Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“No!” The word jumps out of my mouth before I can think it. But I know in my gut that I don’t want to go back. Not yet. When I go back, there’ll be questions and I’ll have to give answers. Answers I don’t have.
I don’t know why I ran. I don’t know what gave me cold feet. I don’t know if I want to marry Roy . . . ever.
I glance at Ben, who’s leaning back against the kitchen counter as he blatantly listens to my private conversation. His arms are crossed over his chest, he’s scowling, and the darkness in his gaze makes him look completely unsafe, but I still tell Joy, “I’m safe.” I raise my brows, giving him the puppy dog eyes that’ve worked miracles for me in the past as I ask a silent question of him: Can I stay?
He’s still for a long second, and my brain scatters and my heart races as I wonder where else I might be able to go that Roy won’t find me. But finally, Ben waves his hand as if to say Fine, fine and pushes off the counter to head down the hallway, presumably to set up a place for me.
I tell Joy, “I have a place to stay tonight. Can you meet me in town in the morning? Maybe bring me some clothes? I’ve got to get out of here for a bit, figure things out.”
“Hope,” she hisses, and I feel like she’s turned away from our parents and Shep so they can’t hear her or me. “Did you leave Roy at the altar to run off with some other guy?” She sounds scandalized, but a little excited at the possibility too. Probably the reporter in her.
“No. Of course not. I would never cheat. I love Roy. Except, I’m not sure I know what love is at the moment,” I confide. It’s a big admission, one I don’t think I’d even made to myself before right now. But it rings true even as it rips open a pit of fear in my gut. “Oh my God, Joy. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Okay, calm down. You’re safe; that’s the important thing,” she says, reassuring me. “I have to work tomorrow, so come by the office. I’ll have a bag packed for you.”
“Your office?” I echo. Given her job at the local news station, it doesn’t seem like the place I should go if I’m trying to be low-key. I mean, it’s not like walking onto the set of the Today show, but it’s not exactly private either. Not that my wedding—or non-wedding—to Roy is newsworthy, but logically, people hiding out don’t go where there are cameras and journalists looking for their next scoop.
“Not all of us are scheduled off for the next two weeks for our honeymoon,” she reminds me.
Ouch. Yeah, she’s right. But forgetting about that little factoid amid my own freak-out seems mostly forgivable. Or at least, I hope it is.
“Okay, yeah. Your office,” I agree.
“Yep.” I hear a scuffle on her end like someone’s trying to steal the phone from her hand, and right before the call disconnects, I hear Joy say, “She’s fine. We’ve got a plan.” I hope that’s to Mom and Dad so they don’t worry about me.
I set the phone on the counter, staring at it. I could call Roy, apologize for the whole thing, and say I panicked. He’d be mad, but he’d probably come right out here and pick me up. He’d give me a hard time, rant about how I embarrassed him in front of the whole town and how I’ll have to make this up to him in a dozen different ways, but he’d forgive me.
The thought of listening to him turns my stomach, and I leave the phone where it is.
“Ben?” I call as I walk down the narrow hall, the sway of my dress touching one wall and then the other with every swish.
“In here,” he answers. I follow his voice and find him folding back the covers on a queen-size bed. As he fluffs the pillow, he informs me, “No mint, but I changed the sheets. The beds are comfortable, and you’ve got a private bathroom through that door.” He’s given me the main suite, generously moving his own stuff to the other room for my sake.
“Thank you,” I say quietly. I’d take a cot in a tent out back at this point if it’d buy me some time, but the promise of a comfortable bed sounds like a fantasy. Now that the adrenaline is no longer coursing through my body, exhaustion is setting in. “Sorry for interrupting your hike and ruining your vacation. I’ll stay out of your way and be out of your hair first thing tomorrow. Oh, except—” I cringe. “Sorry to ask another favor, but do you think you could take me into town in the morning? I told my sister I’d meet her to get a bag. I’m not sure where I’m going, but I can’t be in Maple Creek till I figure out what the hell I’m doing.”