Free Deeds (Broken Deeds #1) by Esther E. Schmidt Page A

The whistling makes me stand and get the kettle. Checking the fridge for some milk, I place it on the table in front of the old woman. God, how I miss my Grams with her sitting there smiling at me.
    Grabbing my cup of coffee and some cookies I found, I take a seat across the table from Grams. Her gaze flicks to my face, and I know she’s looking at my piercings.
    “I’ve always wanted one of those.”
    I can’t help it, I laugh out loud. God, she’s adorable.
    “It’s true!” she insists. “The one you have in your eyebrow, pumpkin. That’s the one I want, right here.”
    She points at her left eyebrow.
    “I can do that for you if you like.”
    Before she can say another word, Deeds is standing in the doorway and growls out his words. “You will not pierce my grandmother!”
    I can’t help but glare. Come the fuck on. She’s old enough. Why the hell not?
    “She doesn’t need your consent; she’s old enough.”
    Deeds looks pissed off enough to spit nails. “Don’t fuck with me, Hotlips. I said you’re not going to pierce Grams.”
    “Language, Deeds! How many times do I need to tell you? You’ve got a lady now, show her some respect. Now give me a kiss, I haven’t seen you in two days.”
    “I showed her respect all night, Grams.”
    He fucking winks and smiles at me. That’s just a nasty remark, in front of Grams nonetheless. Again, I burst out laughing when Deeds gets slapped hard on his bicep by Grams.
    “When I say language, Deeds, I don’t mean you have to make sexual insinuations. I wasn’t born yesterday you know.”
    Deeds mumbles a few curses while I’m trying very hard to stop laughing. Standing up to grab myself another cup of coffee, I hear Deeds offer her an apology. I turn and glue myself to the kitchen counter as I watch Deeds kneel in front of her. He grips her hands and inspects them before glancing down to the bucket where her feet are still resting. Setting my cup on the counter, I leave the room to get her a towel. Just as I turn to walk out of the bathroom, I bump into Deeds’ muscular chest.
    “Found Grams huh?” His smile tells me I’ve just found something he treasures. “Seems like she found me.” I’ve only known the old woman for a few minutes, but I already feel protective of her.  “She was trimming the bushes with her bare hands. Out in her PJ’s, Deeds. Bare fucking feet! You can’t let her wander off like that.”
    “I have two prospects keeping an eye on her.” His voice carries a hint of defiance.
    “Well they ain’t doing a good job, now are they?”
    It seems like I hit a sore spot since the next thing I hear from him is a switch of topic.
    “I wasn’t kidding about the piercing part, Hotlips. You know you can’t do that shit to her, right?”
    I roll my eyes at the comment and push at his chest so I can leave. Controlling alpha idiot. I’m not getting into that discussion with him. Walking back into the kitchen, I kneel down and dry off the old woman’s feet, then roll down the legs of her PJ’s.
    “There, Grams. All warm and clean again.”
    “You’re such a sweet girl, pumpkin. Thank you.” She glances up at Deeds. “She’s way too sweet for you, son. You need to keep her and treat her right.”
    “Believe me Grams, I know and I’ll make fu-”
    “Language!”
    “I was going to say future, Grams! Future plans with my ol’lady.”
    She rolls her eyes, making it clear that she’s not buying it. Grabbing my mug, I sit at the table. She looks at me and tilts her head to the left. “Can you really pierce it for me?”
    “Fuck no!” Deeds growls yet again. She shoots him an angry look and turns her head back to me, raising her eyebrows.
    I like her, even more because she’s not taking any of his bullshit. So I can’t help myself when I say, “You know what? If you ask me the same thing for eight days in a row, I’ll pierce that eyebrow on the ninth day. How’s that?”
    Deeds crosses his arms in front of his chest. It’s