Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 101872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
This time she got a definite smile. “Nope.”
“That’s what I figured,” she muttered. “Not sure I can cope with being a Malone. Seems to require a certain level of crazy.”
“It does. I think you’re fitting right in.”
“Nice backhanded compliment,” she told him dryly.
“Being a Malone comes with some rules.”
“Have you told your younger brothers that?”
“They know the rules when it comes to their women. And, like I said, they’ve calmed down. I haven’t had to post bail in months.”
“You sound sad about that.”
He pointed at her sternly. “Don’t get any ideas. Now, Tanner wanted to have this talk with you, and I told him this was on me. If you’d rather have this chat with him, though . . .”
She shook her head. “Rather not have it at all.”
“I don’t want to be an asshole, Opal. But you’re part of the family now and that comes with certain cautions. Like, taking care of yourself. Like, I don’t really want you to live alone, Ryleigh certainly doesn’t want you to leave—”
“But I—”
“However, I get it.”
“I just need to be on my . . . wait, you do?”
“Yeah. This place is chaos on a good day. Not everyone wants that.”
That part didn’t worry her.
In fact, she kind of liked the crazy.
“And sometimes you have to be on your own to work out what you really want,” he added.
Maybe he did kind of get it.
Part of her wanted to cave and tell him that she wanted to stay.
However, Opal wasn’t really a Malone. She didn’t quite fit in here.
And, worst of all, she didn’t deserve to be.
That was also a reason to leave. She couldn’t start to wish and hope.
No, she had to leave before she started to buy into the bullshit he was spouting.
“So you’re letting me leave,” she said.
“Not letting you do anything,” Alec said calmly.
Darn it.
Why wouldn’t the man rile up a bit? Anger, she was used to. Anger, she could use as a reason to not like him.
As it was, she found herself liking him a bit more every day.
“I want to help you. We all do.”
“What do you mean by help me?” she asked suspiciously.
Opal wasn’t used to good things happening to her.
“Have you found a place to live?”
“Well, no. There doesn’t seem to be much around. So I was thinking that maybe I could move into Sugar—”
“Yeah, nope.” His face was firm. “You’re not living in that bus.”
Why not? She’d lived in it before.
Now she was starting to find it easier to dislike him. “You can’t tell me no.”
“Hmm, it’s me or Jake. And we’re both going to say no because it’s not safe to live in a damn RV. And, like I said, there will be a revolt if I let Jake be your guardian.”
“You know, I really don’t need a guardian. I’m close to turning thirty. And I’m not stupid. I can make my own decisions.”
It had been Stefan’s favorite insult to call her stupid.
Stupid, ugly whore.
Okay, don’t think about that right now.
Taking a deep breath in, she let it out slowly.
“I know that, Opal. But we just want to take care of you. Which is why I found you a house.”
“A . . . a house?” she asked, sitting up straight.
“Yep. Mrs. Easton has gone into a rest home. Hope they’re ready for her. She used to supplement her Social Security with home brew that she made in her basement. And when Jake told her that she had to stop, she tried printing money. Looked terrible, all wonky, and Benjamin Franklin looked suspiciously like Homer Simpson.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope.”
“Wow. She’s my new idol.”
Alec raised an eyebrow. “Anyway, her family decided to sell her house and I bought it. For you.”
“W-what?”
“Well, for you to rent. It’s hard to find a place to rent in Haven, it’s strictly controlled. So you’ll live there. This is the rental agreement, since I figured you would want one. It’s got my bank account on it and the amount you’ll pay each month. There’re a few rules written in there.” He handed over a piece of paper.
“What sort of rules?” She was guessing it would be things around not having loud parties or pets and when to pay the rent or what might happen if she didn’t.
Turns out, she was completely wrong.
“One, is that you’ll do your best to keep yourself safe. Two, you’ll let me or Tanner know if something is wrong, if you need help, if someone threatens you, or you are ill. And that you will call one of us immediately. Okay?”
“That’s it?”
“Yep.”
“What about paying on time? Or repairs? Or not having loud parties?”
“I wouldn’t worry about loud parties,” he told her. “Mrs. Easton used to have ragers several times a year. Pretty sure most of the town turned up. The nursing home really has no idea what they’re in for. As for repairs, you’ll need to let me know if anything needs fixing and I will take care of them. You want to see the place first?”