Brei Betzold - Tribal

“What the fuck, Devi?” Cris yelled.

Seth held out his hand towards Cris.  “That’s enough, just listen.”

We all looked back at Devi.  “So I’m pregnant,” she announced, “with twins.”

“Ah fuck man, you promised not to do this to us again,” X whined.

Devi glared at him.  “Do this to you?” she screeched.

X shrunk back and I would have giggled if I wasn’t trying to process the fact that Devi fired me.

“Things around here are changing.  Ash, I need a house mom in essence—someone to help with the kids when needed, do the grocery shopping, and help keep everything organized, paid, and running.  You need a job, so you’re hired.”  She nodded like this was a done deal and I just stared at her.

“You’ve lost your mind,” I stated.

She tilted her head.  “That is a possibility.”

She looked over at Cris.  “I’ll need to cut my hours at the shop soon.”

He nodded looking at her wearily.

“Okay, I think that’s all.” She stood up and started walking out of the room.

“Don’t you want my answer?” I called after her.

“It’s not a choice,” she called back.  “Oh and Cris, Ash needs a place to live, want a roommate?”

“God, she’s scary when she’s knocked up,” X muttered.

“I heard that X.  And Seth, after I have these babies you’re getting snipped or I will do it for you.”

“I know, you’ve already warned me,” he shouted back.

“So, who’s the new nanny?”

Seth went pale and jumped up.  “Ask Devi,” he said over his shoulder as he practically ran out of the room.

Cris

“What just happened?” asked Sam.

“I don’t have a clue,” Eli murmured.

“You okay?” I asked Ash who was sitting beside me still shell-shocked.

“Was I fired?”

I nodded my head.

“Then I was given a new job?”

I nodded again.

She looked at me blankly.  “I guess I will move in with you.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, we can find you something else.”

“You can stay with Jules at my place if you want,” Sam offered.

I shook my head.  “No, I want to move in with you, I think.”

“You think?”

“Just give me a minute.”

X groaned, “We’re screwed.”

“How so?” Max asked.

“Do you not remember how Devi is pregnant?”

He nodded.

“Now think of that times two.”

We all groaned and cursed.

Drake looked over at Mags.  “We’re moving back home as soon as possible.  I am talking like this week.”

Mags nodded.  “It’s safer.”

Ash stood up and grabbed my hand.  “Come on, let’s go home.”

I smiled up at her and nodded.  “Sounds good.”

“I wonder who the new nanny is,” she mused as we headed out the door. 

Ash

I looked around the bedroom I now shared with Cris.  We’d moved everything in this weekend.  I still had a storage unit of things from before I started working for Devi, but I was just going to leave it for now.  I needed to go through it and figure out what I wanted to keep versus what to get rid of.  I didn’t have the time for that now.  I stayed on as the nanny for the past week while I packed, but starting next week Devi was ‘training’ me for my new job.  I was nervous yet excited about it, she’d gone about it in a devious way, but I knew she had the best intentions.

Strong tattooed arms wrapped around me.  “Happy?”

I snuggled into his chest.  “Very.”

“You’re sure this is what you want?”

“Yeah, this is what I want.”

He kissed my hair and held me tighter.  “You’ll let me know if—”

“Yes, Cris,” I said interrupting him.  He’d been asking me all week if this is what I really wanted, or if I felt pressured into it.  In all honesty, it felt right.  After I let go of everything else and just thought about what I wanted, I realized I wanted to be here with him.  Everything else could and would work itself out.  For now, I was just going to be happy.

“So is X talking to Devi yet?”

“Nope,” I answered, “not since he found out his sister was leaving school and going to be working for Devi.”

“That woman is insane.”

“Nah, she just wants to take care of what’s hers.”

“And X’s sister is hers how?”

“They’ve known each other for years, or so I was told.”

“They have.”

“When she decided to take a semester off, it just clicked into place for Devi.  It’s what she does.”

“Like the new job?”

“Haven’t really started it yet, but yeah, I think I will.  I still get to hang out with the kids and she’s right, she will need more help with twins.”

“Okay, enough talk about Devi,” he growled.  “It’s time to christen our house.”

Cris

I watched as Ash slept in our bed.  It still amazed me that she agreed to this.  I pushed a lock her blonde hair from her forehead and just gazed at her.  I wasn’t sure what I did to deserve her, I knew I would screw up again.  That I would piss her off at times, but I vowed to both of us not to push her away again.  I wasn’t sure I could handle living a life that didn’t have Ash in it.

My cell rang and I rolled over to answer it.  “Yeah.”

I listened to Max speaking frantically on the other end, once he told me what was going on I was up and moving.  I quickly got dressed and woke up Ash in the process.

“Everything okay?”

“No, not really,” I told her. “Get dressed.”

After she dressed quickly, we ran out the door.  I was scared of what we would find.  We were all hoping this was over, but apparently not.  I just didn’t know what we could do now to keep her safe. 

I struggled with getting Tribal finished, not because of the story but because life kept throwing road blocks.  I want to say thank you to my readers for supporting me, encouraging me, and bearing with me.  I have to say I have the most fantastic readers, ever.

My beta’s Nikki Sparks, Wendy Bree Rex, and Chrissy Sharp, you three are amazing as always.  Thank you for all you do, for taking time out of your busy lives to help me.  I could never do this without you beside me.

Holly Malgieri, I cannot not say thank you enough for all you do for me.  You help keep me grounded, listen to me bitch, and tell me everything will be okay when I’m ready to quit.  You’re my fairy godmother and I would be lost without you.

I need to once again thank my editor, Tanya Keetch, The Word Maid, for all the hard work she puts in to polishing, correcting, and recorrecting.

I want to thank my awesome cover designer, Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations, she did an absolute amazing job with the cover.

L. Diane Wolfe, Spunk on a Stick, thank you for once again formatting for me. I always love working with you.

There are a lot of blogs I need to thank for all the support, pimping, and continued support, if I forget someone I am sorry it wasn’t on purpose. Iloveindiebooks, So Many Books So Little Time, Flirty and Dirty, Book Avenue, Stick Girl Book Reviews, Book Junkies Anonymous, Romantic Reading Escapes, The SUBCLUB, 2 Girls Book Blog: An Asian & White Chick Walk Into a Book Blog, Wolfel’s World of Books, Under the Covers Book Blog, The Book Whore-der's Delights, Shh Mom’s Reading.

My husband and son, thank you for supporting and encouraging me to pursue my dream of publishing.  I love you both so much.

So many authors to thank that I do not want to chance forgetting anyone, so thank you to each and every author who has helped me along the way.  I love that we support one another in our small community, and hope to be able to pass along all that’s been done for me.

Brei Betzold is a stay at home mom to one very interesting little boy.  She started reading and writing at a young age, and has always dreamed of pursuing it as a career.  She can be found most often working on her latest ideas.  In her free time she enjoys spending time with her son and husband playing rockband, cooking, or curled up on the couch watching a movie.

You can contact Brei Betzold at:

mymiserymuse@gmail.com

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http://mymiserymuse.blogspot.com/

twitter: @breibetzold