Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
I was out of breath by the time I finished, but not out of frustration. “So yeah, I guess I am kind of disappointed you got to spend the day watching Family Feud and eating burgers.”
He flashed his eyes wide, his lips twitching with humor. “You done yet?”
I scoffed. “No! I just picked you up from jail. It’s going to be a long time before I’m done. I highly suggest you start talking before my anger turns to violence and I unleash the world’s harshest titty twister on you.”
His hands jumped to cover his nipples, but that damn man grinned at me. “Okay, okay. Relax. I’ll pay you back for the impound fees, and if you put your titty-twisting fingers away, Troy gave me back the bail money. It’s in my pocket.”
I slapped my hand on the steering wheel. “Who the hell is Troy?”
“He works for the bond company.”
“And they just gave you back the money? I’m pretty sure that’s not how bond works.”
“It’s a small town. I think they make their own rules. Besides, he’s friends with Don.”
“And Don would be who?”
He leaned back in his seat, getting comfortable, and extended his arm to prop his hand on my headrest. “The cop who arrested me.”
“Oh, so you guys are all buddy-buddy, on a first-name basis now?”
“Something like that. Hey, I need to go back to my place so I can change. I smell like burnt coffee,” he said with all the casual coolness of a man who’d asked me to pass the ketchup.
My temper finally snapped. “Jesus, Truett. Say something that makes sense. What the hell were you thinking, storming over there and punching him in the face?”
He lifted a finger. “First of all, I did not punch him. Secondly, I was thinking that he was a piece of shit and he needed to be treated as such.”
“He’s an attorney! He knows every judge in this town. You’re going to be lucky if he doesn’t convince them to try you for attempted murder at this point.”
He barked a loud laugh. “I hope that fucker does. They issued me a trespass warning and told me to stay away from him. I hardly think I’m headed to trial.”
Even more confused, I cupped my hand around my ear. “I’m sorry, what?”
“A trespass warning. It’s kind of like a ticket, I guess. I don’t know. I zoned out for a while when Don was explaining it. Don’t worry. It won’t go on my record or anything.”
I drew in a deep breath, trying to find a Zen that I wasn’t sure existed in a clusterfuck the size of the continental United States. “Could you please explain to me how Jeff ended up with a potentially broken nose and you only got a trespass warning?”
His grin fell. “Yeah, I don’t want to talk about that.”
I briefly wondered if anyone had ever sprained an eyelid from blinking too hard or if I was going to become the first. “Either you talk or you’re walking home. I’m not sitting in the dark on this one. And I dare you to ask me to.”
He held my challenging gaze for a few seconds before relenting. “Fine. Between me and you, I headbutted him. He deserved worse, but I was already in cuffs. Don recognized my name. His sister survived the mall that day, so he wasn’t real happy to be arresting me in the first place.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “She was…there?”
“Yeah, and it made me uncomfortable as fuck to have him thank me. I only managed not to tear out of my own skin because it probably saved me felony assault and resisting arrest charges. After the shit your ex spewed, the whole damn police department was willing to turn a blind eye.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, the desire to ask the question almost as strong as the fear of hearing the answer. “What did he say to you?”
The leather of his seat squeaked as he shifted uncomfortably. “You gotta raise a kid with that man. I’m going to need you to trust me when I say that is not something you want to hear.”
“Oh, God,” I breathed.
Truett reached out and grabbed my hand. “Now he knows I’m at your back. And I’m going to sleep a hell of a lot easier because of it.”
As much as the caveman routine turned me off, there was something about the conviction in his voice that made my stomach dip. “I need you to promise me that won’t happen again.”
He let out a strangled laugh. “I can’t promise that, Gwen. You and me make this work, I see a lot of issues in mine and Garden Gnome Jeff’s future.”
I pulled my hand from his. “Then you and me are not making this work.”
His eyebrows shot up to his forehead. “Come again?”