Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
She holds her arms out, and I hug her waist. She’s laughing as she holds on to me and all the bags. “Okay, okay. Let me put these bags down and get a proper hug.”
I step back just long enough for her to put the bags down, and then we hug again. When I pull back, she brushes the hair off my face. “Okay, well, here I was so worried about you, and you look just fine. As a matter of fact, you look—dare I say it—happy.”
I shrug, unable to keep the smile off my face. “I don’t know how, but yeah, I am.”
She starts with a frown on her face. “But school…”
I hold my hand up. “I’ll finish. I promise I’ll finish. I’d be crazy not to. I just need time to get it figured out, that’s all.”
She bends down and grabs Wet Wipes out of her bag. “Here you go, get cleaned up. I’ll get our food out. I heard you were working in the garden and thought this would be a perfect place to have lunch. I may have to get Walker to put some tables and benches out here.”
I look around worriedly. “I don’t know if I should eat yet. I should probably ask Kanan or…”
She smirks. “So if you ask Kanan if you can eat, what do you think he’s going to say?”
I blurt out a laugh, because I know exactly what he’d say. Especially after that crazy rule he insisted on. “You’re right. Let’s eat.”
She pulls out thick sandwiches, and we start to eat. We talk about my mom, school, and Whiskey Run.
She takes a bite of her pickle, chews, and swallows. “So I was surprised you didn’t come to our house when you got here. You know you’re always welcome, right?”
I blush because how do I explain that I never even questioned what I would do when I came to Whiskey Run? I knew from the moment the decision was made that I would come to Kanan. Brook points at me, “Oh, don’t go blushing or get embarrassed, I get it. I do. Kanan will take care of you, I have no doubt about that.”
I sit up a little taller. “I should probably start taking care of myself.”
She nods, like she knows something I don’t. “You will. You have, Emerson.”
I scrunch my nose up. Brooklyn is just being nice because we all know if I was taking care of myself, I wouldn’t have had to come here and ask for help.
She touches my arm. “Don’t do that.”
I pick at my sandwich. “Don’t do what?”
She points at me. “That. You forget that I know you, Emerson. Your father was a great man that traveled a lot. I know your mother, and I know that you practically had to raise yourself. You’ve been taking care of yourself for a long time.”
I nod. “Yeah, and not doing a very good job of it either.”
She sets her sandwich down and takes a drink of water before continuing. “You’ve done a great job, Emerson. Look at everything you’ve survived.”
I shrug. “What? The kidnapping? I survived that because of Kanan.” I let out a breath. “I think…”
When I don’t continue, she encourages me. “What do you think? You can talk to me.”
I shrug. “I don’t know. My dad said Kanan and I have an unbreakable bond, but I think it’s one-sided. I just… I’m afraid I’m being a pest or something… not that he would ever tell me that.”
She sits back and crosses her arms over her chest. “Do you know how Walker and I got together?”
I nod. “You worked for him, right?”
She laughs. “I still do, and he couldn’t make it without me. But that’s not how we met. We got together after I was kidnapped.”
My mouth drops. “You were kidnapped?”
She nods. “Yeah, right here in Whiskey Run. When Walker and the guys found me, Walker wouldn’t let me out of his sight then. He had loved me for a while, but it took almost losing me for him to come to his senses.”
I bite my lip and try to come up with my own conclusion, but I’m having a hard time making sense of it. “I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me. I do know that I definitely don’t want to get kidnapped again so Kanan will figure out he can’t live without me.”
She laughs. “I’m not saying that, and I don’t think you have to worry about Kanan figuring it out. Anyone with eyes can see how he feels about you. What I’m telling you is that these guys—they’ve been through hell, and for whatever reason, they think they need to suffer. Just give him time. He’ll figure it out.”
I lift my shoulders in a shrug. I already know Kanan wants me, there’s no doubt about it after that kiss. But I also know that doesn’t necessarily mean he wants more. He’s already said nothing can happen between us.