Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
I had no idea who the driver was—but Hunter was in the passenger seat.
“Hunter?” I whispered. A part of me felt overwhelmingly relieved to see him. The other part was filled with dread. I had so many questions, but I didn’t know if I had the strength to hear the answers.
“I knew he’d come for you!” she hissed. “I knew it!”
I shook my head at my best friend. “What?”
She was smiling like a romantic fool. “I mean, I wasn’t positive, but I knew he wouldn’t let you simply run off.”
When the truck came to a stop, Hunter got out and stood there for a moment, just staring at me. He looked so damn handsome…but I could see the dark circles under his eyes from where I stood several yards away. He had on a black cowboy hat that made those blue eyes of his pop, and wore an intense expression on his face.
Every fiber in my body told me to run to him. I gripped the post on the porch to keep myself from doing so.
He took a few steps toward the house and frowned. “Why don’t you have a coat on?”
“I knew he loved you!” my bestie whispered.
I ignored her. “That’s really what you’re going to say to me first?”
“It’s freezing out here, Kip,” he replied softly, his gaze racing over my body.
“What do you want, Hunter?” I made my voice as cold and distant as I could. I hated myself for acting this way, but I was just so damn angry still! Seeing Kimber walk out of Hunter’s place had thrown me for a serious loop.
He swallowed as he looked down at the ground, then back up at me.
“I wasn’t at my house that night. After the Truth Booth, I had a few beers, then called Blayze, and he came and picked me up. I didn’t want to be alone and being filmed, and I knew I couldn’t go to my parents’ place, where I really wanted to be. We were in the ranch truck the next morning when you sped by us. I thought it was my mom at first. Dad had called early and said he’d found a camera at the house, and that’s where we were heading.”
His words slowly settled into my brain, and I swayed, clutching the post harder. “But…she was in your clothes…leaving your house.”
Hunter closed his eyes as if in pain, then opened them again. “Please…can we go inside and talk? It’s cold, and I don’t want you to get sick.”
I turned on my heels and started for the door, not bothering to wait for him.
“What about your friend?” Aspen asked when Hunter climbed the porch steps.
“He’s waiting to take me back to the airport.”
My heart felt like it tripped over itself.
“Oh. Okay,” Aspen said quietly.
We entered the house, and my mother and father appeared.
“Mr. and Mrs. Howse, thank you for allowing me to see Kipton.”
They looked at one another, then smiled. My mother turned her gaze on me, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to yell at her or hug her.
“We’ll leave the two of you to talk. Aspen, would you mind helping me with something in the kitchen?”
Quickly making her way across the living room, she replied, “Not at all.”
After they left, I sank in a chair as Hunter remained standing.
“Sit down,” I said, motioning to the sofa.
He had taken off his hat and was holding it in front of him, fidgeting with it almost nervously. When he sat down, I got a good look at him. He looked how I felt. Miserable.
“I came here to tell you what Jack told me yesterday. He was looking through some of the camera footage, trying to see if they could use anything for one last show.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to stare at the fire.
“You did get your money, right? They promised my father they’d pay you the full amount.”
“I did, and I sent a thank-you to your father for that.”
Hunter cleared his throat. I had a feeling it was actually Hunter who’d insisted on that, rather than his dad.
“Like I said…I wasn’t at the cabin the night before or that morning. It’s all on tape. Me leaving with Blayze and not coming back.”
Looking at him, I fought to keep myself from crying. Something deep down inside me had insisted repeatedly that he wasn’t there, but I’d been so scared and upset to let it surface because that meant I had hope, and I didn’t want that to be crushed as well.
“Kimber had been flirting with one of our ranch hands. A young guy, around our age. His name is Peter. She asked him to come pick her up in the middle of the night, and they went back to the ranch. When he mentioned that I wasn’t there, she talked him into bringing her to the guesthouse. She went in, found some clothes of mine, I guess, and changed. She waited about an hour, then snuck out—and that’s when you drove up. You’re not on the outdoor camera, but Jack could hear everything.”