Fast Connection (Cyberlove #2) by Megan Erickson, Santino Hassell Read Free Book Online

out a Tupperware container.
    “I almost forgot Cyn made cookies for you.”
    He’d been married to Cynthia for thirty years and they had five girls. I was convinced they all thought I was pathetic. But pathetic got me the best chocolate chip cookies I’d ever tasted, and sometimes meatloaf leftovers if I was lucky, so I didn’t correct the assumption. I took the container.
    “You two are good to me.”
    George grunted. “Want to grab a beer?”
    “Not tonight. Need to get home. Isn’t Stella living with you again?”
    “Why you think I want out of the house? Fucking loud. The whole house is like screaming cats right now.”
    I pressed my lips together to hide my grin. George didn’t look amused.
    “Rain check,” I said.
    “Fine. I should probably go home to make sure they haven’t all killed each other.”
    “Might be good.”
    George sighed heavily, and I waved to him as he pulled away in his old Chevy.
    After loading my tools in the back of my truck, I eased into the driver’s seat, wincing as a muscle in my back protested. I popped a couple of dry ibuprofen from a bottle I kept in the center console and started up the engine.
    Most of my jobs were on the south shore, and this one hadn’t been any different. It took over an hour to drive back to my side of the island, but it was hard to complain. My wealthy clients dotting the many neighborhoods of the south and east shores were the ones keeping my savings account stacked, while the Average Joes in the many blue-collar neighborhoods paid my bills. I needed both for this small business to work.
    When I got home, I left my dirt-covered boots on the front porch and stepped inside. I waited for a chorus of “Hi, Dad,” usually initiated by Micah, but instead I heard silence. I frowned as I walked into the living room. Empty. Kitchen? Empty.
    I jogged upstairs, finding Micah’s door open but no Micah inside.
    Faint music sounded from Chelle’s room. I almost barged in, then remembered the riot act she’d read me last time I’d walked in unannounced. I knocked. “Chelle?”
    There was a thumping sound from inside, then the music shut off. She opened the door, eating a Twizzlers and wearing a pair of leggings and a crop top. I frowned at her outfit, but Nadia had told me not to make comments about Chelle’s clothes, so I shut my trap. “Hey, everything all right?”
    “Yeah, just doing homework.”
    “Where’s your brother?”
    Chelle rolled her eyes. “With Adriana.”
    Adriana Costigan was not my daughter, and yet she was the biggest pain in my ass. Admittedly, her dad sounded like an asshole, but didn’t most teenagers hate their parents? Her opinion was biased. All I knew was that this girl had my son wrapped around her finger with a toss of her blond hair. They didn’t go to the same school, but had met online in some chatroom for a video game or something. Micah swore they were just friends, but I wasn’t an idiot. Judging by how much he talked about her, he was half in love.
    “What’s going on with her now?”
    “I dunno. She’s being all emo as usual. They’re at the park.”
    I did not need stress from a kid that wasn’t mine. “Fine, thanks for letting me know.”
    Chelle raised her eyebrows. “We done? Got economics to macro.”
    I shot out a hand and tickled her right along the ribs. She shrieked a laugh then smacked my hand. “Go away, Dad!” Her door slammed in my face.
    Snorting, I made my way down the hall to my bedroom. In thirty seconds, I was in the shower, face tilted into the spray, washing the dirt and grime of the day away.
    I ran a soapy cloth over my chest and across the back of my neck. As the years went by, I was starting to feel the whole damn day by the time I crawled into bed. Today was no exception. Everything ached, I was tired as fuck, and hungry. As the hot water warmed my skin, I braced my hands on the wall of the shower and let my mind go blank.
    My brain didn’t want to stop working, though. No, it