Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 70444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
My mother snickered behind me, and the attendant said something under her breath that I didn’t quite catch.
Bitch.
The door beside me sounded as it was pushed open, the bells hanging from the handle jingling with the movement.
I didn’t turn around, because turning around meant that I would have to see my mother and father, and I sure as fuck didn’t want to see them any more than I had to.
“That’ll be…”
I slid the cash over and tensed when I felt someone move up behind me.
That tenseness dissipated as fast as it’d arrived when I felt familiar hands, and a bearded cheek rub against my face as Johnny brushed a kiss against my cheek. “Hey,” he whispered. “You okay?”
I felt myself deflate.
I had no idea how he knew that I was upset—I’d refined the blank look after all these years. I had no idea why he was even here. I also had no idea why I needed him so much, but I did. I needed him, and I had no clue that I had.
Not until his arms had slid around me and pulled me to his side.
His gun was digging into my belly, just below my ribs. His Kevlar vest that I could feel underneath his uniform shirt was hard and unyielding, and he smelled of something weird…chemicals maybe. But it was the most reassuring thing I’d felt in a lifetime.
The woman placed the change on the counter with a slap of her hand, making eyes that I hadn’t been aware had closed to open.
She sneered at me.
“I don’t know how you treat your customers usually,” Johnny drawled. “But most attendants place the money in a customer’s hand when they’re giving it back.”
My mother snickered. “Us Commons got a taint to us.”
I felt more than saw Johnny turn since my eyes were focused on the money that I couldn’t make myself pick up.
Johnny was right. It was very rude.
Johnny took a look at my parents, grunted something under his breath, and then turned back to the counter. Upon seeing that I hadn’t collected my money yet, he did it for me, grabbed my chicken, and then hooked his arm through mine to guide me out the door.
It wasn’t until we were standing in front of my truck, with his body pressed against mine, that he finally looked into my eyes. And what he saw made his eyes harden.
“Who were they?” he asked.
I licked my lips. “My mother and father.”
“Oh,” he murmured. “That’s sucky.”
It was. I wholeheartedly agreed.
I also didn’t know what to say.
It was a good thing I hadn’t shared what I hated about them, because moments after he’d asked that question, my mother and father appeared, going to the truck parked directly next to mine.
I froze at seeing the brand-new truck—which I knew damn well they couldn’t afford—parked next to mine. I opened my mouth, and a sick sort of dread started to roll through me.
“Nooo,” I moaned.
Then I dove for my phone that was in my partially open truck door.
The moment it was in my hand, I started to sign into my bank app, hoping that I wouldn’t see what I knew I’d probably see.
And when I saw the low balance of my grandfather’s account directly below mine, I moaned again.
“Nooo,” I licked my lips. “No.”
My spine stiffened, and I made eye contact with my father.
A long time ago, Tennessee Common had once believed in his son. When that trust had gone out the window, so had all of my father’s access to his money.
But, apparently, he’d still had some access, otherwise sixty thousand dollars wouldn’t be missing from my grandpa’s bank account.
Dad smiled and winked, Mom waved, and they pulled out of the parking lot.
I made to get in the truck, but Johnny stopped me with a hand on my hip.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I need to go see my grandfather. Now.”
Chapter 16
It is not acceptable to throw your trash on the ground. It’s also not acceptable to shit on your neighbor’s lawn.
-things Johnny didn’t know he would ever have to say to a grown adult
Johnny
“You want to go with me?” she squeaked in surprise.
I nodded. “I do.”
“But…”
“But I’m going to have to make myself acquainted with him somehow. Do you want to be there where you can possibly control what is said between us, or do you want it to be at a time of my choosing when you are nowhere near to hear what we discuss?”
She licked her lips, clearly torn on whether she wanted to be there or not, and inevitably chose the first meeting for her to be present. But you could tell she was clearly unhappy with being given that ultimatum.
“You can come…but just know, I’m highly offended by it,” she grumbled.
I burst out laughing. “That’s a little harsh, darlin’.”
“Why?” She looked genuinely confused.
“Because a woman should want her man to meet her family, not to stay away,” I told her.