Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
The couch next to me lowers, and then I feel a hand on my head. A couple of seconds later, I feel the cover drape over me. I can’t even attempt to open my eyes. “I’m sorry.” I hear him moving around me but sleep quickly comes and takes me.
“Mind your business,” I hear mumbled from near me. “Or else I’ll kick you in the balls.” My eyes flicker open, and I see Caine there on the couch in front of me. His jacket is off, and his shirtsleeves are rolled up to his elbows. His head is back, the phone to his ear. “It’s none of your fucking business,” he growls between clenched teeth, and then he hangs up on whoever he was talking to. He tosses the phone to the side before looking at me. “Did I wake you?” He sits up straight.
“No,” I answer him honestly. “What time is it?”
“A little after twelve,” he answers, and there is a knock on the door. “I’ll get it.” He gets up and all I can do is watch him walk over to the door. “Thank you,” he says right before I hear the door shut. He walks back into the room with a brown paper bag in his hand. “I got you food.”
“Ugh,” I groan out, “no.” Then my stomach growls. “Yes, but.” My voice trails off.
“It’s okay,” he assures me, sitting down near my side, “I got you chicken broth so you can have that without throwing up.”
“I threw up water before,” I tell him, but my mouth waters when he takes the broth out of the bag, “but I can try.”
“I also got you some saltines if you want to crush them up and put them in the broth.” I look at him. “It’s a trick I learned with Meadow.” He looks into the bag and takes out a plastic spoon. “At least try to see if you can take it.”
“Fine,” I agree, getting up on my elbow and testing out the waters to see if my head will spin. I almost cheer when it doesn’t. I sit up and cross my legs in front of me, waiting for the nausea to kick in, but nothing happens. “This is a plus,” I tell him as he hands me the Styrofoam container. “Thank you.” He watches me as I grab the spoon from his hand and take a little bit of broth and swallow it. “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” I inform him, and he chuckles.
“I doubt that,” he says as he watches me.
“You’re freaking me out,” I admit softly as I sip another spoonful.
“Why?” He turns on his seat to face me.
“Well, for one, I’m not used to this Caine,” I tell him. “I’m used to—”
“The jerkface,” he reminds me of the name I called him.
“Yes.” I figure we are past the point where I have to hide I don’t like his attitude at times. “Also, I forgive you.”
“Do you?” he states. “But you won’t forget.”
“Nope.” I smile at him.
“It was just a surprise.” He starts to talk, his voice not rising. This has to be my favorite Caine voice of them all. “I walked into the office, and Meadow was there.”
I guess I can see why he freaked out. “I just didn’t even think. Why didn’t you try to get in touch with me through their office?”
“I mean, it wasn’t life or death,” I try to make him understand. “She wasn’t feeling well. Under no circumstance was it that dire to get in touch with you. I knew how big the meeting was, so I figured I would bring her to the office, and then when you came back, you could deal with it.”
“I’ve never had someone who stepped in the way you did.” His voice is so calming he should talk like this all the time. “It’s usually just been me who has to take care of her and then all of a sudden someone else was doing it.” His declaration has my head spinning for a whole different reason.
“What about Meadow’s mom?” I ask the question I’ve been dying to ask anyone since the daycare called me but refrained. He looks down. “Forget I asked. It’s none of my business.”
“It’s fine; it’s not like no one in the office knows. She left after Meadow was born. Marriage and motherhood weren’t for her.” His eyes go soft as he talks about his daughter, and I also make a mental note that I really, really like this Caine.
“Well, good riddance, then,” I declare, shocking him and myself. “No one needs to be brought up with a shitty parent.” I put the soup down. “Luckily for her, you are a great dad.”
He’s about to say something when we hear the sound of the front door unlock. I look down the hall toward the door, hearing it slam. The sound of boots on the floor, Caine glances over at me and all I can do is look to see who is walking in. “What is going on here?” my cousin JB says as soon as he steps into the room. He’s wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, with his big-ass ugly belt I’ve been trying to hide since he turned twelve and decided a big bull buckle was a good idea. With his crusty-ass old cowboy boots; instead of a cowboy hat, he’s wearing a baseball hat.