Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Running a hand down his face, he climbed in the car with Dog by his side and phoned Billy. The house was done for. He let him know to send his boys to put it out within an hour.
Chapter Eight
No one was able to identify the body, but Robin knew who it was.
The fire had been the talk of the town, which lasted for a month. Now, it was nothing more than a faded memory. She put the latest batch of books onto the shelf and pushed the cart around the library.
She was numb.
It was strange. She didn’t feel upset, but Reaper had been part of her life for nearly four years. Bethany was nearly two years old and growing up so fast. Anne was taking care of her at the front desk. They’d bought a small crib with a couple of toys to keep her entertained. She still lived with Anne.
She hadn’t seen Preacher since that day. He hadn’t stopped by, neither had her father, and she hadn’t gone to the club.
He’d killed Reaper and now he wasn’t even coming to see her. Was this his final way of saying it was completely over between them? She didn’t want to think about what it could all mean.
With her empty cart, she walked back to the desk where Anne sat typing away at the computer.
“Hey,” she said.
“So, I was thinking you could go to the diner and get us some lunch. I’m finishing up the order and I’m getting hungry. I’ve got Bethany, no need to worry.”
“You’ll keep an eye on her?” Even with Reaper gone, she didn’t want to let her baby out of her sight. She didn’t know if Reaper had any enemies or long-standing friends.
“I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Okay, then.” She took Anne’s order and left the library. She kept trying not to think. As she passed a couple of people, they stopped to say hello to her. She didn’t make small talk and rushed toward the diner. On her way inside, Bear was coming out. “Sorry,” she said, stepping out of his way.
“Robin.”
“Bear.”
At that moment, she missed her dad more than anything else. She wanted to hold him, to ask him if everything would be okay, but she didn’t. Instead, she bowed her head, waiting for him to go.
“I’m glad I ran into you,” he said. “I’d like you and Bethany to come to dinner.”
“Bethany?”
“You know, my grandkid,” he said.
This made her look at him. He’d never acknowledged Bethany as his.
“I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately and you know, I don’t want her to hate me as a grandad. I know I’ve been an asshole a lot lately, and well, I would like us to get to know each other again, as a family.”
“Oh.”
“If that’s okay with you. I know I fucked up a lot and I want to make it up to you.”
“Yeah, of course. I would like that too.”
He smiled. “How about this Sunday? You, me, Bethany, you come and we have a family dinner.”
“I’d like that.” The family dinners at Anne’s were rather tense. Elijah wasn’t happy with his wife’s newfound freedom. She no longer waited around for him or asked his permission. She lived her own life and didn’t need him for her to be happy. It was nice. She even believed Anne had found someone.
There were secrets her friend kept, and she didn’t have a problem with that. It had been a long time since Anne had looked happy, at least from what people had told her.
Entering the diner, she felt a little happier.
It wasn’t going to be the same with her father, she knew that. They had too much bad blood between them, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t find a way to make it work, for Bethany and for themselves.
She ordered two lunches and stood waiting for them.
The diner was noisy and she looked around to see all the different people in conversation, enjoying their lunches.
Did Reaper beg for his life?
Why didn’t Preacher ask her?
What was she going to tell Bethany?
Her daughter didn’t show any signs of missing her father, and Robin felt guilty. Why did she feel guilty? She didn’t care. After learning the truth of what he did and what he organized, there was no way she could feel anything for him. He’d gone out of his way to hurt her and rather than protect her, he’d thrown her into hell all because he wanted to be a hero.
She was handed her food and she took it with a smile. Leaving the diner, she started to walk back to the library. It was the same routine day in, day out. She could go through her life with her eyes closed it was the same basic, monotonous tasks.
Her life was so different now than before she’d been taken, even during her period of kidnapping. Some things remained the same, though. She still hadn’t graduated high school and that was something she wanted to do, to have some kind of goal in life, to know what she wanted.