Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
The driveway was a bit rough. She really needed to patch it. It could get muddy as heck when it rained hard and she usually had to leave her car parked out on the street or risk getting stuck.
Parking in the garage, she walked up the short footpath to the back door.
Hen Solo, Princess Lay-er, Jabba the Cluck, and Chew Bok-Bok all clucked at her from their enclosure. She walked over and let them out. “Hey girls. I’ll be back. Have at it.”
She then headed to the backdoor and braced herself.
Dougie ran at her full force, hitting her right in the shins.
“Hey Doug-Doug.” She reached down and picked him up. When Dougie was happy, it wasn’t just his tail that wagged, it was his entire body. He was a mix of French bulldog and something else that she couldn’t figure out. He’d been dumped by his owners because he had eyesight issues. He had bulging eyeballs which some people thought made him look ugly.
But she thought he was adorable.
A high-pitched barking started and she saw Gummy heading her way. She let Dougie out and greeted Gummy. Gummy didn’t like to be picked up and could be rather snappy about it. So she just patted her as Gummy moved past her.
Princess Priss, her white, fluffy three-legged cat, meowed at her from where she sat on the back of the sofa.
Queen Supreme.
Maya patted her before checking in on her hamster.
“Hey, Marshmallow,” she said. “You doing okay?”
He was so cute. When he wasn’t farting up a storm.
She headed into a spare bedroom where she knew she’d find the last of her brood.
A snort warned her off, but she moved slowly into the room, knowing once Big Berry saw her that she’d be fine.
“It’s just me, Big B,” she said to the big black and ginger pig who was standing guard over the huge dog behind her.
A dog that was shaking in fear. She hated that. Tank had been with her for four months now, after she’d rescued him from his asshole owners. But he was still so scared.
He was a Staffy-Bullmastiff mix. A gorgeous tan and white boy with the saddest eyes. He had old scars from where he’d been hurt by his previous owners.
“Hey, Tank, baby. It’s just me,” she said in a quiet voice, sitting on the floor.
As soon as Tank had arrived, Big Berry had decided that the dog was hers to take care of. They were pretty much always together and Big Berry was extremely protective.
Maya couldn’t help but wish that she had a Big Berry to protect her.
“Good girl, Big B,” she said to her. “Why don’t the two of you come outside?”
She’d noticed the puddle on the bedroom floor, but she wasn’t going to mention it. Tank sometimes got scared and lost control of his bladder.
Poor baby.
She got up and moved to the door and Big B followed. Tank followed her, giving Maya a worried glance.
“It’s going to be okay, baby,” Maya told her. “I’m never letting anyone hurt you again. Any of you.”
Big B let out a snort as though she understood what Maya was saying.
And completely agreed.
4
Matthieu walked up the driveway of Sunny and Duke’s place.
What the hell was he doing here?
This wasn’t his scene. Was it?
Merde.
You paid back one little favor . . .
He’d paid that favor back tenfold by dealing with those demon twins, Royal and Baron. And now he found himself being invited to Sunday afternoon barbecues with Ink and all his friends.
He knew that Ink wanted him to move here. To settle down, work for him, maybe even join the Iron Shadows. His parents would roll over in their grave if he did that.
They’d never wanted him to become a member of the French Special Forces, either.
The only reason he’d started riding bikes had been to annoy them when he was a teenager.
He’d been such a jerk.
He didn’t actually own a bike anymore. It was difficult to have multiple vehicles when you didn’t have a home.
As he walked around the corner of the house, he stopped for a moment to take in everyone.
Duke was at the barbeque and the smell coming from it was, admittedly, delicious.
It wasn’t croissants and champagne.
It had been a long time since he’d been back to France. He’d lived in the United States so long that sometimes it was difficult to remember that it wasn’t home.
Although he could never get used to spray cheese.
Cheese should never come out of a can.
That should be a universal rule.
He glanced around. All the girls were sitting on chairs, and most of them had on jackets since it was still spring and there was a bit of a chill in the air.
He went through their names. Most of them he knew, some of them not as well as others, though.
Betsy. Sunny. Millie. Livvy. Jewel. Tabby. Greer. Emme.