Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 138588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
“Sorry, had to work.” He’d gotten the evite complete with a picture of River and Jax and their big dumb dog looking cute standing in their kitchen. It was sweet and normal, and he’d known he couldn’t sit at their table, and it wasn’t because of the vegetarian fare. It was because he would have to sit with them and Lucy and Ty and their partner, Michael. It was because he would be the only one there alone, the only one who didn’t belong. Not that he’d ever actually belonged with them. They’d formed a family over the years, and didn’t every family need a black sheep?
Black sheep didn’t go to family dinners.
Jax merely smiled and waved it off. “Of course, but you should know River’s determined to get on your schedule. You going in? Hey, girl. How are you? Buster’s inside. I’m sure he would love some company.”
The dog’s tail wagged madly as though she knew a good thing when it came into her life. Jax was a good thing. Sawyer was… He was the one who’d found her and gotten talked into keeping her. Would Buster like some company? River had always loved dogs, and weren’t two better than one?
The idea of pawning off the pup on River actually didn’t make him feel good. He’d gotten kind of used to her being around. Not because he liked her or anything. No. He didn’t like having her lie her head on his lap or wag her tail when they went for a walk. She forced him to be more active. Yes, an excellent and logical explanation. He had to take her on walks and out to the bathroom, and it felt good to move more.
“I was just going to drop off some stuff.” He wasn’t sure why, but he’d bought presents for his friends this year. Some bug had gotten into him. Maybe because Michael and Ty had started coming in regularly with Lucy, and they always found some reason to force him to sit down for a while and share some truly greasy fries with them while they talked about what had happened up at the resort during the week. River and Jax would join them from time to time. The last year had made him…the word made his stomach turn…long. He needed to stop longing. It wasn’t manly. “Hey, I should get back to the bar. Could you take some presents in for me?”
Jax’s head shook, and he held up his hands, both carrying large bags. “Sorry, man. River loaded me up. Come on inside. There’s turkey and dressing, and I’m sure Max is going to spike the hell out of the punch. Oh, and Stella made chocolate pies. You know since she’s semi-retired no one except her husband gets chocolate pies.”
It had been a long time since he’d been to Stella’s. He used to go a lot as a kid. When he would play at Ty’s place, and Ty’s mom invited Sawyer’s granddad to dinner sometimes. They would always go to Stella’s and let Ty and Sawyer and his brothers sit in their own booth like big men while they laughed and shared stories of raising wild boys, as they called them. River’s father would join them every now and then, and he would look over from the table he sat at with his friends to see his grandfather smiling, and the world didn’t seem so awful.
A deep sense of nostalgia swept over Sawyer.
He was a long way from that boy. His grandfather was gone. His brothers were out in the world and didn’t seem to care about him. Did he have to lose all his friends?
Jax’s smile faded, a serious look coming over his face. “Sawyer, River misses you. It’s been years, man. You can’t hole up forever.”
He didn’t see why he couldn’t. He’d holed up pretty well. And yet he found himself opening the door and letting the dog bound out. There was something magical about seeing her tail wag, her whole body bouncing around like this was the greatest moment of her life. Mere weeks before she’d growled and snapped and tucked her tail between her legs.
He could do this. He hauled the gifts out and followed Jax up to the town hall. The place practically glowed against the snow and velvet winter night. He felt weird walking into this particular Hallmark movie.
Until he looked around and realized this film would never make the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movie list since everyone was throupled up.
Threesomes were all the rage in Bliss, and he was surrounded by them. He caught sight of local rancher James Glen sitting by one of the many Christmas trees decorating the hall, his wife, Hope, in his lap, and the aforementioned vet he shared said wife with at his side. The mayor of Bliss was dancing with his wife, Laura, though their partner Cameron Briggs was plastered to her back, his hands on her swaying hips. Ah, Christmas in Bliss. He was pretty sure one of those trees was decorated with beets. Yeah, Mel Hughes would have brought the beet tree in. He glanced over and, sure enough, there was the old guy sitting with his girlfriend, who would be his wife if the man wasn’t worried aliens could track him through government paperwork. He was talking to the newest trio in town. Elisa, Van, and Hale were sitting at a table with Mel—Elisa’s father.