Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Yeah.” I leaned back against my workbench and tried not to notice what each piece was as she folded—bras, panties, little tank tops, the white T-shirt she’d worn the night we kissed. “Thanks again for working the extra hours. I’ll pay you for them.”
She smiled. “You’re welcome.”
“So how did your first two weeks go as a nanny?”
“Great. The kids are so fun. And this town is delightful.” She scrunched up her face. “Sorry about the food. I’ll work on it.”
“It’s okay.”
“I’ve worked in a bunch of bars and restaurants, but I just never learned to cook. And my mom never taught me.”
“No?”
She shook her head. “I think it was also a rebellion against her mother, who pretty much lived in the kitchen. Very traditional beliefs about where a woman belonged and all that. They never got along.”
I tipped up my beer. It was easy to remain silent around her—the woman was a talker.
“They were just so different, you know? My grandmother was totally subservient and submissive to my grandfather. My mother was independent and feisty. Always bucking the rules.” She folded a pair of shorts in half. “And I was her daughter through and through. Which is why I cannot believe I let Neil do what he did.”
I took another couple of cold swallows.
“God, I miss her.” She was quiet a moment, staring at the clothing in the basket. “What was your mom like?”
“She was tough. She had to be, with four rowdy sons. She was so determined to teach us good manners and we were like a pack of wild animals, always wanting to tear each other apart.” I laughed. “Sometimes she used to just give up, set a timer, and let Xander and I fight in the backyard for three minutes.”
Veronica smiled. “Like a boxing round?”
“Exactly.”
“So who’d win?”
I gave her a dirty look. “Me, of course.”
Her grin widened. “Of course.”
“Then she’d have to listen to us howl in pain while she cleaned us up, and she’d tell us it was our own damn faults and we’d never learn.”
She folded a pair of shorts. “I feel like she was on to something there.”
“But she was funny and outgoing and always saw the good in everyone.”
“What did she look like?”
“A lot like Mabel. Dark hair. Blue eyes. A loud laugh, a big smile.” The rain started up again, drumming on the garage roof.
Veronica smiled and picked up her beer. “Did she and your dad get along?”
I nodded. “They always claimed it was love at first sight. On their first date, he told her he was going to marry her. And he did. Six months later.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened. “That’s incredible.”
“Or crazy.”
“And he never dated again? I mean, after she was gone?”
“Nope.” I could hear his voice in my head. “He always said, ‘It only happens once.’”
Nodding slowly, Veronica placed her folded clothing into neat piles inside the basket, then hitched herself up on the edge of the table so she sat right across from me. “What about you? Have you ever been in love?”
“Nah.” I scraped at the label of the bottle with my thumbnail. “I had a few girlfriends before the twins were born. But never anything serious.”
“Are you one of those guys who doesn’t do feelings?”
I frowned at her. “You sound like my sister. It’s not that I ‘don’t do feelings.’ I have plenty of them. I just think certain emotions are kind of pointless. What a person does is more important than how they feel.”
She held her ankles together and stared at her feet. “Actually, I’ve never been in love either.”
“Not even with your ex?”
“No.” Cheeks coloring, she shook her head. “And he wasn’t in love with me. We had no business getting married.”
“Good thing you didn’t.”
She sipped her beer. “Did you think about marrying the twins’ mom?”
I shook my head. “The first thing she said to me after ‘I’m pregnant’ was ‘I’ll have the baby, but I’m not going to keep it.’ So there was no reason to consider it.”
“And since then you’ve been single?”
“Since then, I’ve been single. I like my independence.”
“You don’t get lonely?”
“Never,” I lied.
She nodded. “I like my independence too, but I do think it’s nice to share things with someone. One of the reasons I loved being a Rockette was because we were like a family. I never should have let Neil talk me into quitting.”
“Why did he want you to quit?”
“He didn’t think it was a suitable job for a Vanderhoof wife.” She made air quotes and wrinkled her nose. “It was probably something his mother said.”
I grunted. “Every time I hear something about that guy, I despise him a little more.”
She grinned. “It’s too bad you weren’t at the wedding. You’d have enjoyed the show.”
“I can picture it pretty vividly. I’ve heard the story enough times.”
“From the kids?”
I shrugged. “It’s a small town.”