Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
“Get what through to me?” I hopped off the bed, took the trophy from him, and returned it to my desk.
“Nothing. I just said it.”
I grinned. Kyle wasn’t like any teacher I’d ever had.
“You ran cross country?” He eyed me.
I nodded.
“Wow.”
“Don’t act so surprised.”
Kyle shook his head and held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t be so touchy. I’m pleasantly surprised.”
I sat in my window seat, pulling one knee to my chest. “Why?”
“Because I pictured you drinking by the creek, not running long distances.”
“I’m an excellent multitasker. I did both. Who’s watching Josh?”
“Gabby. She’s really good with him.”
“Don’t be fooled. She’s not reliable. I’m still your best bet. She’s always got her nose in a book, writing in the margins and doodling things. She’d lose him.”
“Ouch. I thought sisters were supposed to be close.”
“We are close. I’m just looking out for Josh.”
And I was looking out for my new part-time job.
“What’s your 5k time?” he asked, resting his shoulder against my wall.
“Sub eighteen.”
His eyebrows jumped up his forehead. “No kidding?”
“No kidding.”
“You should have gotten scholarship offers with that.”
“Maybe, but then what? I don’t think they let you run cross country in college without taking actual college classes. And I don’t want to sit in a classroom. I need a break from school. I don’t know what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
“Some people think college can help you figure out what you want to do. You take different courses and see what piques your interest.”
“Is that what you did?”
Kyle nodded. “I had a football scholarship and no idea what I wanted to do, so I did what everyone who didn’t have a particular interest did.”
“Get a degree in education?”
He smirked. “Exactly.”
“Well, I don’t want to teach. I’m not good at math. Obviously, I’m not good at literature. Maybe I’m the doer who can’t teach. Maybe I’ll plant an orchard and sell apples or pies. Maybe I’ll make apple wine so I can get paid to drink all day. Or maybe I’ll clean motel rooms forever just to piss off my parents.”
“Eve,” he shook his head. “You don’t need to have it all figured out.”
I grunted. “Can you tell my parents that?”
He twisted his lips and nodded. “I can.”
“Really?” I couldn’t gauge his sincerity.
“Really.” He nodded toward the door. “Let’s have some of your apple pie and chat with your grandma. I like her.”
“She’s the best.” I followed him to the door, and he turned before opening it, leaving me within inches of bumping into him.
“Just between us, I love your humor. It’s unexpected,” he said.
“Why is that?” I should have stepped back, but Kyle smelled like a good blend of fresh-cut timber and spice.
He stared at my mouth.
My mouth!
I couldn’t help but wet my lips as if he would kiss me. Even though I knew the chance of that hovered around the zero mark.
“Your humor is dry like red wine, but you claim to be so sweet.”
Please keep looking at my mouth.
I could hear my heart racing.
“That just makes me unpredictable,” I whispered because I felt more out of breath than I did after winning a race.
Kyle’s white teeth peeked through his swelling grin. “That you are. You remind me of someone.”
“Who?”
He winked. “Me.”
CHAPTER SIX
THE GEORGIA SATELLITES, “KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF”
Kyle
After I put Josh to bed, I carried the phone onto the deck with the cord slid under the door and sat in a wooden rocking chair.
Adam answered on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Hey. Miss me yet?”
“Hell yes. How’s it going?”
“Pretty good so far.”
“You haven’t found a new best friend, have you?”
I laughed. “It wouldn’t be that hard.”
“Have you figured out the only good thing in that little town is your neighbor girl, so it’s time for you and Josh to return home?”
I chuckled. “Not quite. My QB this year is the real deal. I can’t miss his senior year.”
“Is he better than you?”
“Maybe. I don’t know yet.”
“When’s your first practice?”
“This week. It’s supposed to cool down a bit, so conditioning might not hurt as much.”
“They’ll still whine like the babies they are.”
I cradled the phone between my ear and shoulder and cracked open a beer. “I don’t doubt that. How’s Lizzy?”
“I broke up with Lizzy.”
I took a swig of my beer and grinned. “You’ve broken up with her twelve times. I’m not sure what it says about either of you that you keep getting back together, but I know you’re back together.”
Adam claimed he kept getting back together with his high school sweetheart because the town was small and the pickings were slim. I didn’t buy it.
“It’s just sex.”
Barking a laugh, I adjusted the phone and brought the beer can to my lips before mumbling, “It’s always just sex to you.”
“Exactly. Then she assumes it’s more, so I have to tell her it’s not, and she calls it a breakup when it’s just a clarification.”