Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Germaine was an older version of his sons. He had the hard cop eyes down better, which was understandable.
“Hello, sir,” I said as I offered him my hand.
I wasn’t exactly sure of the protocol here.
Did I shake and leave? Did I wait to get dismissed?
This whole situation was something I’d never contemplated happening before.
“Have a seat,” Germaine urged. “We were just fighting with your mother about whether or not she should have her knee surgery tomorrow.”
Ande’s head whipped around, and she narrowed her eyes at her mother.
I paused, thinking I’d just entered into something that wasn’t quite what it seemed. And I could tell this was something that was a sensitive subject, because all of the brothers, as well as Germaine and Garnett, had been tense when we walked in the door.
To say that I was uncomfortable would be an understatement.
“You’re going!” Ande hissed.
I looked back and forth between mother and daughter.
The rest of the family stood back and watched the magic happening.
Meanwhile, I was wondering if I should slip out of the room.
“I’m just going to…”
“You stay right there,” both women said at the same time.
Both of them pointed identical fingers at me, piercing me with this glare that had my heart hammering for no reason.
I held my hands up in peace, then crossed my arms over my chest, leaned my backside against the counter, and waited to see how this played out.
“I’m burying my daughter tomorrow,” Garnett said. “I…”
“We can have the funeral anytime,” Ande argued. “Plus, we haven’t planned a single thing. That needs to be done before you say you’re burying her tomorrow. What if they don’t have any openings?”
They being the funeral service.
“There are half a million funeral homes in the Dallas Metroplex,” Garnett argued. “It’ll happen. That’s what I’m going to do today. Plan it.”
“No,” Ande argued. “You’re not. I’ll plan it with Keene. You’ll get everything ready here, like cook a few meals and freeze them like we talked about. Dad and the jerks will go to work and do nothing like they usually do. And then tonight you’ll go to bed early, because you have knee surgery that I plan on personally dropping you off at tomorrow bright and freakin’ early!”
My lips twitched at the vehemence in her voice.
She was really passionate about this.
“I’ll get it some other time,” Garnett argued. “Right now, it’s just…”
“You’ll get it now,” Ande disagreed. “You can barely walk, Mom. Seriously, this is getting out of hand. You have to do it. I can’t watch you be in pain anymore.”
“I’ll be in pain after I have this surgery,” Garnett argued.
“You’ll be in pain for a very short amount of time,” Ande agreed. “But after, you’ll be able to walk. You’ll be able to start your hikes again. Mom, you know how much you love hiking. And think about this… What if one of my brothers decides to go off and have a grandbaby. How will you run around after them if you keep putting this off?”
“Hey!” there were a few chirps from the peanut gallery. “Don’t throw us under the bus!”
“You take that back.”
“Knock on some wood!”
My lips twitched at the utterly horrified looks on the brothers’ faces.
“Fine,” Garnett said, sounding pissed as hell. “Then you get to take me to the hospital, your father gets to go do the planning, and your brothers can hold down the fort in the waiting room.”
“I don’t like the hospital.” Ande was the one to look horrified now.
My brows rose.
She didn’t like the hospital so much that she was unwilling to be there for her mother having surgery?
“I know,” Garnett patted Ande’s hand. “But it’ll be okay.”
“You really think Dad can plan her funeral?” She scoffed. “I’ll do that. Dad can take you.”
Garnett leveled her daughter with a look. “You want me to go, you take me. And stay with me. Or I won’t do it.”
It was obvious that Garnett thought that she was going to win this.
She thought she knew her daughter.
But even I could’ve told the woman that Ande was set on winning this argument.
She’d fight past whatever hold the hospital had over her, and she’d take her mother to the hospital, and stay with her. Whether she was green the whole time or not.
And that’s how I ended up at a hospital the next day with Garnett on one side of me and Ande on the other.
None of the brothers or Germaine were in attendance, either.
Making it incredibly awkward.
But very, very enlightening.
CHAPTER 17
I know I suck at texting back, but please don’t fucking call me.
-Keene to Val
KEENE
“You want to tell me what’s got you in this big of a mess?” I asked curiously as we pulled down the street to Ande’s mom’s house.
“No,” Ande admitted.
My lips twitched.
That’d been her answer since we left her parents’ house yesterday.
I had a feeling I’d eventually get it out of her, but it’d be a bit before she was ready to tell me.