AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I tossed the phone to the side and rushed to the toilet, throwing up.
Ugh.
ChapterTwelve
Wade
“So where is she from?” Blake asked, leaning against the counter in the main kitchen. “Montana? Isn’t that what you said? I bet she’s got some wild stories about the winters up there. I always wondered what it would be like getting stuck in ten feet of snow.”
“Well, she’s from South Dakota,” I corrected him, eyeing Hazel, my sister. Her long chestnut hair was braided down her back, her small frame like that of my mother’s. But very muchunlikeMom, she hadn’t said much since Cheyenne and I had made it back to the main house. Honestly, though, she was the type that didn’t say much. She thought things through before she started talking...
Unlike my brother.
“Indian Reservation?” Blake asked, grabbing a chocolate chip cookie out of the package. “Isn’t that where you said she lived?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Pine Ridge.”
“That’s so badass, man. I can’t believe you saved her from that tornado, too. Talk about one huge stroke of luck for the both of you.”
“Both of us?” I questioned, raising my eyebrows. “I mean, we were both lucky to make it out of the storm, but—”
“You know exactly what I mean.” Blake reached for a second cookie. “It’s easy to see that the two of you get along as way more than just friends.”
“Shut up, man. We do not.” I shot him a glare as Mom and Dad walked into the kitchen, their eyes drifting to the three of us as we all went quiet.
“What’s going on in here?” Mom asked, narrowing her eyes. “You three having some sort of family meeting without us?”
“Oh yes,” Hazel beamed sarcastically. “We were just talking about how we’d like to overthrow the house and control the dinner menu.”
“Ha, ha.” Mom rolled her eyes.
Blake opened his mouth to say something, but I spoke first, not wanting him to go blabbing about any amount of feelings.
“We were just talking about that Cheyenne is from South Dakota. She lived on an Indian Reservation before she decided to leave and go to Arizona.” The words came out rushed, but no one seemed to notice—except Blake, who was giving me an amused knowing grin.
“Wow.” Dad’s voice dropped, his brows furrowing. “She’s a long way from home, ain’t she?”
“She’s traveled a long way.” Blake chewed on his snack, shrugging his shoulders. “Her van got blown away in the tornado—you know that’s gotta just be downright wild to have gone back and seen.”
“Ah, that’s too bad. We can probably figure something out to help her out. It’ll take a long time if she waits on insurance.” Mom’s face was bright, the good Samaritan in her probably doing a happy dance. “I know that you said she isn’t well off. Did she manage to get in touch with her sister? I bet she’s worried to death about her. I know that I would be.”
I nodded, not having stuck around for the conversation, though. “I heard her talking to someone, and I assume it was her sister.”
“She doesn’t have a criminal record, does she?” Dad grunted, folding his arms across his chest. “She looks like she could be rough around the edges.”
“Are you serious, Dad?” Hazel snapped, finally coming to life in the conversation. “Just because she’s not from some wealthy background doesn’t mean she’s shady. I swear y’all are so judgmental—standin’ around in the kitchen talking about the poor woman like she’s not up there sick as a dog.”
Dad shook his head. “I ain’t casting no judgment on her. I’m just watchin’ out for the well-being of my family. We don’t have power, and this house is big enough that anyone could sneak around and—”
“She’s not a criminal,” I cut my father off, tired of the arguing—even though it had just begun. Besides, I felt this little pang of protection for her, and I mean, yeah sure, she’d mentioned a little bit of some concerning things from her past, but...
Don’t we all have that in one way or another?
“Well,Ilike her,” Hazel said, folding her arms across her chest. “I haven’t really talked to her much, but by how she brings Wade’s ego down a notch, I’m all for the woman staying around. Besides, have y’all not noticed that puppy dog stare from him? He’ssointo her. I think it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I didn’t even know that Wade had it in him.”
My mouth gaped. “No, I’mnot.She’s leaving for Arizona as soon as she can—and there’s no way that I’m looking for anything right now. Women only want one thing from me anyway.”
“Oh jeez, bro.” Blake rolled his eyes. “You can’t be seriously stuck on that gold digger shit. Just because you have a bad habit of picking out women who take advantage of you doesn’t mean that every single one is going to steal your wallet. Maybe if you got involved with genuine, kind women, you wouldn’t have that problem.”
