Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Sean was watching me with such intent, I momentarily worried about the steaks.
“Sell the trailer. You don’t need it anymore,” I said, and then with emphasis, I added, “You got this.”
I was referring to his beautiful life with his girls, and also, the steaks.
I didn’t know why I’d been so worried. He could probably cook with his eyes closed.
Sean took in a deep breath before resuming his concentration. He didn’t argue with me about it anymore. I took that as a good sign—he was hearing me. He’d at least consider selling the trailer.
When the steaks were nearly finished, Sean dropped the potato slices into the oil and fried them up. Within ten minutes or so, I was taste testing one and giving my approval.
“Holy crap, that’s good,” I mumbled around my bite, moaning and sucking seasoning off my fingertips. “I could eat my weight in these.”
Sean smiled and handed me another, which I gobbled up.
After loading up our plates and grabbing drinks, we took our seats at the kitchen table.
Some people liked to sit and enjoy food together while staying silent. I have never been one of those people. You could ask my brothers.
“So, tell me how you met Val.”
Sean paused in his eating and looked up from his plate. “You serious?”
“Yes.” I giggled at his expression—a fifty-fifty mix of confusion and interest. “I’m curious.”
I was. I wanted to know how long they’d been together and at what point in Sean’s life she’d entered it. And I wanted this information coming from Sean. I could’ve asked Val, but I didn’t.
Sean eyed me a moment longer. Then he sat back, took a swig of his Coke, and revealed, “I stole her wallet.”
My mouth dropped open. “You did not.”
“Yeah, I did.” He chuckled. “Ask her. She’ll confirm it.”
“That’s crazy! What happened? Did you give it back?”
“After she followed me to the bridge I was living under, yeah. I thought I got away with it at first.”
Holy crap. “How old were you?” I asked.
“Eighteen.”
“And how long had you been living under that bridge?”
“Don’t know. A couple months, maybe. I moved around a lot. I had to.”
I tried to push away thoughts I didn’t want filling my head right now, but I couldn’t. I hated thinking about Sean living on the street. It killed me knowing he was all alone. But what other option did he have?
“When did you move out of your house?” I asked, cutting off another bite of steak and popping it into my mouth. It was juicy and seasoned to perfection. I’d never had a steak this good before.
>Sean did the same, except his bite was twice the size of mine.
“Fifteen. I went back when it got so cold I couldn’t stand it. Then I couldn’t stand being there, so I’d leave again.” He popped a chip in his mouth and chewed it. “Went back for the last time when I was eighteen.”
“That’s when you got your trailer.”
“Yeah.”
“Val told me she’s never been in it.”
Sean shook his head while grabbing his Coke. “I wouldn’t let her. She was too good for it.”
I smiled while he took a drink. Maybe it was strange, but I loved that he said that.
I thought about Sean at fifteen, living on the streets. I tried to picture it. Then I imagined Sean going back to that house one last time and showing off the man he’d become, against all odds. I wondered what that horrible woman thought of him.
“Have you spoken to her at all since the last time you went back?” I asked.
“Who?”
“That woman—your mom—although I don’t like calling her that. She wasn’t one.” Bitch wasn’t anything. And if I ever saw her, I’d be sure to tell her that. Using my fist.
Sean eyed me. He was so deadly serious, I lowered the chip I’d been holding and set it back on the plate.
“You okay?” I asked.
Sean looked down while cutting off another bite of steak. He ate it, then followed it up with a chip and another drink of his Coke.
“Sean?”
His eyes came up. “Told you there’d be shit I didn’t talk to you about,” he said, voice a low rumble. “This is one of those things. Pick another topic.”
I shifted in my seat.
Crap. I was terrible about letting things go and not pushing for information. It was a major flaw of mine I lived with.
“Uh…”
No. No, I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t push Sean. It didn’t matter how badly I wanted to know every little detail about him and hated being told I wouldn’t get all those details.
“Pick another topic,” he repeated, slower and in a harsher tone.
“You’re a good man,” I blurted out.
It was the first thought that entered my head. It was sometimes the only thought that filled it.
Hearing me, Sean’s expression softened.
“You deserve an amazing life,” I continued, my voice gentled. “I feel like everyone sees that but you. Your girls don’t hate you for what you did, Sean. They love you. Don’t you see how loved you are?”