Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
“Truett, I despise that man. But he’s Nate’s dad. I swore to myself that, no matter what happened between me and Jeff, I would not let it affect Nate. Jeff is an awful human being, but I will not feed into that in front of my son. And I refuse to be with someone who can’t do the same. If we go the long run, you’re going to have to attend birthdays and graduations and weddings with that man. I can’t have you showing up and acting a fool because Jeff decides to act like the dick he will always be.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Shit. I’m sorry.” Dropping his hand, he reached over the center console and intertwined our fingers. “I’m not gonna lie and say that I regret it, because I think that fucker deserved worse than I could ever dole out. But I hear what you’re saying and can respect that Nate’s more important than whatever feelings I may have about that prick. It won’t happen again.”
“You sure? Jeff is a master when it comes to slinging low blows and then playing the victim.”
“Oh, I more than learned that today. But yeah, I’m sure. I can keep myself in check. I can’t promise I won’t talk shit behind closed doors, but the last thing I want is to make things harder for you or your boy.”
Relief filtered through me. Had the roles been reversed, Jeff never would have been able to do the same. And I had a sneaking suspicion Jeff wasn’t going to be happy about Truett only getting a trespass warning, but I was very adept at blocking his phone number.
“I do like talking shit behind closed doors.”
Truett grinned, bringing our joined hands to his mouth. “I like doing anything and everything with you behind closed doors.”
My cheeks heated as I whispered, “I like that too.”
Chuckling, he kissed my hand. “You pissed at me or are you still good if I stay with you again tonight?”
I bit my bottom lip. “Two nights in a row? You sure you’re ready for that?”
His face got serious. “It’s weird. In order for Kaitlyn to exist inside that house, you have to be gone. I don’t know what happens from here. There’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done that I am nowhere near ready for, but I don’t want you to be gone anymore.”
I stared at him, hope swirling in my chest. I didn’t want to be gone anymore, either. “Okay,” I whispered.
“Can we swing by my place and let me grab some clothes?”
“Of course.” I flashed him a mischievous grin. “But just so you know, I am also still pissed at you because I got absolutely nothing done today. So if you’re staying with me, you better strap in and see if you can reset that internal alarm clock, because it’s going to be a late night working at the restaurant.”
“Fair enough.” He laughed.
We chitchatted on the way to his house, his hand anchored to my thigh the entire drive. He refused to tell me what Jeff had said, but he did give me a play-by-play of driving for the first time in almost two decades. Let’s just say it is not like riding a bike, and he had some seriously big opinions about auto manufacturers replacing the gearshift with buttons.
When I pulled up in front of his house, I put the car into park and then waited for him to get out. For a long moment, he sat there staring at the house. I had no idea what was going through his mind, but I gave him the time to work through it on his own.
His voice was gruff as he asked, “Do you ever think about the last time we saw each other?” He flicked his gaze from me to the house we’d shared all those years ago. “You said you’d hate me forever as you dropped your rings on the floor. The sound of them hitting the hardwood echoed in my living room for years.” He shifted in his seat so that his body was angled toward me and reached for my left hand. “I never imagined you’d change your mind.”
I sighed, the pain of that memory suddenly fresh as the day it had happened. “I didn’t change my mind, nor was that the last time I saw you.”
“What do you mean?” His thumb rubbed circles over the back of my hand as he watched me intently.
“It was the first Fourth of July after we lost Kaitlyn. I got a call in the middle of the night that you were passed out in front of that house those college kids used to rent every summer.”
Truett’s eyes widened. “Oh, God.”
My heart twisted as the memory of him lying in the grass, wearing nothing but a white T-shirt and ratty gym shorts slammed into me. He’d always been larger than life, a big man who had made me feel safe. But that night, when I’d arrived, he’d looked so small, as if the weight of his grief had physically caused him to shrink.