“Not sure he’s all that good with his words and reading, bud. We tested him when he came into the clinic, and he struggled with what I told him to read.”
Annabelle and the rest of the adults waited while Mikey worked through what she had told him. He was smart; he’d come to right conclusion, but he was also still a child, and she didn’t want him scoffing at his big brother’s issues.
“You think he’s illiterate?” He looked concerned. “I’ve heard that some adults can get right through school and still not be able to read and write because they have issues that stop them.”
“Yes, but the trick now is to confirm what Annabelle and I believe, Mikey. So we’ll put our heads together next week and work it through. Then if it’s true, you can help him, if we can get him to agree,” Branna added.
“Okay. I guess that would explain why he’s such a dickhead most of the time.”
And there was the eleven-year-old boy again, Annabelle thought as she swallowed her laughter while Declan told him not to swear in the presence of ladies.
“Ethan told me you squealed like a little girl when he took off, Annabelle,” Jake said, running his chin over his fiancée’s hair, which made another tug of longing to be loved like that pool in her stomach. “I have to say I thought you were much tougher than that. Seems I was wrong.”
“I did not squeal!”
“Yes, you did.” The Texan wandered back out of the kitchen with a mug of coffee and pulled out a chair at the table. “You squealed and giggled, then sighed. It was a shock, I have to say. I’ve never heard anything but cussing and insults from you before today.”
“Piss off, Gelderman,” Annabelle said, then looked at Declan in horror. “I’m sorry, Declan, Mikey, for swearing like that.”
“I’ve used the word a time or two myself, Annabelle. I have no problem with it, especially considering my daughter swears like a longshoreman, but I think considering this young man’s ease with vulgarity, it would pay to hold off when he’s around.” Declan rubbed Mikey’s head again.
“It’s true, she does.” Jake gave Branna a last kiss before releasing her. “Can you run Annabelle to her place, Declan, when you head into town?”
“Of course. It will be my pleasure.”
“That’s right,” Branna said, frowning at Annabelle. “Didn’t you drive to Brook this morning? Where’s your car?”
She had known Branna would ask the question, because Branna knew how independent Annabelle was, and what that car meant to her.
“I wasn’t using it, so I sold it.”
Branna, who had been about to lick the edge of her chocolate frosting, lowered her cupcake and looked at Annabelle. “You didn’t tell me you were going to Brook to sell it. When did you make that decision?”
“A few days ago.” Annabelle waved her hand.
“But you loved that car.”
She could feel the tears again, and the desperation she’d felt when she’d seen her car drive away. She’d saved two years for it, paid cash for it, and still remembered how proud she’d been when she’d driven it home. She could feel Ethan’s eyes on her as he listened intently to the conversation, Declan and Jake too. Branna opened her mouth to say something else, but Ethan beat her to it.
“So, how was book club, Branna? Still running the town?”
Branna wanted to continue with her questions; Annabelle could see it in her friend’s eyes. But something stopped her, and Annabelle hated that it was probably a look from one of the men in the room.
Damn it, they were all sharing looks behind her back now.
“Good. We’re planning a road trip to Brook and Annabelle has been designated to drive us in Mr. Lindt’s van.”
“Fine, but you have to bribe me with chocolate cupcakes,” Annabelle said, relieved the subject had changed. “But if that Millie Lawrence starts in on me again, then I’m fighting back.”
Howling Book Club had being going for years, and membership was highly sought by many of the women in the area. However, an opening was only available when a member died, which seemed to be a rare thing to every woman anxious to get in. Branna was in—much to the dismay of all the women who had been waiting for years—due to the death of her friend Georgie, who’d died and left Branna her house.
“She told me the other day she thinks Buster is running a secret drug ring, ’cause no man can look like him and not be,” Branna said, which made everyone laugh.
“Please, dear God, let me be the one to tell him that,” Ethan said, laughing. It made his white teeth flash, which pissed Annabelle off because he looked so hot, so she looked away.
“Branna still won’t spill anything,” Jake groused. “I have no idea what they talk about, but I’m damned sure it’s not all based around books.”
From the corner of her eye, Annabelle watched Ethan lick the chocolate frosting from the top of a cupcake and she felt her stomach clench as she imagined him licking her.No, no, no, there will be no licking of any body parts by either of them!
