Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Damn.
Dan’s eyes flickered toward the door, signaling to me that he’d heard it too. He leaned in closer and whispered, “I expect the boys to be at my place by one.”
“They’ll be there.”
“Good.”
He grumbled something under his breath, then turned and charged down the steps, heading for his truck. I stood there for a moment, watching until he pulled out of the drive. Once he was gone, I punched the code into the keypad and opened the door.
When I stepped back inside, I didn’t see any sign of the boys, but Milo, our enormous and always ravenous cat, was sitting at the foot of the stairs. The second he spotted me, he darted for my feet, weaving in and out of my legs while meowing like a lunatic. This was his way of telling me that he was on the verge of starvation and may pass at any moment. “Okay. Okay. I’m coming.”
As expected, he followed me into the kitchen and only tripped me twice as I grabbed his food from the cabinet. I opened the can and was about to put it in his bowl when he nudged my hand, pleading with me to hurry. I shook my head and scowled, “Oh, come on. You are not that hungry.”
That got me another meow that I swear sounded like “momma.”
But the second the food dropped into his bowl, I was all but forgotten. He started chowing down like there was no tomorrow. I gave him a quick rub across the head, then walked over to the counter and turned on the coffee pot.
While I stood there letting it percolate, I thought back over my conversation with Dan. I should’ve been furious that he’d had the audacity to question my actions, especially after everything he’d done, and I was to a degree. But there was part of me that no longer cared if he approved of me or what I was doing.
As the mother of his children, sure. It was important that we were on the same page on some things, but not my personal life. That was off the table. Just like it was for him.
And whether he liked it or not, I had every intention of getting to know Walker better. I just hoped Walker felt the same way about me. I felt pretty good about things until the very end of the date.
He walked me up to the porch, and we got really close. He gave me the strangest look, and for a moment, I thought for sure he was going to kiss me. But then, he pulled back, told me good night, and left, leaving me wondering if I’d done something wrong.
The thought had me looking over to Milo and asking, “Should I text him?”
Milo ignored me and continued scarfing down his food, but that didn’t stop me from asking, “I could tell him that I had a good time last night and see if he says anything back?”
I was surprised when I heard Thomas say, “Yeah, but be cool about it and don’t say too much.”
I glanced up and found my firstborn standing in the doorway in his boxers, and he was busy rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Well, good morning. I didn’t know you were up.”
“It’s not by choice,” he groaned, scuffling over to the fridge. “What was Dad doing here so early?”
“He was just confirming the drop-off time for this afternoon.”
“He sounded mad.”
“He was fine. Nothing to worry about,” I lied.
“Whatever.” He grabbed some juice from the fridge and poured himself a glass as he asked, “So, you gonna text him or what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I should just wait.”
“Don’t be afraid to message him, Mom.” He glanced back and smirked. “You’re a catch, and he knows it.”
“Oh, you think so.”
“Yeah, he’d have to be a total loser to fumble you. I mean, look at ya.” His brows lifted. “You’re hot.”
“You’re sweet to say so.” I motioned my hand at my frizzy hair. “But I’m far from hot.”
“Yeah, you look pretty rough right now, but once you get all done up, you’re a catch.” He started out of the kitchen as he said, “So, just text the guy already.”
Once he was gone, I poured myself some coffee, added my sugar and creamer, and took a long sip. Maybe it was the surge of caffeine, or maybe it was the way Thomas smirked when he called me a catch, but I decided to just go for it.
I was thinking about what I would say as I made my way back to the bedroom. I grabbed my phone from my purse, and all thoughts of Walker vanished the second I looked at the screen and saw that I had five missed calls from Dad.
I felt like the floor had given out on me. I knew something was terribly wrong, so I called him right back. He answered on the second ring. “Rae…”