Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“What are friends for?” He runs his finger under the rim of his hard hat as he eyes the tree we felled. “So, who are they?”
“Bad news,” I say. “That’s all you need to know. If it happens again, can you call me? It doesn’t matter how late.”
“Sure. But I doubt they’ll be back. We made it clear they’re not welcome around here.”
“Oh, they’ll be back, and next time, they won’t listen to anything anyone says. They know they’re close to their target. They’ll only try harder.”
“They want to take Skye?”
I nod. I’m not going to fill Liam in on the Hallie situation. “Carter’s her ex-husband.”
He shifts his feet, widening his stance. “Jesus, West. You stumbled into something messy with her. I hope she’s worth it.”
“She is,” I say before I can think, but then it hits me. Defending her isn’t just about the instinct to protect a woman in need. It isn’t about protecting what’s mine because I paid for her fair and square. It’s about wanting Skye to be safe with her daughter. It’s about the desire to keep her with us after the contract has expired.
“Then you call us if you need to, okay? Men like that don’t belong around women. They don’t belong around here, either.”
His support isn’t surprising—Liam’s good people. But feeling part of a broader community that will stand by me and mine in times of trouble takes me back to my service days when I knew my brothers had my back. There’s a lot about those days I’d rather forget, but not that part.
“Thanks, man.”
He nods, beginning to tug his thick work gloves back on his hands. As Aiden calls me again, eager to hit our quota, the forest swallows Liam’s retreating form.
At lunchtime, we all meet to check on Skye. She’s quick to close her sketchpad as soon as she sees us, but Jack snatches it from her hand and leaves through it, even as she struggles to get it back.
“Wow.” His mouth drops open and his eyes bulge, but when he shows me what he’s looking at, I see why he’s surprised. She’s sketched us from memory; three faces staring off the page on a background of looming trees. It’s like looking at myself in the mirror, except I’m in grayscale. Somehow, she’s managed to capture Finn’s kind eyes and Jack’s fiercely gritted jaw. She’s got my wariness, too.
“That’s really good,” I tell her as she slumps back into her chair, resigned to us seeing what she’s been working on.
Finn flops down next to Skye and throws his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer so he can kiss the top of her head. She blushes sweetly and pulls away, looking around like she’s conscious of the public display. She begins to root around in the large cool pack she brought with her this morning, passing out foil-wrapped sandwiches and pouring cups of steaming soup from a thermos. Jack eventually returns her drawings, taking on a thoughtful expression. Something about her choosing to draw us has touched him, even though he’d never admit it.
The soup is spicy tomato filled with soft peppers and shredded chicken. It’s delicious and perfect to warm us from the inside out. Despite the worry that’s nagging at Skye, she smiles when we compliment her cooking and even laughs out loud when we all groan in pleasure at the delicious homemade chocolate brownies she made for dessert. When our colleagues look over jealousy, she pulls out a large plastic container and hands it around. If the men in this place were wary about her being here today, they quickly change their minds.
“She’s a keeper,” Liam jokes, but the wink he gives me after tells me he means what he says.
I know she is.
I feel it in my bones. If we can just get her baby back, I can see exactly what kind of woman she’ll be—the kind of woman who’ll fit perfectly into our lives. We can grow together, twisting and turning like the ivy on the trees outside.
“So, Skye, you wanna draw me?” Liam tilts his face from side to side, displaying his profile.
“I don’t have a sheet of paper big enough,” Skye jokes. All the lumberjacks dissolve into laughter, including Jack, who seems to see her with new eyes, smiling softly as she shines brightly. He helps her gather the trash and even gets up to toss it in the can in the corner. And then, shock of all shocks, he offers to make Skye coffee. The open-mouthed faces in the place are fucking hilarious.
My mom always told me that people have the power to change each other. I always thought she meant for the worst, but watching Jack soften because of Skye, and Finn smile like his face is going to crack, is a beautiful thing to witness.