Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
I could see the apprehension in Shotgun’s eyes as he looked over to me, and I won’t deny that it stung a little. He could’ve just let me go and made me fend for myself, but he hadn’t. Instead, he’d gone above and beyond to help me, so I didn’t understand why he seemed so resistant to talk to me, especially after how supportive he’d been the night before. With a blank expression, he walked over to the sofa and asked, “You doing okay?”
“No.” I wiped the tears from my eyes as I pointed to the TV. “Did you know that I was on the news like this?”
“I’ve seen a couple of reports.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
With a grimace, he shrugged and said, “I didn’t see a point in upsetting you.”
“So, you kept this from me?”
“Not like there’s anything we can do about it, Remington.” He knelt down beside me as he continued, “You’ll see your folks again, but for now, you have to—”
“I know. Keep quiet.”
“Exactly.”
“How much longer is this going to take?”
“As long as it does.” He stood up and asked, “Can I get ya anything?”
“No, I’m good.” His eyes met mine for a brief moment, and I thought he might actually talk to me a little longer, but no such luck. He simply walked over to the recliner, sat down, and started messing around on his phone. Like before, he was doing everything in his power to pretend that I wasn’t even in the room, and it was driving me crazy. When I couldn’t stand it a minute longer, I leaned over to him and whispered, “Hey, is something wrong with you?”
He glanced up from his phone with his brows furrowed. “What?”
“Is something wrong? I feel like you’re mad at me. Did I do something?”
“Not mad at you.”
“Then, what is it, ’cause you haven’t said more than two words to me since we got here.”
“Got a lot on my mind, Remington.”
I had the feeling that I needed to leave it alone and not push it, but I’d always been a little stubborn and couldn’t help myself. “I get that. What I don’t understand is why you seem so distant with me. You’re treating me like I have the plague or something.”
He grumbled under his breath as he shifted in his seat to face me. “Look, there are things going on that you aren’t aware of. Things I can’t really discuss with you, so you’re just going to have to trust me when I say I’m doing what I can to help you.”
“I know you are, and I appreciate it. I really do. I just hate this feeling that I’m putting you out.” When he ran his hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh, I motioned my hand towards him and said, “See...you’re upset with me.”
“Listen here. Don’t you worry ‘bout him, child,” Ada interrupted. “He’s just forgotten how to be nice to a young, purty lady. Isn’t dat right, Noah?”
Discovering he actually had a real name brought a smile to my face. “Noah? You mean you actually have a real name?”
“Course I do.”
“Well, Noah’s a great name. I think it suits you.”
“Don’t know about that,” he argued. “Hell, Ada’s the only one who calls me that anymore.”
“Um-hmm...They all got dem road names they use.” Ada shook her head. “Not sure I’ll ever understand why.”
“Don’t see what’s hard to understand about it,” Noah grumbled. “Just like a patch, it’s something a brother earns, like a rite of passage, and when the right name comes along, it just sticks.”
“So, you earned the road name “Shotgun”? How exactly did that happen?”
“You’re a smart girl.” An adorable, sexy-as-hell, smirk crossed his face, and a tingle went right down my spine as he winked and said, “I’m sure you can figure it out.”
I laughed as I told him, “I don’t know if I should be impressed or terrified.”
Ada shook her head and said, “Don’t let him fool ya, child. He might act all rough an’ tough, but dat boy’s one of the good ones. Got a heart of gold. Yes, he does.”
Before he could argue, Ada May walked back over to the stove to finish cooking breakfast. When I was sure she wasn’t listening, I leaned over to Noah and said, “You two seem pretty close.”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“Have you known her long?”
“Most of my life.” He glanced over his shoulder at Ada. “She...um...kind of looked after me until my folks died.”
“Your folks died? I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. It happened a long time ago.” His face was void of expression as he looked over to me and said, “Bad things happen. No sense dwelling on the fact.”
Just when I thought I was starting to figure him out, he proved me wrong once again. I wanted to respond, to give him some profound words of wisdom, but there were none to give—at least none that I could think of. Thankfully, Ada May came to my rescue. From the kitchen, she called out to Noah. “Okay, you two. Come and get it.”