Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 48730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
“No fuckin’ way,” Cian spat.
“No,” I said at the same time.
“She’s an alcoholic,” Saoirse argued. “It’s a natural progression.”
“He’d never put up with this shit,” Cian scoffed.
“He couldn’t have stopped it,” Saoirse said stubbornly.
“He would’ve, Sersh,” I said softly. “And if he couldn’t keep her in line, he would’ve kicked her ass out.”
Cian made a noise of disbelief.
“He loved her,” I continued, ignoring him. “He loved her more than anything. But he wouldn’t have let her put us through all the crap she has. No way.”
“Agree to disagree,” Cian said flatly.
“Either way, I still wish he was here,” Saoirse murmured.
“Me too,” I replied.
Cian and Aisling both agreed.
I turned to look at Richie, who’d been quiet while we reminisced.
“We should go out tonight,” he said softly, brushing my hair away from my face.
“I can’t stay out late,” I warned.
“We never do,” he replied with a chuckle. “But we should celebrate my new job and having this shit with the social worker over.”
“I can make dinner for us,” Saoirse said from my other side. “We’re swimming in groceries.”
“No bullshit new recipes,” Cian bitched. “Just make us something normal.”
“You can cook.”
“Fuck that.”
“Then shut up and eat what I make you,” Saoirse ordered.
“Fine.”
I grinned at Richie.
He leaned down close. “He’s going to be trained so well by the time some woman puts a ring on it.”
“Hell yes, he will,” I replied smugly. Then something occurred to me. “Where the hell is Ronan?”
“He’s asleep,” Aisling called out. “He fell asleep in the grass.”
“Amateur,” Cian joked.
“He’s a growing boy, he needs his rest,” I retorted, laughing as I leaned up to look at Ronan. He was belly down in the grass, his head resting on his crossed arms, and sure enough—he was completely passed out.
“You want me to carry him inside?” Richie asked as we got to our feet.
“Do you mind?” I asked with a grimace, glancing up at the sky. “He’s going to burn to a crisp if we leave him out here.” I could already feel the skin on my own shoulders tightening, the first warning of a sunburn.
“No problem.”
I led them upstairs, giggling as Richie maneuvered Ronan’s limp body through the bedroom door. My baby brother always had a hell of a time falling asleep, but once he was out, there was no waking him.
“Just drop him on the bed.” I gestured toward the bottom bunk. “He’ll sleep without a blanket tonight anyway, so it doesn’t matter if he gets it wet.”
“I can’t believe their beds are made,” Richie joked, putting Ronan in his bed. “I’m impressed.”
“That’s my work,” I informed him as we left the room. “I’ve been making them every morning in case the social worker showed up. The boys are slobs, as you can tell by the rest of their room.”
“You gonna go out with me tonight?” Richie asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as he herded me toward my bedroom.
“I don’t know,” I replied with a hum. “I might need to wash my hair.”
“Nah, it already got a good rinse from the hose.”
I laughed. “Where do you want to go?”
“Movie?”
“Boring.”
“Dinner?”
“That sounds good.”
“Picnic in the back of my truck?” he persisted, closing us into the room so he could press me against the door. “We can grab tacos from that truck you like and drive out to the viewpoint.”
“That sounds really good,” I murmured, leaning up on my toes.
“I thought you might like that.”
“I have good memories of that viewpoint,” I said against his mouth as his fingers tangled in my hair.
“Me too,” he whispered into my mouth.
It wasn’t going anywhere, it couldn’t with the kids roaming around the house, but just like every time before, the moment Richie’s lips touched mine, my mind emptied, and my entire body lit up like the Fourth of July. After a year of having sex in every position we could think of, he could still make me feel like it was the first time we’d touched. I didn’t know if it was chemistry or compatibility or the fact that I loved him, but I couldn’t imagine ever losing the urge to strip down naked and climb him like a tree.
“No more water fights when I’m here,” he panted, his lips finding my neck as he tweaked my nipple with his fingertips.
“Why?” I gasped, leaning into the knee he’d pressed between my legs.
“Because your shirt is fucking see-through, and I had to force myself not to stare at your tits, or I’d have been sporting a hard-on for the last hour,” he ground out, making me giggle.
“Well, that would’ve been extremely awkward.”
“Pretty sure Cian would’ve cut it off,” he muttered.
He was probably right. It was one thing for Cian to know that we were probably getting down—he was old enough to know it happened and knew how long Richie and I had been together, it would’ve been weirder if we hadn’t yet—but it was something else entirely for him to get a visual confirmation of any kind.