Page 116 of Opposites (Never) Attract
“Harmony says you spent the night at Tag’s cabin. Again. What’s going on there Sunshine?”
“Harmony has a big mouth,” I muttered, as I sat and took a sip of my coffee.
“I do not have a big mouth, I have an appropriately sized one,” she insisted. “And for the record, I told Ethan to tell Carter to stop bugging you about it.”
“He’s really taking on the role of older brother,” I said. “It’s ridiculous.”
“That’s Carter,” Amity said. “He feels like he’s responsible for the entire family now. I don’t know how he does it all. Especially raising the kids without Lilly.”
“He doesn’t have help?” I asked.
“Mrs. Walker has been helping as much as she can,” Mom said. “But she’s not getting any younger and those kids…” Mom trailed off and Amity, Bliss and Harmony all took long sips of their drinks.
“What’s the matter with the kids?” I asked. I hadn’t even met them. Which seemed odd since they were my nieces and nephew, so I should get to know them. But, I’d been distracted and they were at school all day. Decision made, I decided I would take a trip out to Carter’s house before I left.
Bliss snorted. “Look, no one wants to talk shit on kids who lost their mom so early, but the reality is they are…what’s the word I’m looking for Harms?”
Harmony didn’t have to think about it. “Monsters?”
“Monsters,” Bliss agreed.
“They’re challenging,” Mom said, trying to be more polite. “But, he’s going to have to do something soon, because rumor has it Mrs. Walker is ready to retire to Florida.”
I thought about Pop and his bad condo plumbing. “Why does everyone retire to Florida?”
Bliss laughed. “You’re here in the beginning of summer, Sis. You forget what winter is like in the Gulch.”
“I remember winter,” I said, smugly. “That’s when no one gave me shit for being inside all the time, because we didn’t have a choice.”
“I’d like to get back to the subject we started with.What’s really happening with you and Tag?” Mom asked me.
“Yes, please do tell us everything,” Amity said, resting her chin on her folded hands and blinking her long eyelashes at me.
I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with the topic and the attention. “Nothing’s happening. We’re having fun. That’s all.”
That was a lie. One I’d been telling myself now for days. After the storm, and all the angry sex, he’d gone back to work, but I had stayed in his cabin working. Then I went through his kitchen cabinets and fridge, only to find Pop’s tastes were as limited as Tag had suggested. So, I’d borrowed his truck to head into town, stocked up on some provisions, and made him a dinner that wasn’t franks and beans and he’d thanked me with more orgasms.
Then I’d spent the night. Again. A third time in a row.
Which meant I definitely should not tonight. Three wasn’t a habit, but it was the start of a habit, and I was going to have to go back to sleeping alone, which really sucked because sleeping with Tag…was just better.
“What is that beeping sound?” Mom asked.
I reached into the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out my phone.
“I programmed an alert if there’s any significant movement in the Asian markets,” I told her, as I checked the screen. “Shit.”
“Shit, bad?” Amity asked, nervously.
“Shit, it’s not doing what I want it to, but no, not exactly bad.”
“The fate of the town rests in the squiggly lines on Sun’s phone,” Bliss laughed. “ I love it!”
“Relax,” I told them. “But I should get back to the ranch in case I need to make any corrective moves.”
“You brought your laptop,” Mom said.
“I can’t do what I need to do here, Mom,” I said. The idea of making massive trades in a café called The Last Meal was too much even for me.
