Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 99766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
“Zella is serious about her adventures.” He smiles. “That girl has a lot of energy. Wears me out sometimes.”
“Spoken like a true daddy.”
“Baby Hope is getting big,” he says. “Kinda looks like Hollis.”
“She’s way cuter,” I argue. “But, yeah, I guess she kind of does.”
Hope has been a lovely surprise to our family. I cuddled that baby this weekend, happy to stare at her adorable little face rather than see the pity-filled eyes my family looks at me with ever since the breakup.
“Penny,” Terrence starts and then frowns.
“What?”
“I’m sorry. I fucked up. With us. I was so goddamned furious with you, but that’s because I couldn’t bear to lose you. I lost you anyway—”
I cover his mouth with my hand, my eyes watering. “Stop talking.”
Pain morphs into affection and I feel his smile against my hand. I pull it away, my eyes locked on his. He leans forward and presses the softest kiss against my lips.
“Happy birthday, mean-ass.”
“Thanks, Smash.”
Terrence
I can’t stop staring at her.
Penny is always beautiful, but there’s something about her today that seems different. There’s a soft vulnerability in her gaze I crave to hold onto and protect. She doesn’t let her walls come down often, but right now, I have direct access to this girl.
“Did you pass your certification?” She tucks an errant strand of blond hair that’s come loose from her ponytail behind her ear.
A grin tugs at my lips. “With flying colors. I start next week. It’ll be hella weird since we’re at the end of the school year and the students have been dealing with subs all year, but I’m ready. Karen has been great in prepping me.”
“A teacher and a coach. You’re going for gold, Smash.” Her head tilts down and the same hair comes loose. This time, I’m the one who tucks it back behind her ear for her.
Blue eyes lift to mine, searing into me with intensity. I know that even though some time has passed, the smoldering heat that always ignites between us hasn’t died down.
“Any news on Jack?” She bites on her bottom lip, her body slightly trembling.
Anger shoots through me. Not at her. Sure, I was pissed at her for what she did, but my anger was always for the motherfucker who hurt her. He’s still out there, which worries the fuck out of me.
“I’m sure you heard. Lacey is dead,” I murmur, keeping my voice low.
Her eyes water as she reaches for my hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“Zella doesn’t understand. When I told her, she nodded and then asked if we could go to the river. I don’t know what to do about that.”
“Maybe she already knew,” Penny says, her voice soft. “She was living under the same roof as them. Maybe she saw…” Horror washes over her features. “Can you get her to see a therapist?”
“I’m going to, yes. Your dad and the social worker both think I need to. After the abuse she clearly received yet won’t talk about, I think it’s necessary.”
“One day, I will take every asshole like him down,” she growls, her blue eyes hardening.
“You will, huh?”
Her lips quirk up on one side. “I’m going to become a cop. As soon as they let me into the academy, I’m going to dominate and then clean up this town.”
A chuckle escapes me because it’s such a Penny thing to want to do. “You might have to arrest your convict buddy Jace.”
“Perk of the job.” She shrugs, grinning. Her smile falls and she grows serious. “I want justice for people like Lacey and Charlotte.” She swallows. “And me.”
Lacey never got her justice. Her stepfather slipped out of our hands and disappeared. The rat bastard is probably holed up in some city, trying to blend in like he’s not a murderer. It bothers the fuck out of me that I’ll always have to worry about Zella’s safety because of him.
“Charlotte got hers,” I remind her.
The trial went quickly. There was enough evidence of what happened to put both Cunninghams away for life. In my opinion, they both deserved death, but they didn’t ask me. Ryan is now a blind man, only nineteen, and will serve out every second of his miserable existence behind bars. His father, being an ex-cop, will no doubt meet an early death in the pen.
“She did,” Penny agrees. “I wish Cal would have finished him off, though.”
I didn’t go to the trial, but Cal was a bear those few weeks, worried over his woman. Poor Charlotte was a mess by the time she had to give her testimony. But after, it was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had more pep in her step and smiled more often. When they both were found guilty of multiple counts that carried heavy sentences, Charlotte came back to us. I always thought she was cute and sassy, long before she ever dated Ryan. Finally, she’s not so shadowed by the horrors that Ryan and his father did to her.