Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 113617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 568(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 568(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
He took his hand from her jaw.
“Right,” she kept going, “since you’re taking a semester off, come visit your mother. I love and adore you. But I’m hungover, need a shower and one of Sasha’s smoothies, because we’re going hiking around Goldwater Lake.” Pause then, “Yes, hiking. I used to hike all the time.” Another pause, and, “Yes, I believe Chloe’s coming with.”
And then there was her laughter.
He bent and kissed her forehead and rose to leave her to it.
This time, she let him.
He left the room, and Sully was on his way from the hall to the great room when Duncan was heading down the stairs.
“Somethin’ came for Genny, Dad. I put it on your desk,” Sul said.
“Thanks, bud.”
He knew what it was that was delivered on a Sunday.
The script.
He’d take it up to her.
“Is it okay if we pop into town and hit the store real quick?” Sully asked. “Sash is covered, but Coco says she’s going to need some hiking gear.”
Since it was Sunday, and Judge didn’t work on Sundays, he figured this was safe.
“Ask her to get something for Genny. She’s coming with,” Duncan replied.
Sully smiled. “Awesome.”
His son resumed his trek to the kitchen.
Duncan headed to his office, and as he did, his phone in his back pocket rang.
He pulled it out, didn’t know the number, but considering all the shit that had been rising around them, and hoping this wasn’t indication there was more, he took the call. Because, if it was, he wanted to deal with it and then they could go to the lake.
“Duncan Holloway,” he said.
“Dun, don’t hang up.”
Two days ago, he would not remember that voice.
Now, he did.
Samantha Wheeler.
“How’d you get this number?” he growled, moving far more quickly toward his office and then closing himself in.
If this was going to be a drama, he was going to sustain it on his own.
His family had had enough.
“We still have mutual friends,” she replied.
“Not friends any longer, they gave you my number.”
“I told them I wanted to call to apologize.”
“Not sure I care to have that.”
“Please hear me out.”
Damn it.
“You got two minutes, Sam, then I’m hanging up,” he stated, glaring at the box of I’m sorrys from Corey that Bettina had tidied that he really wanted to burn, but he couldn’t. That much paper wasted? It cut across the grain.
He was saving it to use as scrap.
He sat behind his desk.
“The world should know what he was like,” she stated.
“I disagree. But I also don’t care about that. I care about you dragging Genny and her ex into it.”
“I guessed and I guess I guessed wrong.”
That caught his attention.
“You guessed?”
“Yes.”
“You guessed what?”
“About Tom. I mean, they were who they were. Nothing could break them up except Tom doing that. And he’s Tom Pierce. Very attractive and successful and men like that do things like that.”
Duncan was breathing deeply.
In and out.
“Dun?” she called. “Are you still there?”
“You guessed? You laid that man out like that on a guess?”
“Yes, that was Hale’s response,” she muttered. “Except louder and with a number of foul words.”
“You know, Sam, I’m not certain what you were hoping to get from this conversation, but I’ll tell you I’m not liking what I’m getting.”
“I don’t want you and Gen mad at me.”’
Was she insane?
He pointed out the obvious.
“You’ve failed in that endeavor.”
“Duncan, we were once friends, and I’m sure that Gen told you she stepped up for my son. I haven’t seen clearly since recently how much she did that, and I’m—”
“It’s my understanding Tom Pierce is the only father he’s really had.”
She shut up.
“And this was exactly what we thought it was,” Duncan said. “You made a play for him, he wasn’t into that, and you struck out at him like you struck out at Corey.”
“Dun, first, there are not many men like you. Or how you used to be. Men run the world, and if you haven’t noticed with all your environmental work, they’re running it into the ground. And not only when it comes to that. And they do it because they’re men. Men like Corey. Who feel the need to prove how big their dick is when, at least with Corey, it wasn’t that much to write home about.”
He felt his lips twist before he said, “I do not need to know this shit and I don’t really care about your philosophy on that other shit.”
“I thought she’d slept with my husband,” she spat.
There it was.
“So you made a play for Tom to get yours back,” Duncan deduced.
Nothing to that.
She’d done it and that was why.
“And then you hung him out to dry when he wouldn’t get with your program,” he concluded.
“Men like him should not be able to get away with all their bullshit.”
“If you’re talking about Tom Pierce, I never met the guy, not yet. But what I know from seeing it with my own eyes is he has the abiding loyalty of two smart, together girls and his ex-wife. And hearing it with my own ears, the same from your own goddamned son. So I’m not sure how a man like that bought your bitter bullshit. Though I will point out something that clearly didn’t cross your mind. Doing what you did to him meant doing what you did to them.”