Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 65225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“Her.” I twisted so that the cage was toward her. “And she’s really good. Doesn’t make messes. Uses the litter box like a cat.”
He squeezed the metal prongs and unlatched the cage door, then bent down so he could look inside.
“No, don—” I didn’t get to finish my sentence before Ursula launched herself out of the cage right at him.
Luckily, Easton had great reflexes because he caught her before she could fall, then cuddled her up close in his arms before saying, “Well, that was surprising.”
I snorted.
“She doesn’t like being kenneled up,” I said. “Which I have to do a lot because my dad was a butthead and didn’t want her loose when I was working. When I leave in the truck, I just take her with me. But when the door opens, I kennel her again.”
“Ahh.” He nodded as if he understood completely. “Well, you can let her roam free here. I have no problems with it.”
Then he started to pet her fur and talk to her in the cutest voice ever.
I might or might not have fallen a little bit in love with Easton right then and there.
There I’d been, terrified that he would say no to her like my dad had, and he completely shocked me instead.
“Do you like animals?” I wondered.
He hummed. “Yeah. I just don’t have time to deal with them. Nor do I have a fenced-in yard. Meaning, no dogs for me.”
“I guess living out here, you don’t necessarily need a fenced-in yard,” I admitted.
Most people that lived in the country didn’t have a fence. They just let their dogs be assholes.
I would know.
I’d run down our old road during my teenage years, and I had to constantly fight the loose dogs.
“I don’t really agree with dogs being loose when they’re so close to the road,” he explained. “When I was twelve, we had our Great Dane, Marley, hit by a car. I had to go pick her up off the side of the road because my mom wouldn’t do it. From then on, I made sure to always have a yard. And when I couldn’t have a yard, I didn’t have a dog.”
“That sucks,” I admitted. “I hate that for you.”
He scratched Ursula behind the ears as he gestured for me to follow him. “She has a litter box?”
I nodded. “Yeah, with all the boxes in my truck.”
He nodded. “I’ll help you get those in. You want to close her up in the laundry room for a bit until we finish? I heard that rescued skunks shouldn’t go back into the wild because they don’t know how to forage and protect themselves.”
I looked at him curiously. “Why do you know so much about skunks?”
He winked as he showed me the laundry room.
I stared at it in awe.
It was literally the size of my old bedroom.
“I see a lot of wildlife come through here,” he said. “I’ve taken two baby skunks to the refuge down the road from me. And a baby crane.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a baby crane.”
The next thirty minutes was spent carting boxes up to my room and setting up Ursula’s area in the laundry room downstairs.
When I’d seen my room, I’d been completely flabbergasted.
Like, in awe again, really.
The room might as well have been the master bedroom with how big it was. And that wasn’t even taking into consideration the bathroom. Or the closet.
Both of which were massive.
Even with my boxes taking up a quarter of the room, I still had more than enough room to move around.
I shook my head and realized I’d neglected to consider one certain little fact.
I didn’t know how much rent was.
And by the looks of the place, I may not be able to afford it.
A knock on the doorframe had me glancing over my shoulder to see Easton shouldering in one last box.
He placed it gently next to the nightstand and looked at me curiously. “Fancy some pizza?”
I grimaced. “Pizza has zero nutritional value.”
He blinked at me in surprise, which had me grinning.
“Of course, I’ll take pizza,” I teased.
“Well, let’s do it.”
CHAPTER 4
And she gave no fucks. Not even one. And she lived happily ever after. The end.
-Easton to Banger
EASTON
“So…” she started, making my eyebrows rise in curiosity of what she would say next. “About rent.”
I flashed her a grin as I pocketed my keys and headed for the front door. “Come with me while we go pick up pizza, and we’ll talk.”
She followed behind, her feet barely making a sound as she moved quickly to the door.
I looked around the door, careful to make sure I wasn’t about to let the little stinker out, but found her all the way across the room on a barstool, curled up. She blended in almost perfectly except for the small bit of white on her nose that was visible.