Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 95008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“Suit yourselves,” Amy said, throwing up her hands. “But don’t come complaining to me.”
“We won’t,” Rose said cheekily. “Ma, where’s the butter?”
“I swear I taught you manners,” Gram complained as she let go of me and moved toward the counter. “But you never seem to use them.”
“Biscuits supersede manners,” Rose replied. “Hot, hot, hot,” she whispered as she pulled the biscuit apart with her fingers.
“You want one?” Draco asked me, smiling over his shoulder at me.
“I’ll wait until they aren’t as hot as the gates of hell,” I replied. “But thanks.”
“You’re missin’ out,” he said with a shrug. “They’re the best straight out of the oven.”
“I think I’ll wait a minute,” I replied dryly.
“I can’t believe that your apartments are in the red zone,” Gram said, handing Rose a vintage butter dish. “How in the world did the fire get that close to town?”
“News is sayin’ it came straight down the valley,” Farrah replied. “Just bad fuckin’ luck.”
“Seriously,” I mumbled.
“What are you complainin’ about?” Draco teased. “You brought the entire damn apartment with you.”
“That’s my girl,” Farrah said with a smile. “You know what to do.”
“I didn’t bring that much stuff,” I said, glaring at Draco. “But I was at home for a while and I just kept noticing things that I wouldn’t want to lose!”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to us, honey,” Amy said. “We’ve got twice the amount of junk that we wouldn’t be able to live without.”
“That’s because we’re three times her age,” Callie joked.
Amy made a scoffing noise. “Three times? Sure, I’ll go along with that.”
Everyone in the kitchen laughed.
We were still laughing when the familiar sound of multiple sets of motorcycle boots thumping down the hallway caught my attention. Before I turned to see who was coming, I glanced up and caught the expression on Farrah’s face as she looked over my shoulder.
“Who?” she said, hoarsely.
“Not a who, Ladybug,” Casper replied as I spun to look at him. “A what.”
“The house,” she replied on a sigh.
“Fire’s gettin’ close,” he told her, his eyes never leaving her face. “Hasn’t taken it yet, but it’s lookin’ likely.”
“Fuck,” Farrah muttered.
“We were checkin’ out the cameras on the house and garage,” my dad said. “And there’s definitely no one out there fightin’ it.”
“The fire departments are stretched so thin,” Rose said with a grimace, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “They can’t be everywhere at once.”
Dad nodded.
“But we can,” Draco said, setting down the half eaten biscuit in his hand. “We can go out there, create a fire break.”
“The hell do you know about creating a fuckin’ fire break?” Farrah asked with a snort.
“Less than a firefighter, more than you,” Draco said easily, making her laugh. “At the very least, we can water everything down.”
“Not a bad idea,” Grandpa Grease said.
“Or they could just let the place fuckin’ burn,” Rose said so quietly that I knew I was the only one who’d heard her. I laid my head on her shoulder.
Farrah and Casper’s house had been the place where my stepmom’s older brother Michael, her great grandmother and a couple others had died. Grandma Callie had almost died. Needless to say, Rose didn’t have any fond feelings toward the house, even though she’d spent half of her life there with her best friend—Charlie’s older sister Lily.
“We’ll head over and get things in order,” Casper told Farrah. “Alright, Ladybug?”
“You know you’re goin’ no matter what I say,” she said in exasperation. “I’m just hoping your ass gets stopped on the road and they don’t let you through.”
“Chances of that happenin’ are slim,” he replied, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled at her.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Farrah said, throwing a biscuit at him. “You’re not going to charm me into agreeing with this bullshit.”
Casper caught the biscuit. “Can I get another for the road?” he asked innocently.
Farrah’s expression darkened and she reached for the pan in front of her.
“Ah,” Amy said sharply, smacking at Farrah’s hands. “I’ve got arthritis and I cut each of those by hand. Do not throw them.”
The kitchen was quiet for a moment.
“That was a spectacular guilt trip,” Farrah said to Amy, looking at her in admiration.
“I’ve had a lot of years to practice,” Amy replied. “Now go kiss your man goodbye and bring him another biscuit for the road.”
Draco stood from his seat and stretched his arms above his head.
“This is a stupid idea,” I told him, my stomach beginning to twist with anxiety. “Let the professionals handle it.”
“They aren’t handling it,” Draco said as Rose slipped away and moved toward my dad. “They’ve got their hands full.”
“So let the place burn,” I hissed quietly.
“I’m not gonna sit back if there’s somethin’ I can do, Kara,” Draco said, reaching up to smooth my hair away from my face. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t even startle at the touch. I was too focused on the fact that his stupid ass was planning on driving toward a wildfire.