Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“You could follow me home,” I say into the quiet, finally getting up the nerve to shoot my shot. My heart pounds as I continue, “Cuddle in front of my fire with me. I’d keep you nice and warm.”
An image of having that, a woman to cuddle with, sends another pang of longing through my body. I’ve been alone since the accident, my only companions the ghosts that haunt my mind in the middle of the night. But what would it be like to have someone next to me? A real woman to talk to about my day, someone to laugh with when life seems crazy. A friend to walk through life together, a lover to share my bed with. Seems a lot to ask.
I wait for several long moments, barely letting myself hope that she’ll step out from the shadows and introduce herself. Or that she’ll let me hear her voice and touch her hand.
But as the minutes pass with only the ticking of the clocks, I swallow my disappointment. Maybe she’s something I’ve conjured up in my mind. After all, Duke has never seen her.
Finally, Duke beeps the horn from his truck. I reach for Frankie and change his diaper quickly, getting him cleaned up. A spinal injury means he’s lost control of his bladder and bowels. But he’s still a happy guy with a lot to offer the world. Didn’t seem right to abandon him just because he’s different now.
Once my boys are settled, I turn a circle around the shop. Am I looking at her right now without knowing it? Is she so close that I could reach out and touch her? The thoughts are driving me crazy tonight, so I turn off the lights that I don’t need and grab my cane.
I don’t use it most of the time on these streets. I’ve walked these sidewalks enough to know where every dip and crack is. But the smooth-as-glass ice has changed the familiar terrain into an unknown obstacle course.
Frankie and Beans wiggle where they’re strapped to my chest in a specialty harness, and I place a hand on Beans to calm him. He’s on the alert, has been ever since his brother’s injury. He works twice as hard now looking out for the three of us.
“Be still,” I whisper to them. They both stop moving at the rumble of my voice, and I carefully navigate my way to Duke’s truck. He waits for me behind the wheel. Only once did he make the mistake of trying to help me into the cab. I made it damn clear that I didn’t hire him to be my caretaker.
I settle in my seat, buckling the belt carefully so it doesn’t squish my traveling companions. “Look at my shop.”
“Lights are off,” he confirms.
“Is anybody inside, like a woman?” I bark.
“Nope,” he says in the tone that makes it clear he thinks his boss is an eccentric old fool that’s being haunted by someone who isn’t there.
I tell him to go on then, and we start our long, winding trip up the mountain. He’s quiet tonight, a sure sign that he’s tired. But he’s probably anticipating a few days away from the normal routine of school and work.
I tip him a fifty for gas, pulling the folded bill from my wallet. After the accident, my parents sent me to a school for the blind. I learned how to fold my bills differently depending on the denominations. Now, things are easier. There are apps to identify which bill you’re holding, but I’m used to the old way of managing my money.
Duke waits for me to get safely tucked away in my cabin before I hear the sound of his truck engine growing softer.
Eventually, I’m alone again. Except that I’m not. She’s here. My hands shake as I unbuckle Frankie and Beans from their harness and set them down.
“You could eat with me,” I extend the invitation into the vanilla-scented room. I’ve never felt her presence in my cabin, and I wonder if she’s been here before with me. I wonder what she thinks of the place.
My watch shop attracts wealthy clients, and I have an excellent reputation in the industry. But the money I earn goes into the bank. No sense in building a palace for a single mountain man.
I wait, letting my offer for dinner hang in the air.
She doesn’t accept it or even give an indication that she heard me. I try to keep the disappointment from my expression. What kind of crazy man spends all his time pursuing a woman that won’t even acknowledge she’s in the room with him?
I get to work making dinner for my pups, and it’s only when they’re happily digging in that a slow realization filters into my brain. Whoever is here has befriended them. They never growl around her or bark when she’s in the room. If anything, they act as indifferent to her as she does to me.