Page 17 of Oz Wisdom

"Objections?” King looked around the table, noting each member’s shake of the head. Unanimous. No one had a problem with the plan. "Mac, Lola, have the truck loaded and ready by end of day. Oz get your ducks in a row. Rash notify London.” One more scan of the room and he adjourned.

Oz stood with everyone and filed out. This wasn't what he had planned, but if anyone was to drive Taylor home, he felt it should be him. Sure, they could put her on a plane or a bus. But there would be no control of what happened on the other end. That's one thing they took pride in. They finished what they started. The only acceptable end to this would be seeing her reach her destination.

"Why does Brick hate this woman?" Lola asked Mac as they walked toward the bar next to Oz.

"Disrespected my Sweet," Brick answered, giving both Lola and Oz a start not knowing he was there.

"Nealy looked okay with her that day she was here,” Lola observed.

"She tried to weasel between them,” Mac told Lola. “Or so I heard."

"That was years ago," Oz said.

"Disrespect me, fine. Not Sweet,” Brick growled.

"Got it.” Lola threw up his hands.

"I'm heading out," Oz announced. "I'll be there to get the truck on time." Chatter met his ears as he walked from the clubhouse, but his focus was already across town. But that wasn't where he was going at the moment. Now, he just needed to clear his head. He'd stop by and let Taylor know later.

Chapter 9

"You're taking me to my parent's home?" Taylor asked as she followed Oz up the stairs in his home. "Tonight? Now?”

Oz had picked her up earlier from Angel Haven. He hadn’t given her an itinerary other than he had business to take care of near her parent’s town and would be taking her home. So here she was with everything she owned, once more standing in his home unsure of her future.

“Not this minute. But that's the plan," Oz told her, moving around the desk that filled half of the room. "You can have a seat if you want. I have a couple of things to do here.”

Taylor eased onto the edge of the couch that filled the wall opposite his desk. The room was the size of the entire second floor and half the size of the main floor. Bookshelves, filling cabinets, and a small worktable screamed workspace. Real estate and literary items decorated the walls.

"You must read a lot.”

"I do. Feel free to look around and help yourself."

Taylor’s eyelids fluttered closed carrying her back to that first night she had drifted to sleep under Oz’s roof. She had thought that night how oddly different the secure silence of Oz's home felt in contrast to the safe silence of the park restroom. Being here now was still more than the safety of being off the street. It held a calmness she couldn’t quite explain, but one she knew she longed for.

She straightened and opened her eyes. Interesting place. She stood and walked to the shelves. Running a finger over the book spines, she scanned the titles. Reference books on one shelf. Real estate books on another. Basic law, computer technology. Ah. Here we are. Fantasy. Western. Romance. She paused. Romance? She cocked her head toward him.

"Yes, I've read everything there.”

"Everything?

He laughed. "Everything." He finally looked up from what he was working on. "What do you like to read?”

"I'm not picky. But no horror. And I'm not much on the too sweet to be true stories. We all know life is not a bed of roses.”

"We have a long ride ahead of us. Grab a couple of books to read if you want.”

Taylor turned back to scour the shelves. A definite variety to choose from. She had never been a big reader, but something to distract her from thoughts of dealing with her family again was welcome.

"I don’t take you as a western lover and since you're not hip to the mushy stuff, how about some fantasy? They still have a romance element, but not your norm.” Oz pulled a book from one of the shelves. "Look at this one."

She took it and flipped it over, reading the blurb. Interesting. "I'll borrow this one."

"If you like it," Oz said as he removed another book from the shelf. “You may want this one too. It's book two."

"Perfect." Taylor tucked both books into her folded arms. "Thank you."

"No problem."

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