Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
“How long do you keep these snakes?” I asked.
“We got most of them as babies,” she admitted. “Do you want to watch one get milked?”
I blinked. “Um, sure.”
“Hey, Charleigh!”
A tiny slip of a woman about the size of a doll walked out wearing black pants, a white AC/DC t-shirt and combat boots.
I immediately noticed the Marines tattoo on her forearm.
“Hey, Birdee.” Charleigh smiled. That smile dropped when she saw me. “What’s going on?”
“This is Creed,” Birdee said. “He wants to see what we do here.”
Charleigh smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Who are you wanting to show him on?”
“We’ll go with the big boy,” Birdee suggested. “He needs done today anyway.”
“How often can you milk a snake?” I wondered, my mind totally enraptured with everything that was going on at that moment.
Charleigh had pulled a plastic box down from the top shelf that had a lid on it with a lot of numbers and letters on the side.
She struggled with the weight, and I wondered just how big this snake was.
I had my answer when she opened the lid and Birdee reached in with a snake hook to get him out.
“Whoa,” I said as she took the four feet in length snake out of the bin and placed him on the table.
The snake was fairly docile, unlike the ones that I saw in the wild.
Within seconds a huge black padded mat came into Charleigh’s hands. She pressed down on the snake almost as fast as Birdee rolled the hook up the length of the snake’s neck. Seconds later she had the snake by the head and she was walking it toward a glass beaker with a plastic covering over it.
My heart was in my throat as I watched her do her thing.
The snake struck the plastic with a satisfying pop, and then the snake’s venom was released into the container. A sickly yellow color that was similar to the look of gasoline.
“Whoa,” I said as she did this two more times. “That’s incredibly satisfying yet downright terrifying.”
Charleigh, who was holding the snake’s writhing body, tossed me a genuine smile this time. “I can’t say that I wasn’t in total shock when I had to come in here and help her.”
“What the fuck is going on?”
Everyone jumped at the angry male voice that came barging into the room.
Charleigh even partially dropped the snake.
If it wasn’t for my hold on the snake, almost in an automatic response, Birdee’s hold would’ve slipped on the head.
“What the fuck, Stacy?” Charleigh barked, her inner Marine coming out of her voice. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing coming in here like that? We were milking a damn snake!”
Stacy’s frown went from ferocious to contrite.
Birdee finished up what she was doing, and I helped her and Charleigh get the snake back in the box it’d come out of.
“We don’t allow random strangers off the street in here.” Stacy tried to sound intimidating, but he came off as whiny.
“He’s not random.” Charleigh rolled her eyes at who I now knew was their boss. Shade’s stepfather. “This is Birdee’s new man.”
I couldn’t quite see how a man like Stacy and a woman like the coffee shop owner could have a relationship. Reyelle could do way better.
“He’s…”
I caught Birdee’s hand and squeezed.
She shut her mouth and looked at me with a question.
“Birdee’s just going to walk me out,” I said as I caught her by the shoulders with one arm and guided her out of the room and past the narrow-eyed man.
“What the hell?” I wondered as we got out into the open air. “I had the feeling that you weren’t telling me something, but the way he looks at you is proprietary. Does he make you uncomfortable?”
“Every single day,” she admitted. “But he’s a necessary evil. I won’t give up Reyelle and Shade.”
I squeezed her shoulder lightly with my hand and let her go. “Feel free to use me as a buffer then.”
With that, I headed toward my truck, but said over my shoulder, “I’ll be back to take you home today after work.”
She cleared her throat, once again moving into my space. “I’m borrowing Shade’s truck. I have an interview after work in Jawbone.”
“What’s in Jawbone?” I wondered as I stopped and turned back around to see her face.
“A dog food company that does research for their dog food components. Have you heard of Great Dane’s?”
I frowned. “That really new facility that’s bigger than every business on Moose Trail?”
“That’s the one,” she confirmed. “I have an interview there.”
“I’ll take you,” I blurted.
She blinked. “What?”
“I have some things I need to do there anyway for work. I can pick you up before your meeting and take you. If you’re okay with it, I’ll run my errands and come back for you.”
She blinked. “Are you sure?”
I tugged her ponytail lightly before rounding the hood of my truck and getting in.