Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 70004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
I idly wondered if the reason that Benadryl did this to her was because it was taking away her ability to hide.
It was something I’d have to ask her about when she was sober.
Between her two shots and the Benadryl, she was definitely flying high.
Honk. Honk.
I reluctantly pulled my head up and glanced to the side to see Cody’s truck idling at the entrance to the bar.
I put the truck in drive and followed her to a home that was just shy of being considered in town.
Cody pulled right up to the front door and headed inside.
I waited for her to come back out, not wanting to invite myself inside Mable’s home without her permission.
“These last six months, I couldn’t even enjoy the sun because Brawny wasn’t here,” she slurred. “I never wanted to murder someone so much in my life.”
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” slipped out before I could stop myself.
I could feel her eyes on me, and I winced.
What the fuck was I thinking?
I couldn’t be admitting that to people!
Luckily, she was impaired.
She wouldn’t remember…hopefully.
“I think you’re wrong,” she murmured. “I think it’ll be great to feel the fight leech out of her.”
I twisted in my seat, the leather underneath my butt creaking as I did, and got a good look at Mable.
“Tell me more about your sister,” I urged.
“Well, for starters.” She held out her hand, one finger up. “When Dad first got married to her mom and they moved in, they forced me to move out of the room that my mom and I decorated. She liked it better than the guest room.”
The anger was back inside of me.
What kind of people raised her?
“Bitch,” I grumbled.
The door to the house opened and Brawny came out, dragging Cody along in his wake.
I got out and opened my door wide.
Brawny took one look at me and barked in happiness.
He ran up to me and barreled into my thighs. “Hey there, buddy.”
He wiggled his big ass, his tail whipping my legs, a little excited bark leaving his jowls every few seconds.
“Looks like he missed you, too,” Cody said, over her shoulder, a bag likely filled with some clothes for Mable to change into.
“Up.” I snapped my fingers.
Brawny took off, then got excited all over again when he saw his person.
“Thanks,” I murmured. “It’s good to see him.”
“Mable will be happy to share custody of him. Come over and see him any time you like.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You hurt her, I’ll murder you in your sleep. I know every single place that people will never look for your dead body.”
I held my hand out for her bag.
She handed it to me without a word, and I threw it into the floorboard between the two seats.
“I won’t hurt your friend,” I promised as I turned back to her.
“Hold on,” she muttered as she went back inside.
“It’s cold, Brawny,” I heard Mable say. “I think we need to curl up by the fire and rot.”
That actually sounded like a pretty damn good idea.
Mable’s house door slammed, and I looked up to see Cody coming toward us with a box in her hands.
She held it out to me once she got close and said, “Perishable stuff in her fridge. She was going to have chicken fingers tomorrow. Maybe you can make them for her.”
I didn’t bother telling her I couldn’t cook worth a damn.
Instead I said, “I’ll see what I can accomplish.”
“If you keep her fed and watered, she tends to do a little better.” She looked in the car. “Don’t freak out if she tells you crazy things. She doesn’t mean most of them.”
I had a feeling she meant a whole lot more than Cody knew.
“I’ll text you when I get her settled. And get her to update you when she’s feeling up to it.”
“Thanks,” Cody said, her eyes narrowing on me for a few seconds before she turned and walked away.
The trip to my house took twice as long as it usually did, but I didn’t think the snow had much to do with it.
It all had to do with the continuation of Mable’s childhood trauma.
“When I was thirteen, I wanted to go to the homecoming dance,” Mable murmured, holding on to Brawny’s big head. “Some boy asked me. I got all dressed up and ready to go—by myself, might I add. My stepmother was too busy helping Birdee get ready. So when I get down the stairs because my date arrived with his parents, it’s to find my date putting a corsage on Birdee’s wrist. When I asked what was going on, my stepmother told me to stop talking until they left.”
Anger surged through me at her words.
“They left, and I got a lecture about how I need to ‘learn my place’ and realize that ‘Birdee is better than me in every way.’”