Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Jacob looks at me, and his mouth opens. “He’s not that big.”
“Did you hear anything else I said in that sentence?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“Speaking of Beau, I should go and make sure he’s okay,” he says. “Do you think you’ll be okay while I go?”
“Yeah.” I look around. “I’ll be fine,” I say, and he leaves. Walking back to my office, I sit behind my desk and grab my insurance folder to call in the claim. I answer all the agent’s basic questions, and then she tells me that someone will contact me shortly. I hang up the phone and push away from the desk. There is one thing that I want to make sure is cleaned off. I find a bucket and fill it with water and a bit of soap, then grab a sponge and walk outside.
The humidity in the air is thick as I set down the pail of water and then walk to the back where I keep my ladders and stuff. Grabbing the ladder, I walk over to the side of the building and prop it against the wall. I bend over and grab the sponge, then squeeze it. Climbing the ladder, I hold on with one hand. I stop when the red comes into view, and I use the sponge to wipe it down. I don’t know how long I’m actually on the ladder, but the side of the bar now looks pink. I’m about to head back down and rinse the sponge when I hear tires on the gravel parking lot. Looking over, I see Jacob’s truck pull in followed by my truck and out jumps a very pissed off Beau.
“What the hell are you trying to do?” he yells, and I can’t see his eyes because he’s wearing his stupid aviator glasses which only make him look hotter. “Would you get the fuck down from there before you break your neck?”
I shake my head. “I’m fine,” I say, climbing down the ladder and dropping the sponge into the water turning it pink.
“Your shirt,” he says, pointing at my shirt. I look down and see that the front is all wet and see-through.
“Oh my God,” I say, folding my arms over my breasts and turning around. “Stop looking.”
“Go and see if you can change,” he says, and I look over at Jacob, who just rolls his lips to keep from grinning. “And we can get something to eat.”
“I’m really not hungry,” I say, looking down, and he just looks at me. “What?”
“You are always hungry,” he points out, and I roll my eyes at him. It’s annoying that he knows me so well.
“Well, I’m not today,” I say. Walking past him, I stop in front of Jacob. “Can you get Ethan today? I want to make sure that the inside is cleaned and all that before I leave.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Jacob says. “We were going to ask you if we can take him up north this weekend anyway.”
“That’s perfect,” I say and walk away from them. Going inside, I finally drop my arms from across my chest. Heading to my office, I close the door and take the wet shirt off, putting on a black tank top with the bar’s name across my chest. I walk out of the room, and I see Beau there in the middle of the room with his hand covering his mouth.
“This …” he says. “This is.” I blink my eyes, trying not to think about it.
“Yeah,” I say and walk over to the broom, trying not to look at him.
“Savannah.” He calls my name, and the way he says it just makes my heart fill up. “Look at me.”
“No,” I say. He’s seen enough of my tears. I grab the broom and start to sweep, hoping that he walks away. But instead, I feel him coming closer. His hand stops the broom from sweeping, and then he places his finger under my chin. I try to fight it, but he doesn’t let me, and I finally look up at him, and he sees the tears running down my cheeks. “Please.”
He brushes the strands of hair falling out of my bun away from my forehead with his pinky. “Please what?”
“Please, I don’t want to talk about this,” I say, my lower lip trembling as I try to be strong. “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to think about it. All I want to do is clean it up so I can put it behind me.” His hand moves down to my cheek as he brushes the tear away, and I finally let it out. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.” I admit my biggest fear to him. “I don’t know how much longer I can stay in this town.” I drop the broom. “At first, I stayed to show them that it didn’t bother me, but now …” I shrug. “But now, I don’t think I have it in me.”