Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 69927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“Because every time she comes around now, she’s taking more and more of her shit away,” Bram answered as he got up and threw his half-eaten sandwich away. “And I don’t fucking want her to move out.”
With that, he left, leaving it quiet at the table. “I feel like there’s a story that I’m missing.”
“There’s a part of the story that everyone’s missing,” Price offered as he continued to eat his sandwich in almost silence. “Only he and his soon-to-be ex-wife know the real story. And neither one of them is talking.”
• • •
Over the course of the next four hours, I got to know the Crow family.
I now realized the reasoning behind their look of surprise when I’d told them where I lived.
They lived in Intercourse, too.
Not only did they live there, but they owned businesses there. And Tide, who was a doctor, worked with my dad!
Such a small world it was.
Oh, and let’s not forget them all being in an outlaw motorcycle club.
I still wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
But when I looked at Price as he was helping clean up for the night, I realized that when it came to him, I didn’t necessarily care if he was bad.
I cared that he cared… which was stupid.
I should care that he was bad… but I couldn’t.
Because he was nice to me. And most of the time, that was all that mattered.
“You want to stay here? On the couch?” Price asked.
See? So nice. He cared. And he didn’t want me by myself.
But, as I registered the silence around the room, I realized that I was once again the center of attention. It was as if Price had just asked to fuck me on the kitchen table in front of them all.
I looked around at all the people, and listened to all the noise that was being made, and shook my head. “No, I think I’ll head back to my place. I have eight bedrooms to choose from.”
It was Tide who said, “Damn, can I come back with you?”
I smirked but it was Cannel who said, “No, Rook. You cannot. You have to stay and be with the rest of the family. This is a family vacation. If you’re not here, we’re missing part of our family.”
I wish I had what they had.
I had my dad and my grandfather, sure. But what I didn’t have was a mom, or cousins, or any brothers or sisters or nieces and nephews. I was an only child and after my mother’s death a few years ago, I was all but alone since my dad and grandfather worked so much.
My dad was a doctor. My grandfather worked the farm, and would until the day he died.
Which left me with a lot of alone time on my hands since I worked from home, and honestly, only worked about twenty hours a week.
Five minutes later, he was walking me back to my place, and I realized that the wind had finally died down enough that Price didn’t have to hold on to my body to keep it from flying away.
“You gonna be okay in the dark?” he asked as he stopped at the end of his stairs and watched me walk up the first step of mine.
I thought about that for a moment before saying, “I don’t really need to do anything but charge my phone. And, since I’m on vacation this week, and Faye…”
I didn’t have to finish.
He understood.
Since Faye was dead now, I might not be getting many calls.
There was that ball of doom in my throat again.
“Take care of yourself tonight, and if you need me, I’m right next door,” he rumbled.
Before I could do something stupid like start crying again and throw myself into his arms, I went into my own house, locked up, and collapsed onto the nearest bed.
Not once did I close my eyes.
CHAPTER 6
If it’s not my smart mouth getting me in trouble, it’s my facial expression.
-Price to Tide
PRICE
The waves were a hell of a lot calmer than they’d been yesterday when we’d arrived.
In fact, everything looked eerily calm.
Nothing like it looked like yesterday when I’d carried the dead girl up to the house…
Shit.
Speaking of the dead girl, her friend that I couldn’t seem to get out of my mind was coming out onto her porch.
The door to the porch was tight, and she had to yank on it a few times to get it to open all the way.
My lips were twitching in amusement by the time she finally got outside.
She tried to slam it behind her and all it did was bounce off the doorframe and swing back open.
“Stupid fucking door,” she grumbled.
Damn, she was cute.
And she looked terrible. As if she hadn’t slept a single wink.
“You look horrible,” I found myself saying.
She laughed without humor, then sat down on her own deck chair. Hers was nicer than ours.