AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I literally have no idea what he’s saying,” Penny says, turning to Lulu again. “You need anything else from me boss?”
Lulu shakes her head, her eyes never leaving mine. If looks could kill, I’d be a dead man right now because she is staring daggers at me.
“No, thank you, Penny,” she says. “See you tomorrow.”
Penny nods to us both before she leaves and as soon as she’s gone, the tension in the room immediately ratchets up a notch or two.
“You,” Lulu starts, a finger pointed in my direction as though she’s about to unleash on me.
“So tomorrow,” I say cutting her off. “I’ll be in the shed by eight, have the guys meet me in there, okay? Thanks boss,” I add before turning and walking out, not giving her a chance to say another word.
Back at my house I can feel the exhaustion catching up with me. I know I need to force myself to stay awake for a few more hours though, fight the jet lag so I can get into this time zone as soon as possible. So changing into a pair of shorts and some runners, I do the only thing I know that will keep me awake.
I stick to the Somerville property, looping around the yard at the back of the houses Lulu and I are staying in before heading back out to the drive and entrance. It’s probably only a couple of kilometers the whole way around, so I run four loops, my legs burning as I pass by the main building for the fourth time.
Slowing to a walk, I immediately hear the sound of feet behind me. Turning, I catch Oscar, running, struggling to keep up with me. Grinning, I slow even more and allow him to reach me.
“You in training or something?” I ask.
Oscar is breathing hard, clearly struggling to catch his breath. “Nah,” he gets out between puffs. “I always,” he pauses, before trying again. “Always, do, this.”
“Right,” I say. “Well, I’m done now, so time for a cool down.”
Oscar nods as though this is exactly what he was planning and he slows to a walk, gradually catching his breath.
“So,” I start, knowing this kid is gonna be a great source of information for me. “You like it out here?”
Oscar shrugs. “Yeah,” he says, still trying to catch his breath.
“Your dad around?” I ask, wondering exactly who he might be. Hopefully not one of the guys helping me tomorrow, that’s for sure.
It was a shock finding out Lulu even had kids, and I’ll admit, a part of me doesn’t like the idea of her having done that with some other guy, even though I know there’s not a chance in hell she’s remained a virgin these past fourteen years.
But there was something about the idea of some other guy claiming her as his, of starting a family and tying them together forever that just didn’t sit well with me.
“Here?” Oscar asks. “No, he’s not here.”
“So he and your mum aren’t together anymore?”
Oscar looks up at me as though I’ve just asked him a really dumb question. “Yeah, they’re together,” he says.
I nod, trying to look like I’m not prying, when in fact, I am. “Okay,” I say. “So he just doesn’t work here then?”
Oscar shakes his head. “Nope.”
“What time does he get back from work?” I ask, wondering when I’m going to be forced to meet this guy that’s married Lulu and knocked her up. Although truth be told, I’m not sure she is married, I didn’t see a ring.
Still that could be because it’s currently sitting on the bottom of the crushing machine on account of the fact she insists on sticking her hands in there without putting gloves on.
Oscar shrugs. “I don’t know,” he says. “Mom’s been letting us stay here this past week.”
Now I’m really confused, my jetlagged brain trying to process what this kid’s telling me. Just as I’m about to ask him, it dawns on me. Chuckling, I say, “Ohhhh, so Lulu’s not your mum?”
“Who’s Lulu?” Oscar asks, glancing sideways at me.
My grin widens. “Lauren,” I say, gesturing toward her house as we walk down the dirt road to it.
Oscar shakes his head. “No, she’s my aunt.”
