Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
My tiny baby boy was smiling back at me.
Only two teeth on his bottom gums.
The whitest blond hair was sticking up all over his head.
Fisted in his hand was a tiny plush stuffed animal that he held in the air. It had been his favorite toy, one he hadn’t been able to sleep without.
A blue puppy.
And I knew what I’d been doing tonight. I’d been trying to fill a hole that couldn’t be filled. Trying to cover a void that would forever ache.
I could never truly have this.
Love and home and a family.
Because I’d already lost that a long time ago.
Tears streamed as I stared at his precious face before I finally gathered myself and stood, quickly coming to the only logical decision I could make.
I couldn’t stay here.
I’d allowed myself to get too comfortable. To want things I couldn’t have.
Another rush of sorrow hammered me at the thought of leaving here, but there was no other choice.
Ignoring all qualms, I tucked the pictures back into the box, then knelt and pulled the suitcase out from under the bed.
I filled it with my sparse belongings. Clothes and toiletries and three pairs of shoes. I carefully tucked the box in the middle so it would be safe.
I did it systematically.
Robotically.
Rhythmically.
There was almost a comfort in it since it was an action I knew so well.
Then I curled up on the bed on top of the covers and slept restlessly, still wearing my clothes and shoes, so when the dawn broke on the horizon and the dark of my room turned to a murky gray, I was ready to leave.
I’d waited until I was sure River was long gone and any threats from last night had melted away.
I waited until the last minute that I could.
Then I stood, inhaled a steeling breath, and wheeled my suitcase to the front door. I forced myself to walk out of it and lock it behind me, then I knelt to leave the key under the mat.
I’d text the owner tomorrow to let her know I’d vacated the property.
Awkwardly lifting the heavy suitcase, I let it bang against the side of my leg as I hurried down the exterior steps with the cool of the morning brushing across my heated flesh.
Only I stumbled to a stop when I started to round the building.
Gasping.
Because River Tayte stepped out in front of me, blocking my path.
SEVENTEEN
RIVER
It was exactly as I thought.
The little runner was getting ready to bolt.
I should have minded my own fucking business. Stayed away when she’d told me things needed to end right where we’d left them last night.
I’d tried.
I fuckin’ tried.
But she’d left me a twisted knot, disquiet ripping through me, unable to sleep a wink because my gut told me things weren’t right.
She was in trouble, and there was no way I could just ignore it.
Not after the things she said.
And sure as hell not after that kiss.
So there I stood like a twisted fuck blocking her path.
Cinnamon-kissed eyes went wide in surprise as she stumbled to a stop, body bowing back at my proximity.
“What are you doing here?” The words wheezed from her mouth.
I tucked my hands in my pockets because I didn’t trust myself not to reach out and touch her.
Last thing I wanted was to freak her out. Make her feel afraid when I knew whatever was going down in her life had her terrified.
“Came to check on you.”
Emotion crested her features, like she was torn between being angry and relieved. Torn between ignoring whatever boiled between us and reaching out and dipping her fingers into it.
I watched her try to put the walls back in place.
“Why would you do that?” she asked as if she hadn’t pared herself open for me last night.
I got it. The need to try to barricade who we really were. Too bad I wanted to bash through every barrier she tried to put between us.
“Because you were upset last night. Because I knew you were afraid. And once I finally pried myself away from where I was standing across the street and went home, Raven told me she was worried about you since you’d told her you were going hiking first thing this morning. By yourself.”
Such bullshit.
I knew what kind of hike she was planning on taking.
A permanent one.
“Think we both know that excuse doesn’t quite add up,” I pushed.
Charleigh shifted her weight from foot to foot, and she looked around like she was hunting for the best lie to tell. My stomach kicked when she finally returned her gaze to me.
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
“Yeah, Charleigh, I think it is. You solidified it when you begged me to make you forget last night.”
I watched her flinch and twitch, and I was pretty sure she was contemplating pushing right around me.