Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 85342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“I can help fix your boo-boo, if you want,” I inform Cooper.
He mouths, “Go fuck yourself.”
“Be nice,” Erika says, stopping beside me, and I bend to kiss her cheek.
“You look beautiful today,” I say, and she just smirks at me.
“Stay away from my wife,” Cooper mumbles as he pulls her to his side. “Get your own woman.”
I laugh as I follow them into the kitchen and the commotion we’ve all become used to. The kids run off to join their cousins, who are at the tree house my father had built for this reason. “Why does it feel like it gets bigger and bigger every week?” Erika asks.
“Because it does,” Cooper confirms. Erika walks away from him to go see my sisters, Vivienne and Franny, who are sitting together at a table.
The whole island is set up like a buffet of silver trays as the chefs in the kitchen keep putting out even more food. “Where were you this morning?” I ask Cooper, who just looks at me with his eyebrows pinched together.
“In my house.” He laughs. “Why? Where were you?”
“At the gym with our father.” I shake my head as our father comes in from outside.
“There he is,” my father says, “my favorite son.” Cooper smiles at him. “Not you.” He shakes his head. “Him.” He points at me, and I turn and look at Cooper with a smile on my face.
“Why is he suddenly your favorite?” Cooper puts his hands on his hips. “He didn’t even give you grandkids.”
“He is there when I need him,” my father replies.
“I went to work out with him this morning,” I lean over and mumble to him.
“That’s right. He was there for me.” My father nods.
“I mean, in my defense, I was there only because he showed up at my house.” I roll my lips. “He read my text wrong.”
“I told you that you need glasses,” Cooper says, and my uncle Max joins the conversation.
“I told him the same,” Max agrees, coming to stand next to him. “It’s the age.”
“You’re the same age as me,” my father huffs to him.
“My vision is better than yours.” Seeing the two of them discuss things is like watching the Three Stooges. “We did the test the other day.”
“It was fixed.” My father rolls his eyes.
“Do you really think I called the optometrist before we walked in there and asked him to fuck with you?” Max asks him, and all Dad can do is glare at him.
“Yeah!” my father shouts, and we all just laugh at him.
“Dad, it’s fine to admit you need glasses,” I say. “Just like Cooper over here needs to admit that I’m stronger than him.”
“Fuck you.” Cooper pushes my shoulder. “I’ll admit nothing.” He walks away to join Erika at the table with my sisters and now with Jillian and Alex who have joined them.
“Did you eat?” I look to the left and see my mother coming toward me. She wraps her arms around my waist, and I kiss her head. “You should grab yourself a plate of food before it’s all gone.”
“You have enough food for a small island.” I laugh. “But I’ll grab a plate.”
I walk over and grab a plate, filling it with grilled chicken and roasted veggies. I even scoop some pasta on my dish. Turning to walk out to the backyard, I see all the tables set up. I look around for a second and spot Julia sitting by herself. Shocked that she is sitting alone for once, I walk over to her. “Where is your posse?” I ask, and she looks up and laughs.
“I stayed over at Jillian’s for the last two nights. I forgot all the bribe candy at home,” she admits. “Kind of hard to bribe them with veggies.”
Pulling out a chair, I sit down at the table with her. “Is it okay if I sit here?” I ask, and she leans back in her chair.
“If you’re looking for candy, I don’t have any,” she jokes, and I laugh.
“Shit.” I pretend to grab my plate and get up.
“Shut up.” She laughs, and it fills the whole yard.
“So how was your week?” I ask her, making small talk, so we’re not sitting at the table awkwardly. I mean, to be honest, it’s never awkward between us. We always have something to talk about. Talking to her is easy.
“Eventful,” she replies, grabbing the bottle of water beside her. “What about you?” She changes the subject from herself.
“No one lost a limb,” I joke. “A couple of stitches and a couple of bruised legs, but other than that, smooth sailing.”
“Sounds like as much fun as my job.” She puts the water bottle down on the table and then leans forward on her hands crossed in front of her.
“Well, I get to go work at the ER for the next three days, and I can’t wait.”