Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“Grandmother!” his voice rings through the dining room and she stills as she stares at me.
“Gunner,” she replies in a sweet tone.
“Why are you at the Thorne home?”
Her eyes narrow at me. “I came to sort this mess out,” she says as if it’s obvious.
“No. You will do no such thing. You will thank the Thornes for hosting you, and you will leave. If I hear you’ve said one more word to Everly… don’t deny it either… I will cut our contact.” His words are strong and we all know he means them.
The old woman eyes me, hate evident in them.
“But—”
“This is your only warning. And don’t visit again.” He hangs up.
She stands and places her folded napkin on the table and looks to me. “You may have him fooled, but, one day, he will wake up, girl. And you better hope when that day comes, I’m buried.”
“Leave. Before I bury you myself, Nakita,” my father threatens.
She turns and walks out the door. None of us get up to help her, or show her out the door. When we hear the front door slam, my father sighs, “I’m sorry, angel, we didn’t know.”
“You had no way of knowing.” I shrug. “Would you mind if I spent the day with you?” I ask and my mother nods her head excitedly.
“I’ve got all those new movies you love to watch. We can, as you kids say, ‘Netflix and chill.’” She giggles.
“Lord help me,” my father says, putting his hands on his head but with a smile on his face.
My cell dings as the plates begin to be cleared away and I look down to see his name on the screen.
* * *
Next time you see her, you call me. She is not to be around you.
* * *
I shake my head at his words. What the fuck?
* * *
She was here when I got here…
* * *
It’s all I can say. I don’t want to get into a texting war with him.
* * *
Goodbye, Everly.
* * *
I place my cell on the table and don’t respond. I don’t know what that ‘goodbye’ means because there have been so many from him. And I don’t want to think of what it means either. It hurts too much to think about him and his goodbyes.
I crawl up on the sofa as my mother and father sit to start a movie.
I lean on my mother and she brushes my hair back, and soon, soon I’m dreaming of a man with curly hair and haunting eyes.
17
Gunner
“I told you not to visit her.” I pace back and forth in front of my grandmother who simply rolls her eyes.
“She has you under a damn spell and you need to break it,” she chimes in, making me stop.
“No. She does not. Leave her alone,” I seethe.
She waves me off as if my words mean nothing. “You are in love with her. Even when you said that would never happen. And you let her go. Lost all chance of pursuing the business they hold.”
“That’s all this is for you, isn’t it? You want what they have?”
“It’s ours,” she screams. “We’ve earned it.”
“No. No it’s not. It’s his. And he can have it. I don’t need it.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying. She really did a number on you, didn’t she?” She shakes her head in utter contempt for me right now.
“I don’t need to deal with illegally imported goods. I don’t need to deal with any of their shit. Soon, Grandmother… I will be the richest fucking man in this town and I will own it.”
“You plan to own it?” she says, smiling.
“Yes. Now keep out of my shit.” I turn, walking to the door as she calls out, “He would hand it all over to you, you know. For her.” I know she’s right, but that wouldn’t be fair. I want to buy it. I want to own as much as possible, and I want to do it my way.
“Goodnight, Grandmother. Leave. Her. Alone.” I walk out into the cold air.
This was the last thing I wanted to be dealing with today. The fucking last. I had a girl at home. A girl I was going to fuck. To fuck her out of my system. Everly’s stuck to me like glue. I can’t seem to remove her, no matter how much I try.
I thought if I went back to who I was.
Before Everly.
It would be easy.
It isn’t.
There’s no after Everly. There’s only Everly.
I don’t even know when it happened—the minute I knew she was it for me.
Because she is—she is it. Mine.
No other woman, no matter how fucking gorgeous or right for me, will ever be her.
Dammit!
Everly Reid is an enigma and one that’s all mine.
Arriving back to my house, the girl’s still waiting, and I don’t even know her name. Don’t care to know it. She’s here simply to give me what I need. And now that so-called need has passed.