Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Chapter Six
Ethan came home for dinner hungry, exhausted, and still embittered by his last exchange of texts with Guilia. His gaze was still on his phone when he strode inside the dining room, and he had already taken his usual spot at the table by the time he looked up...and realized the twins weren't even there to join him for dinner.
Instead, there was just...Anah.
"Fuck."
The word slipped out in his shock, but fortunately Anah took no offense, and only shook her head at him with a peal of laughter.
"You're so jumpy these days," Anah teased.
He forced himself to smile. "Force of habit," he lied. "I had to dodge a lot of paps when I was with...Guilia." He had been home for a few weeks already, but he was still unable to keep his voice from turning stiff at mentioning his ex's name. And it was worse even now, with words from Guilia's last text still harshly vivid in his thoughts.
"I texted you this morning," Anah ventured.
"I must've missed it." Or rather, he had made it a habit not to look at Anah's texts until at least a day had passed.
"I kinda miss our rides."
"I do, too." This was the truth. "But work's kinda piled up in my absence..." This, however, was a lie. "You shouldn't let me keep you from riding, though. Old Rick knows you can ride Coral Dawn anytime."
"It doesn't feel right," Anah confessed.
"You're giving Coral Dawn the exercise she needs, so we're the ones who owe you actually."
"I guess."
An awkward silence fell between them then. Something like this would never have happened in the past, and it just showed, Anah thought sadly, how much things had changed between Ethan and her.
She had done a little digging online since Ethan's unexpected homecoming, and although the Blackwoods' IT team had done a good job at keeping Ethan's name out of the Internet, Anah's familiarity with the couple enabled her to put some puzzle pieces together.
Guilia and Ethan had definitely broken up, that much she was sure of. But while Guilia's Instagram stories always showed her out with other guys, Anah wasn't buying it. The other woman might be smiling in all the photos, but her eyes were...well...hollow. A part of her was missing, and even though it hurt Anah to think of this, she knew it was the same for Ethan. A part of him was missing, too, but because of Anah, he had been forced to pretend it wasn't so.
Hence tonight's dinner, Anah thought with a gulp, which even now she wasn't sure was the right thing to do. But it was too late for regrets. It had already taken all of her courage to approach the twins about this, and since she only had less than a week to go before having to leave for Laramie for college...
Anah cleared her throat and was about to force herself to speak when Ethan suddenly asked, "Do you know where the twins are?"
It was a good an opening as any, and she cautiously admitted the truth. "They're not here." She saw his eyebrows shoot up and tried not to feel intimidated. "It's just the two of us, I'm afraid."
"Their loss then," Ethan managed to say lightly, "since Cook Nancy seems to think something's worth celebrating."
"Well...there is."
He frowned. "I can't think of—-"
"I'm leaving in three days for Laramie," she reminded him with a wry smile. "Cook probably thinks this is my farewell dinner or something."
Ethan stilled. "I didn't realize..." Anah was leaving?
"It's fine," she quickly assured him.
But it wasn't.
"I know you've had a lot of things on your mind lately..."
So did other people. Everyone had their own lives and their own shit to take care of, but he was willing to bet even his own brothers knew about Anah's impending departure.
It was just him and always only him, Ethan thought with self-contempt, that always seemed to take Anah for granted.
"I'm sorry." He was supposed to be Anah's closest friend, dammit. So why was it that he had always ended up shoving Anah in the back burner every time he had to sort out whatever new personal mess Guilia was in?
"How sorry?"
Despite her impish tone, the question was unlike Anah to ask, and it was enough to have him turn to her, startled and just a little wary. "How sorry do you want me to be?"
"The truth?"
Ethan frowned. "Of course I want you to be truthful—-"
Anah slowly shook her head. "What I mean is, I want you to be sorry enough to speak the truth." She saw Ethan stiffen, and because she already knew he was close to putting one and one together, Anah knew there wasn't any point in dragging out things longer.
"Because you already know, don't you?" Anah had rehearsed this part over and over last night, but her voice still ended up cracking in the end, and when she finally said the words—-