Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 99748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
I lift a brow in concession. “Fine, you got me. But I think I’ll stop by for lunch one day this week. Just to check these pickles out.”
Chapter 27
JESSE
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Puss N Boots this busy, and that’s saying something considering it’s the only place open late on Saturday nights, and we once had a whole-town protest relocated here for a strategy session. But those crowds have nothing on this.
I hold Wren’s hand tightly, keeping her behind me, as I push into the crowd to join the celebration and make a path for her.
“Jesse! Over here!” a voice shouts, and I turn to see Wyatt holding an arm up. I give him a nod and start making my way in his direction, guiding Wren along with me.
“Hey, guys!” There are no chairs, but we pull up to stand next to the tall table. I pour myself a beer from the pitcher already sitting there, and ask Wren, “Want a water? I’ll go up to the bar and get it.”
She shakes her head. “I’ll wait a bit. I’m too excited. If I drink anything, I’ll probably have to pee.”
Her nose-wrinkling grin is adorably cute, which is not a side she usually shows. It makes me happy to see her so happy.
“How’d it get so wild in here?” I ask Wyatt. But he shrugs and points to Winston, who’s got baby Joe in a carrier again, bouncing and patting his butt. Beside him, Avery is bouncing in sync, probably not even aware that she’s doing it without a baby in her arms.
“Cold Springs hotline went crazy after the courtroom drama. Dad called me, I called Wyatt. I think Charlene called everyone.” He gestures to the room at large. “Probably hoping for some good tips.”
“Thinking Hazel had something to do with that,” Wyatt interjects, pointing at the bar where his wife is climbing up to address her customers. “I wonder if she’s gonna dance again.”
The last time Hazel climbed up there, it was to dance at Avery’s makeshift bachelorette party. So it only seems fitting for her to do it for a divorce party, I guess. But shouldn’t Chrissy be up there too?
Hazel lets out an earsplitting whistle, and everyone immediately looks her way. Someone hollers, “Damn, Hazel. Think you split my eardrum.”
“Boo-hoo, Carl,” she shouts back, not sorry at all. “Listen up! You’ve got eyes, you can see we’re busy, so don’t be giving Charlene and me shit about your beer. Tayvious is doing the best he can, too, so you’ll get your burger when it’s good and fucking ready. Anyone who asks me about fries ain’t getting a single one. Capisce?”
It’s a good thing my sister waitresses at Aunt Etta’s place, because she’d be fired from anywhere else on her first day. But here, she fits right in, mostly getting her sass from Aunt Etta anyway.
Winston asks Wren, “You really get Mom to buy some of Jed’s properties?”
“Maybe,” she drawls out, looking guilty as can be. “Mom didn’t need much convincing, though . . . or so I ‘heard.’ I think she was pretty excited at getting one over on Jed to begin with. The fact that it’s the properties he wanted to hoard away and steal from Chrissy? Even better. I’m in total support of Badass Mom.”
“Me too,” both brothers tell her quickly, not wanting to risk unleashing Wren’s wrath on them. Pamela might be coming into her own, but Wren has always been the unexpected assassin—her beauty lulling you into complacency before she slices and dices you. Usually in a courtroom or over a negotiation table, but I wouldn’t put it past her to have some hidden tricks either. Ones I can’t wait to discover.
“And Chrissy got the company, house, and bank accounts,” Wren summarizes, reporting facts instead of bragging, which is what she should be doing. “And the contract for Township is a done deal,” she tells me.
I nod. “Already called Bea. Told her I’d see her first thing in the morning to submit a bunch of permits and to be ready for speedy approvals.”
Wren waves at someone and then says, “I see Lucy over there. I want to check on her, make sure no one’s being rude about the whole Jed thing.”
“I’ll come with you,” Avery offers. “It’d be nice to make a mom-friend so I have someone to talk to about baby poop and teething drool.”
Wren’s nose scrunches up. “Yeah, I love you and Joe, but I don’t want to talk about bodily fluids. Come on,” she tells Avery, and after she leans in to give me a quick peck, the two of them are off.
No sooner than they’re gone, the guys lean in. “You and Wren good?” Wyatt asks.
Winston’s grin is pure devilment. “I want to hear the story of how you went from her stomping out of here to kill you to oh-so-casually kissing you goodbye just to walk around the room.”