Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 113934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
“Well, with how fast we did the motor rebuild, we could both be cleaning out the room.”
“After hauling that hot water heater up here, Dad, I think I’d have rather cleaned out the spare room.”
Michelle’s phone rang, and then she called up, “Hold on, it’s Katelyn.”
I could hear Michelle asking Katelyn how the party was going.
I wiped the sweat from my brow as I checked to make sure none of the pipes were leaking. “It all looks good to me. Nothing’s leaking.”
“What do you mean, she hasn’t shown up? Have you called her?”
My heart dropped. My father and I looked at each other.
“Wyatt,” Michelle called out.
I quickly started making my way down the attic ladder. My heart was pounding, and I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath.
“Calm down, son. Let’s not jump to any conclusions.”
I stood in front of Michelle, waiting for her to say something.
“Hold on, Katelyn.” Pulling the phone away from her mouth, Michelle wore a look of pure fright on her face. “Sky hasn’t shown up to Katelyn’s for the party. She’s been calling and texting, but she hasn’t heard anything from her.”
My hands shook as I called Skylar. “It went straight to voice mail.”
“Katelyn, I need to let you go. I’ll call you if we hear from her, and please call me or Wyatt if she calls you.”
Michelle rattled off my phone number as I started for the front door.
“Wyatt!” my father called out.
Stopping, I spun around and looked at him. “I’m going to Waco, Dad. I had a weird feeling before she left. Something told me not to let her go. If anything’s happened to her, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Wyatt, you need to settle down first before you go running off. Let me drive you and Michelle to Waco, and we can try to figure out where she might be.”
“Dad, I need to get to her.”
Michelle walked up to me. “Wyatt, your dad’s right. Neither one of us would be good behind a wheel right now.” She turned to my dad. “Let me grab my bag. I already had it packed up since I thought I was leaving today.”
I watched as Michelle took off up the stairs.
“Should I call her parents or Mitch?” I asked with a shaky voice.
Right then, my phone rang. It was Mitch.
“Mitch, have you heard from Skylar?”
He was quiet for a few seconds too long.
“Mitch?”
He cleared his throat. “She’s okay. I’m in Waco.”
“Why are you in Waco?” I asked.
Michelle came running down the stairs. “Is that her? Is it Skylar?”
I shook my head and pulled the phone down to tell Michelle, “It’s Mitch. He’s in Waco.” Pulling the phone back up to my mouth, I asked, “Where is Skylar, Mitch? Why isn’t she answering her phone?”
Mitch cleared his throat. “I wanted to surprise Michelle; that’s why I’m here. Wyatt, are you driving?”
My world stopped. It felt like everything stopped, including my breathing.
Michelle covered her mouth. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I’m at Michelle’s. Um, Dad and I changed her water heater; it was leaking. Mitch, you’re really freaking me the fuck out. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know any right way to say this, so I’m just going to say it.”
The ground felt like it was shaking.
“O-okay,” I mumbled.
“Someone tried to assault Skylar.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
* * *
Skylar
Two Hours Earlier
STANDING AT THE mirror, I took in my reflection. I’d decided on black slacks and a light-gray shirt. I liked how it brought out my gray eyes.
I hated parties. I especially hated Pink Chef parties. Or is it Pampered Chef? Aren’t these types of parties for older women anyway? I rolled my eyes.
Grabbing my purse, I headed to the door. Opening it, I let out a scream when I saw Zeb there with his hand up, ready to knock.
“Holy shit, Skylar! You scared the piss out of me.”
Covering my chest with my hand, I took in a few deep breaths. “Zeb, what are you doing here?”
He shook his head and laughed. “I told Michelle I’d meet her today. I have a few things to pick up, and…well, I wanted to say good-bye to her in person. I figured y’all would be back by now.”
“Did she not text you? She had to stay back in Waco with Wyatt. She had a leak; her hot water went out or something.”
Zeb smiled. “No. I didn’t get the text.”
I frowned. “Weird.”
He shrugged. “Well, would you mind if I came in really quick and grabbed my stuff? It’s just a couple of shirts.”
I lifted my brows. Why in the world does he have clothes here? He’d never spent the night.
“Shirts?”
“Sweatshirts. I wore a few over here and forgot them.”
Zeb and his sweatshirts. I swore, he had one for every day of the year.
With a chuckle, I motioned for him to come in. “I was getting ready to leave, but if it will just take a few minutes, no problem.”