Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
My woman said it best last night. “It’s like with me and Lexi. I could be mad if I wanted. I could hold a grudge, but what’s the point? We’ve won, Fletcher. We’ve got what so many dream of but will never have. We have a relationship worth fighting for. We have each other. We have a future so bright I almost cry just thinking about it.”
This was after we’d made love. Sometimes, my woman and I will fuck, screw, turn feral. Other times, we’ll take it slower. Last night, Samantha was on top, gently rocking back and forth as I slid my hands over her back, sitting up so we could gaze into each other’s eyes as we lost ourselves in the pleasure.
Getting into the driver’s seat of my car, I’ve got a big grin on my face. I’ve been nervous ever since I decided to speak to Annabelle and ask her for her blessing. It was the final hurdle, and I knew Annabelle might say no.
I’m older. We’re rushing into things. Samantha is too young and naïve to make this decision. These are all the reasons she could’ve given for us not working. It would’ve been easy and maybe justified for her to put up those walls to defend her daughter. Yet when she looked at me, she must’ve seen how sincere I was.
“Bad date,” Samantha said last night, trailing her fingers down my chest and stomach toward my manhood. “Good dad. It’s funny how life works out, isn’t it?”
I’m about to start the car when my cell rings. It’s Charles Malone.
“Howdy,” he says.
“Hi, Charles,” I reply. “It’s good to hear from you.”
“I thought you’d want to know. The man you tickled…” He means shot, but he doesn’t want to say it over the phone. “He’s turned on his buddies. Apparently, he got so terrified in those woods that he wants nothing to do with the gang ever again. The cops have found three more dog storage sites.”
“Good,” I say fiercely, even if part of me still wishes I’d hit him between the eyes with a fatal shot. It’s the itch that will never go away, the call to battle, to war, anything to protect my woman. “I’m glad some good came out of this. How’s the new ride treating you?”
“It’s smooth as a dream, but I think you went a bit overboard. This car’s worth at least three, hell, four times more than my last one.”
“You earned it,” I tell him.
Without Charles, the gunman would’ve aimed for my woman first. Maybe she wouldn’t have run from the car when the panic set in. They told me what happened. He was the one who yelled at her to get moving.
“Good day ahead of you?” Charles asks.
“Yeah, I hope so,” I reply. “I’m going to propose to Samantha.”
“That’s excellent news,” Charles says.
“You don’t think…” I trail off. Charles and I are on friendly terms and going through something so intense bonds people, but it’s not like we’re friends.
“What is it, Fletcher?” he asks.
“It’s just… you said before she reminds you of your daughter. You and I are about the same age.”
“So what?” Charles snaps. “I see the way Samantha looks at you. I see the love there. Hell, if my daughter were still here and had a man like you, I’d give you my blessing. I mean that.”
I swallow, feeling touched. “Thank you, Charles. Really.”
“Why are we here?” my woman says from the passenger seat, looking across from my car to the restaurant where she and James had their first date.
I take her hand, looking down at her. She’s wearing her school clothes since I didn’t want to give her any warning about the proposal. Goddamn, my heart is almost beating out of my chest, with more fierceness than it did even in the woods when the bullets were flying.
Holding her hand tighter, I smile. Across the street, a car backfires, and it’s a miracle. I laugh. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t freak. With Samantha sleeping in my bed since James told us the truth, my sleep has been much more peaceful.
“It’s where it all started,” I tell her. “Our crazy, crazy relationship.”
She smiles, a few strands of loose brown hair framing her angelic face. She’s got that playful light in her eyes that pushes me close to the edge every time, making me want to turn savage. “I still love it when you call it a relationship.”
How about a marriage? I almost ask, but that would mean giving the game away.
“Come on.” I squeeze her hand. “Before I lose my nerve.”
“You? Lose your nerve? I don’t believe it.”
She would if she could feel these sensations buzzing around my body. Leaving the car, I hold her hand, leading her to the restaurant. When I take out a key and unlock the door, she says, “It’s closed? You have a key?”