Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
“That’d surely help. You don’t have Case today?” Usually, she’ll have a grandkid with her, Case more than most since Ryland is a single dad.
“I have Case. He’s been asking to make cookies. Maybe Maeve wouldn’t mind if we brought the cookie baking to her. She’s offered it before. I think today just might be the day to make use of her offer.” I’d give Mom hell if she wasn’t doing me a solid. She may be a busybody with a side of attempting to matchmake her kids who don’t really need her to; we only act like we do. I’m wondering if she’s aware of how Trey feels about Sienna; that’s a whole other can of worms. I wouldn’t put it past her to know about those two, which leaves Ryland. He’s yet to step foot back in the dating pool, only worried about being a great father for Case, working on the ranch, and that’s about it. He rarely goes out, preferring to stay home with Case. Yeah, Mom will be scoping out her next future daughter-in-law soon enough.
“I’d appreciate that, a lot. Tomorrow, I’ll have to figure something else out. Maybe Birdie wouldn’t mind stopping in, or Tully on one of her routes?” I ask. Mom usually knows their schedules better than most.
“I’d call Tully. Birdie has been working on a big project.” Mom takes my place in front of JoJo, petting and scratching where she likes the most, her shoulder and chest. Though she’s not one to turn down any type of attention.
“Appreciate it, Mom, a lot.” I reiterate so she knows how grateful I am. This shit has been eating at my gut since I caught wind of the situation yesterday. I sat on my ass for far too long when it came to Mae. Now she knows where we stand, and I’ve got no problem relying on family to help out until everything settles down.
“You’re welcome. Now get back to work. My other babies need their feet done too, and I think your dad is looking for you.” Mom moves away from JoJo, coming to stand in front of me, and I already know what she’s waiting on. Our mom won’t leave us without some kind of affection. She needs us to know we’re loved. As if her and dad making all the sacrifices along the way didn’t show us everything we needed to know. Still, Mom lifts to the tips of her toes, and I kiss her cheek. She pats my own and then heads back in the direction of the house. Mom came, got me to talk, helped me find a solution for today and tomorrow, and now she’s leaving as fast as she appeared. I move back to JoJo. It’s time to get back to work, and there’s always plenty to do around here.
FOURTEEN
MAEVE
“Hey there, stranger.” JW and I pulled into the designated parking spots for my house at the same time. He texted earlier saying he’d be staying the night and had dinner covered.
“Hey, baby.” He collects my bag while dipping his head, brushing his lips across mine. My eyes close, hand going to his chest, feeling the way his heart beats beneath my palm. JW deepens the kiss, his tongue sliding and tangling with mine. His hands are full, or I’m sure he’d have them in my hair, guiding me in the way we both like. Too bad it’s over before I’m ready. “Let’s get inside before we give your neighbors a show, yeah?”
“Okay.” We walk up the sidewalk together until we land on the small front porch of my place. I unlock the door and hold it open for him to go in front of me since he’s lugging my bag, groceries bags, and what looks like a duffle as well.
“Mae, go on in. You need to turn the alarm off.” He holds his arm out for me to proceed him.
I snort as I walk by him. The alarm is only there for decoration at this point. When I signed my lease for my house, it came with an alarm system. I called a company out, and they gave me the runaround and tried to tell me I needed a whole new system. Since I don’t own my home, there was no way I’d be investing money I’d never see a return on.
“It’s not hooked up,” I say, walking past the keypad attached to the wall in the foyer, hanging my keys up instead.
“Is there a reason why?” JW sounds similar to my father. He’s said the same thing multiple times, going so far as offering to pay for the system to be set up. I refused, telling him I’m fine, and I’m not here near as much as at Whisked Away, so what’s the point?
“It needs a doohickey and thingamabob, along with several other things which would require more money than it’s worth.” Before everything happened to Whisked Away, I had a plan. One that included buying a place of my own, so I didn’t and still don’t see the point in fixing it. Now my plans might change a bit more. We’ll have to see what happens next. I’ve sat down and written out budget after budget, game plan after game plan, and while it hurts to see what could happen, I know I’ll keep trucking along. There’s no other way. Us Oliver girls don’t give up. Our glasses are always half full; the optimism is contagious. At least that’s how we were raised, and while I have my dramatic moments, with the help of my sisters, they pull me out of the dumps.