Abrupt Changes: A Second Chance Romance (O-Town Book 3) by Karen Renee (comprehension books .TXT) 📕

stepped back into the living room, I noticed Penny had lowered the volume on the television enough she could eavesdrop. I crossed my arms on my chest. “You lookin’ for a job, Pen?”

Her head reared back. “Do not take liberties, Clint Ramsey. Nobody calls me ‘Pen.’ And I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I shook my head. “Fine. We’ll pretend you always have the volume this low. Anyway, Brock will be here with you tonight. He’ll have a gun with him. I don’t think the people after Rae will come here, but I’m not taking any chances.”

She nodded. “And where are you taking Raegan?”

“My place. Also, one of Tommy’s men will be watching your house.”

“But not yours?”

I shook my head. “I don’t need to owe him, Penny. I know you don’t understand that, but it’s the way it is.”

“Macho men,” she muttered.

I chuckled. “Believe me, it isn’t me being macho. It’s the fact he’s a criminal –convicted or not– and I’m on the other side of that.”

She arched a gray brow. “Didn’t sound that way when he was here.”

“Penny,” I said in a stern tone.

She held her hands up. “Okay, okay. I just want to know my daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law will be safe.”

“We’ll be fine. Better than that, this shit should be over soon.”

Raegan came into the room looking between the two of us. “What are you two discussing? I’ve never felt so much tension between you guys.”

Penny smiled brightly. “No tension, Rae. Just making sure you’ll both be safe.”

Raegan looked at me. “We’re going to your place, right? I packed a bag. I’m ready when you are.”

I grinned. “We’re not ready until Brock gets here, but I’m glad you’re on it, baby.”

Chapter 24

Autumn in New York

Raegan

INSIDE CLINT’S HOME, I tucked my bag next to the nightstand on what I considered ‘my side’ of the bed. Then I hesitated, and Clint noticed since he was in the bedroom with me.

“What’s wrong, Rae?”

I caught his eyes. “Were you serious about laying off getting me preggers? Or are you going to heed Mom’s advice and keep trying? I kinda need to know.”

His eyes narrowed a smidge. “Why?”

I blinked. “Because, I still have time to catch up on my missed pills. If I don’t, and you don’t keep ‘getting to work’, as you put it last night, then hate to say it, but PMS is right around the corner, my man.”

He laughed. “Shoulda led with the PMS, Rae.”

I crossed my arms. “Really! That’s what I should’ve led with? Not whether or not we’re still trying to get pregnant?”

His lips quirked, but not with humor. “Honey, pregnancy is hard enough. It was foolish of me to think we could start in on that so quick. Let’s get through the next few days and take it from there.”

After I took my pills, I found Clint laying on the couch channel-surfing. He muted the sound and crooked a finger at me.

As I cozied up to him, he wrapped his arms around me and positioned my back to his front.

“All right, Rae. What are your thoughts on Penny?”

“Um, my thoughts on Mom?”

“Yeah. Her therapist said today she needed to wean herself from the walker and that she had more strength than she gave herself credit for. I had already told you she was improving. So, how long do you think she’s going to need someone around?”

I had pressed my lips together as he spoke. I unpressed them to say, “I don’t know, but it reminds me I need to call her. Our mother-daughter spat the other day stemmed from the fact I should’ve called her while I was here, and I didn’t.”

“Are you shitting me?”

I shook my head. “No. She said we should be sticking together because of our grief. So, I’ll call her shortly. But to get back to your question, she is getting around better, but I want to be around for another three or four months.”

“That long?”

I shrugged one shoulder. “Well, mainly because there are some renovations I think she needs, and it’ll probably take me a while to talk her into it.”

“That fuckin’ front door better be job one—”

I patted his forearm at my waist. “It is at the top of the list, Clint.”

“Good. She needs convincing, let me know, and I’ll be right there. Hell, Brock and Gabe will probably chime in too, if I’m not convincing enough.”

I laughed at the vision of those three men ganging up on Mom about her front door. She would eat it up with a spoon.

“Nothing funny here, Rae. What are the other renovations you have in mind?”

“I’d like to see her have either a shower stall or a walk-in tub installed, though the walk-in tub commercials never make sense to me.”

Even with my back to him, I knew Clint did a long blink at my statement. “I don’t think I want to know.”

I shifted to face him. “Clint, if it’s a walk-in tub, and you fill it... do you have to wait for the entire thing to drain in order to get out? Opening that little door should make all the water spill onto the floor. That’s even more of a slip hazard!”

“And... I was right. I didn’t want to know.”

“Stop it and kiss me, you.”

His brown eyes looked like molten toffee before he lowered his lips to mine. Lucky for me, that heat extended to our kiss. I tore myself away before things escalated.

“So, why did you want my thoughts about Mom?”

He nodded. “Right. I’m willing to live at Penny’s while she still needs help, but long term, we need our privacy, and so does she.”

“You’re right. I just worry about her getting lonely.”

His torso shook with his chuckle. “That shouldn’t be a problem, Raegan. Between Tanya’s little boys and my determination for us to start a family, she’ll be anything but lonely.”

I shook my head. “You’re right, again. And while I’m sure your swimmers have strength, you better have some patience. I hear it takes a while to get pregnant.”

He