Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
She heard another loud noise then. Slipping her cellphone in her robe pocket in case she needed to make a 911 call, she crept barefoot to her closed bedroom door, opening it. She peeked out into the hallway, which was aglow with the dull, warm light from the wall lanterns she’d placed all around to help Aunt Huni make her way to the restroom at night.
Making her way across the hall, she slowly turned Aunt Huni’s bedroom doorknob. It creaked, and she winced. If someone was trying to get into the house, she didn’t want to alert them. A deep breath, and she pushed the door open. Huni was lying in her bed, fast asleep, her little pink satin bonnet secure upon her head, and her long white nightgown wrapped around her small body as she slept in a curled position on top of her sheets. Normally, Poet would coax her body beneath the covers, tuck her in and give her a kiss on the cheek, but this was not the time.
She slowly closed the door, satisfied that Huni wasn’t the culprit causing all the ruckus, and that she was safe and sound. Slowly, she crept down the steps that screeched under her feet, one after the other. Once she made it to the bottom, she headed down the first floor hallway towards the back of the house. It was much darker down here. The blackest of shadows flowed above her head, and the lingering aroma of the Sinigang soup Huni had prepared for their supper still perfumed the air. Once she reached the kitchen, the dripping noise of the kitchen faucet seemed amplified.
BOOM! There it was again…
She clutched her gun, raising it in her arms. As she neared the kitchen window, the outside noises continued.
She pushed the curtain to the right and caught sight of a tall, hooded man swinging a hammer. Holding her gun steady, she was acutely aware of the muscles on her forearm hardening beneath her robe. The man moved like a machine—a big, scary, dark machine—and then, he stopped on a dime…
In mid-swing, he suddenly looked up, and their eyes met. A pair of piercing blue eyes that shined like devil’s ice. She screamed, her adrenaline pulsing through every cell of her body. Racing to the side door, she flung it open and aimed her weapon at the bastard. The smell of metal and iron hit her nose.
“GET OUTTA HERE BEFORE I BLOW YOUR GOTDAMN HEAD OFF!”
“You’re gonna shoot the guy makin’ your greenhouse, honey? That’s not polite.” A deep, rich voice poured from the figure. And then, he laughed. A deep, hearty, gruff, sexy laugh. One that was all too familiar.
“Kage?”
“Who else would it be?” He tossed the hammer down and slipped the hood from his face. “You think some random stranger with hidden diabolical horticultural intentions is gonna sneak onto your land and do yardwork? Ahhhh, yes! It’s meeeee! The mighty, evil farmer, buildin’ a greenhouse against your will! Stop me if you daaaare!” he stated in a faux pirate accent. The damn fool.
She sighed with relief and leaned against her doorframe, closing her eyes as her heart finally began to relax.
“Kage, why in the hell are you here at this time of night?” she managed to ask between fast, choppy breaths.
“This was the only time I had free to start. I’m just layin’ out the framework.”
“Why didn’t you call first, or at least knock on the door once you got here? You scared me half to death!”
She hit the back porch light, illuminating the scene. He winced, like some vampire exposed to the first rays of the sun. Much to her surprise, he was telling the truth. She saw the wooden boards scattered all over the ground now, some of them hammered into place. How in the hell was he even able to see out here?
“I didn’t want to disturb you. I figured you and your aunt were asleep.”
“‘Was’ being the operative word. So, you thought that all the bangin’, knockin’ and rockin’ out here wouldn’t wake us?”
“I didn’t plan to be here long, and I was as quiet as possible.”
“Are you serious right now?” She laughed in disbelief. “It’s two in the damn mornin’, Kage. This isn’t proper behavior. I live here with my aunt. It’s up to me and this here gun to keep us safe. There’s a crazy lady that lives down the road who likes to harass me, my boss at work has been ridin’ my ass like my name is Uber, my best friend from college lost three of her bunnies and kept me on the phone all night cryin’ about it! I’m already sleep deprived! I’ve got to head out to Oklahoma in a few days for an overnight conference that I’m not the least bit prepared for, even though I’m one of the keynote speakers, and I suspect that I may have a hemorrhoid, so if you don’t mind, PLEASE CALL BEFORE COMIN’ OVER AND DOIN’ SOMETHING LIKE THIS! You about caused me to have a heart attack, and you coulda ended up in ICU!”