Broken by Erin R Flynn Read Free Book Online Page B

seven. Next thing I knew, the alarm I’d set on my phone was going off at nine twenty-five and I had just over three thousand words written in my new book. I typed in a few notes of where I wanted to go next before saving everything and logging my progress. Then I grabbed my purse, the list, everything else I needed, and was out the door.
    “Hey!” I greeted when I saw the three of them walking out to Aspen’s truck… With shirts on for once. While it was a shame, they would be required in the store.
    “Well someone’s in a good mood this morning,” Aspen chuckled, tossing me the keys. I caught them easily but glanced from them to him. He shrugged. “You know where we’re going and this is your show. You drive.”
    “Aspen, I’m not driving your tricked out, really expensive truck,” I drawled.
    “You can handle it. Besides, it’s easier to smoke and not ash all over the inside if you’re driving,” he answered as he opened the passenger door and got in.
    “I’m really not smoking in your vehicle,” I balked.
    “I don’t care. It’s just a truck, Cara.” I simply stood there, and he chuckled, waving me to get in. “Come on, let’s go. We’re dying to see what you’ve got planned, and now I want to know why you’re so happy.”
    “Yeah, okay,” I muttered as I hurried around the front. I couldn’t believe he was trusting me with his baby, and while I did tend to chain-smoke whenever I was trapped in a car, I at least curbed it when others were with me and never in someone else’s vehicle.
    I had thought of that after suggesting we take Aspen’s truck last night though. It just made sense. My tiny Pontiac G6 wouldn’t hold much with four adults in it, and I had a feeling after they saw where we were going, they might shop their hearts out especially since they had money.
    My day got even better when I started up the beautiful Dodge Ram Quad Cab, the hemi engine purring like a very large jungle cat forcefully enough that I felt it under my feet. “God, I love this truck.”
    “Anytime you want to use it, feel free to,” he offered, smiling at me.
    “Thanks.” I returned the gesture but knew I would never take him up on it in a million years if he wasn’t with me. No way. Besides, it wasn’t like he wasn’t nice enough to go with me if I needed to pick up something that would require a truck.
    Teak waited until we were out of the subdivision before tapping me on the shoulder. “So seriously, what’s with the good mood?”
    “Oh right,” I giggled, a little shocked I actually giggled . And then I proceeded to ramble like a goofy twit. I told them about my weight loss, my new book going well, even that I loved Costco so I was happy about that, and exposing them to it was like icing on my cake. Teak asked me what I was working on, admitting he was about halfway through my complete library now so I told him and we talked work, both of us going back and forth. It actually was nice to have someone to discuss that with.
    I was really having a lot of fun until I glanced back and saw Cypress frowning at me. He looked away and stared out the window, crossing his arms over his chest. Then I saw Aspen was as well. Luckily we were over halfway to Costco, and I found myself going a little bit more over the speed limit to cut down on the time it would take to get there.
    Seconds later, I rolled down the window and lit a smoke. Yeah, I’d been fine until then. Now I was trapped in a vehicle where two of the three people seemed really unhappy with me. If that wasn’t a time for a cigarette, I didn’t know when was.
     

4
     
    I breathed a little bit easier when we arrived at Costco. After we parked and got out, I winced when I heard two of the doors slam. I couldn’t take it then, half tempted to call a cab and go right back home without them. I intercepted Cypress away from the others because he was the one I had the easiest time talking with.
    “What did I do?” I hissed as I dragged him back