Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 69452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
I was right.
The bed was like sleeping on a cloud.
Fluffy, soft pillows. Even softer sheets. The pillowcase wasn’t silk, but it could’ve passed for it if you had your eyes closed.
Probably a gazillion thread count.
But the best thing in the world was the comforter.
“Ughhh.” I pulled it up high over my head, leaving only my nose and eyes out. “This is nice.”
“It’s called a coma inducer comforter,” he called out. “My brother got it for me because I sent him a video of it.”
“One day I’ll have a coma inducer comforter, too,” I mumbled, eyes already falling shut.
“Maybe if you’re on the nice list, Santa will bring it to you for Christmas.” He chuckled.
I didn’t reply, because I was already asleep.
I slept like the dead.
But boy, did I dream.
My heart was soaring.
There was wind in my hair.
My arms were looped around a big, muscular body.
My feet were up high on foot pegs, and my thighs were spread wide to accommodate a muscular set of hips.
My core was pressed up against the man in front of me, and between his body and the vibration of the bike, I wanted nothing more than to pull off the highway and have my man take me in the nearest rest stop bathroom.
I leaned forward and tapped his shoulder, pointing at the sign that said ‘rest stop 5 miles.’
He nodded, patting my thigh, and rode on.
He pulled into the deserted rest stop and shut off the bike.
The steady ‘click-click-click’ of the heated motor cooling down was the only thing that filled the quiet air around us.
“Had to drive five miles off the path for this rest stop,” my man grumbled. “What the heck?”
I smiled and swung my noodly legs off the bike, using my man’s shoulder for balance.
“I’ll make it worth it, Dix.”
Chapter
Twelve
You know what hurts the most? My back.
—Jeremiah’s secret thoughts
JEREMIAH
“All done,” I said to the little girl that I hadn’t put down in the four hours that she’d been here.
She smiled, her eyes looking tired, and said, “Yeah.”
Fuck, but she was sweet.
And my arms were tired.
“You want to take a nap next to the tree?” I asked, pointing at my chair.
My sister had sent it to me—we had a thing about sending each other the most comfortable looking things on the internet—and she’d bought one for herself and one for me.
The perks of having the kind of money that I did was nice.
“Yes.” She smiled. “Bear?”
I walked over to where the bear now sat on the kitchen table and picked it up, handing it to her.
She laid her head down on my shoulder and tucked the bear up high under her chin and mine.
I walked over to the chair and contemplated just sitting her down, but decided that she might go to sleep better against my chest.
I was right.
Pulling the blanket off the chair and wrapping it around Anleigh, I took the seat, propped up my feet, and rubbed her back.
Her body went limp in five minutes, her soft snores pressed up against my neck.
I stayed there for another ten to make sure she was truly asleep—I’d learned that lesson the hard way from my nieces—and only put her down onto the chair by herself when I knew for sure she wouldn’t wake.
Once I’d disentangled myself from the little girl’s clutching grasp, I made sure she was nice and warm with the blanket, then headed outside onto the balcony.
Once out there, I shivered.
The air felt outrageously cold.
I’d been all over the world and experienced all kinds of weather.
But there was just something about the South when it snowed.
Almost like it wasn’t supposed to happen, and the extreme weather only amplified the oddity.
Pulling out my phone, I went about calling my family to make sure they were all right.
I’d felt my phone vibrate multiple times with texts, but I wasn’t much of a texter.
I liked to hear the voices of the people so I could tell the temperature, so to speak.
Text messages were so impersonal.
“Hello?” my grams answered, sounding chipper.
“Grams,” I said. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s great.” She sounded excited. “How’s your houseguest?”
I glanced over my shoulder at the two sleeping girls.
“One’s asleep in my bed, and the other’s asleep in the chair next to the Christmas tree,” I said. “Anleigh’s running a fever, though. I haven’t put her down since she got in the door.”
“Oh.” She sounded sad. “That’s awful.”
“How’s it lookin’ over at the asshole’s house?” I asked.
“The window is still open, and I’ve watched it snow into that window for the last four hours.” She giggled. “Guy’s passed out in his recliner.”
“Good,” I said. “I’m going to call the rest. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay.” She smiled. “Take care of those girls.”
“I will,” I promised and hung up.
Noel, Ginger, then Christopher were my next calls.
By the time I was finished, I was freezing my ass off and ready to get warmed up.