Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“Sorry about that. I just wanted to see if you and Toby would like to get out of here for a while and go to the park or something.”
“Umm...” Her eyes skirted over to me, then right back to him as she answered, “It’s really nice of you to offer, but I think we’ll pass.”
“You sure?” he asked, sounding surprised. “It’s a pretty day.”
“Yes, I’m sure, but thanks.”
“No problem.”
I gave him a minute, and just when he thought I was gonna let it go, I leaned over and snickered, “Told ya.”
“Yeah, yeah. The hard ass has it all figured out.”
“I’d rather be a hard-ass than a dumb-ass.”
Goose shook his head, and as he started toward the pool tables, he grumbled, “I can’t deal with you today.”
He walked up to the table and started racking the balls. I stood back and watched as they played a round. Every so often, I would glance over at Whitney and watch as she read her book. She was totally engrossed in her story and had no idea I was even looking at her. Now and then, her eyes would widen in surprise, and she’d read a bit further and let out a little laugh or a sigh. There were even a few mischievous smiles here and there, and I couldn’t deny that those small, unguarded reactions tugged at me.
I don’t know how long I’d been standing there watching her when she leaned her head back with a huff and closed her book like she’d read something she didn’t like. I used the opportunity to go and ask, “Good book?”
“It was, until the main character decided to kiss another girl and ruined everything.”
“Mmm.” I tried to hold back my smile, but she looked so damn cute sitting there with that exasperated expression. “Maybe he will redeem himself.”
“Maybe, but it’ll take a lot. The heroine really trusted him, and I’m not sure how he can fix this.”
“What about ‘love always prevails’?”
“Sometimes a broken heart can’t be pieced back together... It’s just too broken.” She let out a defeated sigh, then glanced over at Goose. “I hope I didn’t offend Goose when I turned down his offer to go to the park.”
“It’d take a lot more than that to offend Goose.”
“Well, I really appreciated the offer. I’m just not ready to chance it yet.”
“I get it.”
“Toby’s really doing well here,” she continued.
“You sound surprised.”
“I am.” She watched him make a shot as she explained, “He hasn’t had a lot of men in his life—at least not any that he’s spent much time with.”
“What about his father?”
“He died before Toby was born.”
“Oh, damn. I had no idea.”
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” Whitney fidgeted with the edges of her book as she continued, "He was in the military, and we met when he was home on leave.”
“I see.”
“I thought we were going to have all the time in the world, and we didn’t even make it six months.”
“What happened?”
"He was stationed in Iraq, and they were doing all these training sessions. One day, there was some kind of freak accident... a mortar misfire or something, and it killed him and two others instantly."
“Ah, damn. Those are the worst kinds of fatalities. You know they could’ve been prevented, so they had a pretty big impact on all of us, especially when it happened to someone in our platoon.”
“I didn’t realize you’d been in the military.”
“Served two tours, and while I was there, I lost some good men. It was tough, and I’m sure it was even harder for you.”
“Losing him certainly left its mark. I just never thought it would happen to him.” Her voice was strained as she told me, “I didn’t find out I was pregnant until several weeks after his funeral.”
“So, he never knew...”
“No... I’ve tried to raise Toby in a way that would make him proud, but I can’t help but feel like I’m failing.”
"You’re doing great."
“You’re sweet to say that, but...”
“But nothing,” I interrupted. “Toby’s a good kid, and that’s because of you.”
“Thanks, Ghost. That means a lot.”
I gave her a nod then said, “I’ll let you get back to your book. Maybe your guy will pull his head out of his ass.”
“I certainly hope so.”
She smiled as she opened her book and started reading again. I glanced over at Toby and Goose, and when I saw that they were about to start another game, I went over and picked up a pool stick. “Mind if I join ya?”
“Sure thing, boss.” Goose finished racking the balls, then stepped back and said, “You break.”
At first, the kid seemed a little apprehensive about me playing a round with them. Hell, he barely said a word. He just watched me like a hawk and backed away any time I got too close.
I couldn’t blame him.
I hadn’t been all that cordial to him or his mother, but after a few shots, I leaned over to him and asked, “Why can’t you trust a burrito?”