I?”
“Nope. I’m all-seeing,” she replied jokingly.
The moment she set Tinsley on her feet when they reached the park, the girls ran off to play. Finding an empty picnic table, they sat down, keeping them in sight. She pulled out two bottled waters and two juice boxes, gave a bottled water to Kent, and opened the other one.
“It’s nice out.” She sighed, relaxing.
“Yes, it is,” he agreed, nodding his head toward the girls. “The girls are adorable. They don’t seem too much of a handful to me.”
“Give them time,” she warned.
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Tinsley began wailing as if the world was coming to an end when Colby accidently knocked her down.
“Colby pushed me,” Tinsley sobbed into her shoulder when Sage picked her up.
“I saw. She didn’t mean to.” Soothing her, Sage set her back down when she stopped crying.
“Be more careful, Colby,” she called out as they resumed playing as if nothing had happened.
“We will!” Tinsley yelled out.
“I wished some of the squabbles at work were so easy to deal with,” she remarked offhandedly, sitting back down at the picnic table.
“What squabbles at work?”
“Nothing.”
Kent raised an eyebrow at her. “Come on; I won’t tell. Is something going on I don’t know about?”
“You’re lucky you work on the higher floors; none of the drama going on at work affects you.”
Kent rested his chin on his hand. “Spill the tea.”
“There are two women who are making everyone’s life miserable. I don’t understand how they get away with some of the crap they’re pulling.”
She tried not to show her frustration, yet it must have seeped out of her voice.
“That sounds bad. What’s going on?”
“Bree just fired my replacement. Avery is a sweet girl, and she was fired for having to leave early because her daughter missed the school bus.”
“That’s harsh.”
“It was her first time having to leave early. I feel terrible for her. They are also threatening to fire Brian. He’s such a nice guy. On his way into work, he gets coffee for everyone who asks him. He lives next to the best coffee house in town. Everyone who asks pays him at the end of the week. He got written up by Bree. If it happens again, he’ll be fired. He’s getting married next month. He can’t afford to lose his job. I think his feelings were hurt more than anything.”
“What was he written up for?”
“For substandard work. Brian is amazing at his job. I used to have to work the front desk during his breaks. Anyone who covers for him complains about how bad it is. I’ve heard Bree and Livvy complaining much they hate it themselves.”
Opening his bottle of water, Kent took a sip while listening intently. “Then why do you think he was written up?”
“Livvy owed him for a month’s worth of coffee, and Bree owes him for two weeks’ worth. He stopped bringing them any. He also told them he wouldn’t bring them anymore if they didn’t give him what they owed him.”
Colby ran over to them to climb on the bench of the picnic table. “May I have my drink, Sage?”
“You may.”
“Me, too.” Uninhibited, Tinsley climbed onto Kent’s lap.
Sage removed the cover from the straw for the juice box, then poked it though the box. Kent reached for the other box, doing the same thing for Tinsley.
“Careful,” she warned as Kent gave the box to Tinsley.
The warning came too late. When she took the juice, Tinsley grabbed the box too hard, sending the juice squirting out of the box and hitting Kent on the chest.
Wishing she had warned him quicker, she reached inside the diaper bag for wipes.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized, while Tinsley gained control of the straw and sucked it into her mouth.
“It’s cool. At least it’s clear.” Patting the wipes on his shirt, he gave her an unconcerned smile.
“Apple juice. It’ll still be sticky.”
“I’ll live.” Holding Tinsley as she drank her juice, he seemed comfortable for him not to have been around children before.
“Do you have children?” she asked.
“No. I don’t have nieces or nephews, either, as far as I know,” he answered easily.
The girls finished their drinks before running off again. Sage let them play for another thirty minutes before rounding them up.
Before she could pick up Tinsley, Kent swooped her into his arms. Enjoying the childish giggles, Sage took Colby by the hand for the walk to the small restaurant on their way home.
They found a table at the busy restaurant, and Kent settled Tinsley into a highchair the hostess had brought while she helped Colby climb into a booster seat.
“I want a hamburger and fries,” Colby demanded.
“All right.” Her eyes went to Kent’s. “Tuesday is kids’ choice,” she told him. “What would you like, Tinsley?