Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Caleb found it hard to look away from her. She was a bit of a mystery to him. Even in the middle of his workday, he wondered what she was doing, and if she was okay. He wasn’t used to a woman getting under his skin like this, and he wasn’t sure that he liked it either.
He watched as she ate her food. Every now and again her gaze would move toward the rose beds before returning back to him.
“You like roses?”
“I never really gave much thought to flowers, to be honest. They were just … there. I know it sounds weird, right? Flowers are so important to everything, and yet, I never realized how beautiful they were. Roses would have to be my favorite. They stand out. They’ve got thorns, so sometimes people may not want to pick them up, but if they took their time, and just held them properly, maybe they’d see how beautiful they were, too.”
Caleb stared at her scar, and wondered if not only was she referring to the flowers but also her face.
“Have you been hurt a lot?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Not as much as people would think. I just … sometimes it’s doing nothing that hurts the most.” She shrugged. “Forget I said anything.”
“Do you miss your dad?”
“Nope. That is one thing I know for a fact I do not miss.” She chuckled.
“What happened to your mom?” he asked.
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I’m a curious guy.”
“She died.” Again, she gave him another shrug. “I don’t really remember her. It was me and Dad for so long, it seems weird to even think about her at this point. I like to think she wouldn’t have agreed with his choices in life.”
“Your dad was selfish.”
“Was?” She looked at him, tilting her head to the side as she did.
“Eat your sandwich.”
She didn’t need to know yet that her father was long gone, and would never be coming back.
They finished their food in silence. She wouldn’t look at him, and he couldn’t stop staring at her.
The scar on the side of her face didn’t look ugly to him. It looked like it had hurt like a bitch, but it didn’t take away from her beauty. He adored her green eyes. They held so much warmth, which to him meant a good deal.
“I wanted to talk to you about school.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. My father pulled me out of school a few years ago.”
“Didn’t you get school, you know, understand it?”
“I got it, but I was tired of moving from place to place. Always feeling out of my depth because classes had changed. I’m not interested in that. I never knew if I was going to be in the same place for longer than a few months.”
He didn’t push as he already saw that she wasn’t happy. Glancing down at the time, he saw he needed to be getting out.
“I’ll see you tonight.”
“Okay.”
He grabbed their empty plates and stared down at her. “Have fun.”
****
“Why do we have to go here?” Faith asked.
“You need some new clothes, and seeing as I don’t trust you to come home with any of them, I guess I’m going to have to come shopping with you.”
She climbed out of the car and followed Anne as they made their way into the shopping mall.
“I hate shopping.”
“Which is why I’m here, and you’re going to get some new clothes.”
She turned toward the woman who’d ordered her out of the house, and even threatened to get one of the men to force her into the car. Anne was … scary. She didn’t see that coming. She liked the older woman, as she didn’t take shit from anyone, and she also admired her for sticking around.
Anne must have seen some serious stuff working for the Carsons, but she seemed loyal to them.
“I don’t have a lot of money, Anne.”
“Money is not a problem.” She held up a plastic credit card. “We can have a whole lot of fun without worrying about the price.”
“Is that Caleb’s?”
“Yes. We’re here on his orders that you have some new clothes, and I’m not going to hear any bad-mouthing. Do you understand? You’re eighteen, and even though you’re Caleb’s property now, you’re going to look good.”
“Property?”
“The moment your dad handed you over, you became his.”
Her stomach turned. She hadn’t thought of it like that, and now she was … scared.
There was no way she was getting out of this mess. Her father was dead. She knew it. She didn’t feel anything about it though. Her father had been dead to her for a long time, and there was nothing she could do to make herself care. Why should she?
All he ever cared about was finding his next gambling fix, and getting himself thousands of dollars into debt.