Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“It was my birthday,” Alex announces. God, I love that kid. He’s so happy, and not afraid to talk. I’ve never understood the whole children should be seen and not heard thing. Alex has good things to say.
“Happy belated birthday,” Hannah says. “How did you celebrate?”
Alex happily gives a play-by-play of his party and going to pick up Rocky, not leaving out even one detail.
He could easily fight crime with how well he remembers details.
Having finished my dinner, I stand to start some clean-up. Willa joins me as I toss some aluminum foil into the recycling bin.
“He loves talking about that dog,” she says with a grin.
“Of course, he does, it’s his favorite thing,” I reply. Jenna brings her plate in, and slowly the others filter into the kitchen, as well, each finished with their meals.
“I’m ready for a movie,” Jenna says. “Alex, want to come with me and get it queued up?”
“Heck, yes,” he says, darting for the stairs. “Last one down is a rotten egg!”
“I don’t want to be a rotten egg,” Brad says, making a break for the door. Hannah and Christian follow, and then it’s just Willa and me left in the kitchen.
“Those jerks left all the dishes for us,” I grumble, glaring at the stairs.
“It’s fine,” Willa says. “You can go with them, and I’ll finish this.”
“Nah, you go,” I reply, shaking my head. “This won’t take long.”
“Okay,” she says, but I can tell by her tone that she’s not agreeing to go downstairs. No, that okay was the equivalent to “we need to talk.”
I take a deep breath.
“What’s going on with you?” she asks, her hands on her hips. “Because I’ve sat here for the last hour wondering what I did or said to make you mad at me. Now, I’ve decided, fuck that, you need to talk to me.”
“You haven’t done anything wrong.” And that’s the God’s honest truth. This is all me and my own junk.
But I’m not ready to talk about it.
“Okay, then what?”
I sigh and drag my hand down my face. “I need to leave tomorrow. For Seattle.”
She takes a step back in retreat, and her face falls, going stark white.
“For good?” Her voice trembles.
“No.” I shake my head and pull her into my arms. God, I’m fucking all of this up. “No, Wills, just for a few days. For work.”
Lying to Willa doesn’t sit well with me.
It seems nothing sits well with me today.
“So, are you being a dick because you’re leaving tomorrow, or are you being a dick because you don’t want to see me anymore?”
“I’m not being a dick.” I frown and step back. She crosses her arms over her chest and scowls.
“Yeah. You are. Trust me, I know dickery, and this is it. So, which is it?”
“I’m not trying to be a dick,” I insist. “And I don’t want to stop seeing you.”
“So you’re being a dick—”
“Use a different word, please.”
“—jerk because you’re going away for a few days? I call bullshit.”
I blow out a breath and pace away. I should know better. Willa calls ’em like she sees ’em.
“I’m just moody today,” I say at last because that, at least, is the truth. “I have a lot on my mind, and I’m shitty company. If we hadn’t already planned this with the family days ago, I would have bailed.”
“You can tell me about it,” she offers and comes to me again, taking my hand in hers to give it a squeeze. “Sometimes, I’m good at figuring things out.”
“Yeah.” I sigh and tip my forehead against hers. “I’ll tell you about it after I get my own head wrapped around it.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
***
The dreams follow me no matter where I go. Montana or Seattle, it doesn’t matter. I’ve had similar nightmares every damn night.
It’s fucking with me.
So what the fuck am I doing here?
I stare at the ceiling, afraid to go back to sleep, and pissed off at Cary for messing with me in my dreams. If that is, in fact, what’s happening.
Maybe it’s not him at all, but my own garbage.
And if it’s happening no matter what, why am I in Seattle, six hundred miles away from the woman I love rather than with her? Talking to her? Letting her help me?
I’m a smart man. We haven’t said the words, but I know she loves me. And I love her too, more than I ever thought I could love another person.
And I’m doing a stellar job of pushing her away.
Fucking ridiculous.
I thought I needed room to breathe, to put everything in perspective and remember that I’m not poaching on anything. Cary’s long dead, and I gave Willa all the space in the world.
Literally.
Fate wants us together.
I drag my hands through my hair and sit up, then pad down the stairs to the kitchen and open a bottle of water. This house is much, much smaller than my Montana home, but it’s comfortable and has amazing views.