Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
A sudden ding on the monitor indicated the garage door was being opened. We both tilted our heads in that direction as if we might see what was happening. In seconds, Dash was out of bed, dried swim trunks pulled back on and running his fingers through his hair.
“Hang on, I’ll go with you,” I said.
“Stay in bed. Besides you and Amelia, only Chandler knows the security code to come inside. Let me go see what’s happened.” Those words were said as he left the room.
Of course I didn’t listen, dressing quickly. For the first time, I was glad for Dash’s eccentric glass walls throughout the house. As I went to join them, I watched Joy, Dash’s niece come into the living room. With Dash the last and unexpected baby of ten children, it created lots of nieces, nephews, and cousins slightly older than him. Chandler, Dash’s longtime friend, followed behind her. Joy was dressed in a one-piece Jiffy Lube coverall, her hair neatly tucked underneath a matching ball cap.
The scene seemed weird. Dread coiled in my gut based on their grim expressions.
“What’s happening?” Dash asked. Joy removed the cap, her long, straight blonde hair unwinding in a cascade down her back. It had been years since I saw her last. She had matured. Her face now featured defined angles. Yet, she continued to radiate a striking beauty, a characteristic that ran in their family.
Her blue-eyed gaze landed on me, worry clearly etched on her face. A mirror to Dash’s expression. Yet, when she saw me, her face softened.
All else faded into the background when she came to me, wrapping her arms around me. “Despite all that’s happening, I was happy and relieved to hear you’ve returned to Dash,” she said.
“Thank you,” I said, my arm easily encircling her, savoring the sincerity of her words.
“No one understood what Dash was waiting on, but I did. I saw you two together. I got it.” With the attitude that was all Joy, she flipped around to Dash. “He comes back, and you don’t tell me?”
Dash’s lips quirked up. I appreciated his ability to remain level-headed despite everything being thrown at him. “I was keeping us in a bubble. I didn’t want to share him.”
“Maybe stayin’ hidden a little longer, or like forever, would have been wiser,” I added, my grin growing broad. I felt lighter in that moment, which was a wonderful feeling since I’d been carrying the blame for every shitty thing that went down with Dash and his family.
“I knew he was back,” Chandler said, pointing a finger at me. “But he doesn’t like me at all. Notice how quickly his smile faded.”
“It’s not that he doesn’t like you,” Dash said, responding to Chandler. However, even Dash couldn’t maintain the overused lie when he turned to my stern face. Joy laughed a musical sound at the change of my expression. “When Beau first arrived, there was confusion.”
“Yeah, that was the day I got my walking papers,” Chandler quipped. “Anytime we crossed paths, I was surprised I didn’t vaporize where I stood.” No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hold in my grin. The way he spoke the truth made me feel like I’d won. I didn’t say it aloud, but my core knew the win counted.
“So what’s going on?” Dash asked.
Chandler dropped his hands in his fancy pants pocket. Joy moved to stand in front of Dash. The room’s vibe turned serious again. “If Granddad or my parents find out I was here, I’ll be excommunicated like you.” She air-quoted the word excommunicated. “Granddad actually used that word about you. He’s so arrogant. That’s the reason I came over. He’s crazier than normal. He’s unleashing all his power on you. You’re going to be evicted from your house…”
“This is my home,” Dash stated firmly. “It was a graduation gift that I personally went down and signed the paperwork for. The title is in my name.”
Joy shook her head. “I don’t understand it all, but something about shell companies that you’ve been removed from?”
I certainly had no knowledge about business, but Dash’s expression transformed into that of a fierce opponent. He planned to fight where maybe he hadn’t before.
“There’s more. I eavesdropped on Dad and Grandad’s lunch chat. He’s having you watched. That’s where we were told about your situation and under no circumstance are we to communicate or see you. If we do, we’re out of the family too,” she added. “He’s planning to bring you home on your knees, begging to be reinstated. He’s not going to let you back in, but he wants to see you grovel.”
“The rumor circulating through Dedman suggests that you have been removed from further classes,” Chandler said. The pain those words obviously caused him to say may have mollified my dislike of him by a tad.