Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Mom shoos us toward the house, tutting. “Seems we’ve got quite a bit of catching up to do.” Her lips might be tilted up in a smile, but her eyes are jumping from me to Ben and filling with more and more alarm with each trip they make.
For a second, I consider running again. Maybe that can be my new coping mechanism. Danger? Scurry away like a mouse. It’d be better than fainting like one of those silly stiff-legged goats, I guess.
While I’m still deliberating, Ben puts his hand on my lower back, and I’m too distracted by his touch to pull a runner again. Before I know it, we’re settling in the living room—Mom and Dad in their respective recliners, me and Ben on the couch, and Joy sitting on the floor on the far side of the coffee table. Shep elects to stand near the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrowed at Ben before cutting to me, like he can’t decide who to demand answers from first.
Mom kicks things off. “Hope, honey . . . first and foremost, are you okay?”
I nod. “Yeah, Mom. For the first time in a long time, I am.”
Mom’s head bounces up and down agreeably as I answer, but then she reminds us all that while Dad might be gruff, she’s the truly scary one in our house. “Okay then, what the hell’s going on?” She throws up her hands, and her brows climb her forehead. She’s not mad, but she definitely doesn’t like being out of the loop when it comes to what’s happening with us kids. Especially with something this major. We might be adults, but Mom likes to know everything, or at least think she does. “When you ran for the woods, it scared the bejeebies out of us! You looked so . . . Then you called Joy, and we didn’t know what to think—” She’s gaining momentum, getting closer and closer to hysterical, and I can see how terrified she’s been.
I never meant to scare her. I never meant for any of this to happen. Being a runaway bride and having literal last-second thoughts about the entire direction of my life was nowhere on my bingo card. But here I am. Here we all are. B-I-N-G-O!
“And we’re hearing gossip from all over town. People spotting you here and seeing you there, like a UFO in the sky—but you can’t call your own mother?” Dad accuses. He’s on Mom’s side, 100 percent, always. And if Mom ain’t happy, Dad’s gonna do what it takes to get her there, even if it’s slinging some hard truths at me.
When my face scrunches up in displeasure at being the focal point of the gossip and my parents’ anger, Joy barks out a laugh. “Seriously? You’re not immune to the Maple Creek effect any more than anyone else is. The shine’s wearing off, Golden Child.”
“I know. Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” I snap back. But I can’t help but ask, “What’re they saying?”
I don’t know why I care. Force of habit, I guess. Maple Creek is a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business, and I’d be lying like cheap linoleum if I said I wasn’t usually part of the town’s grapevine. Goodness knows, people start treating me like their personal therapist while I’m scraping their teeth, so I’ve heard some doozies. I’ve just never been the focus of it. Gotta say, so far I’m not a fan.
“Stop, stop, stop,” Mom orders, waving her hands back and forth to hush me and Joy. “Let’s go back. To the wedding, or before, or wherever we need to go for you to explain what had you running like Usain Bolt for the trees, looking like you’d seen a ghost. I need to know about that.”
This is gonna be hard. I knew it would be. I don’t want to disappoint them, but I also can’t force myself to live a life I don’t want. And I’ve come to realize that I don’t want the life with Roy that I planned. The only thing left to do is admit that and pray they understand.
“I want you to know that Roy didn’t do anything,” I start. “And I’m glad you didn’t go after him, because I already talked to him.” I look pointedly at Shepherd, who lifts one shoulder dismissively, making me think there’s a real possibility he actually did do something. I sigh, rolling my eyes. I love my brother, but damn, he makes life hard sometimes. He has less than zero finesse and prefers a fight-first-apologize-never style. “I’ll admit it didn’t go well, but I think with time, he’ll see I did the right thing. For us both.”
“Your sister said you were having doubts about you and Roy,” Dad prompts. There’s a big teddy bear underneath his rough exterior, but he’s a no-nonsense kinda guy and is done tiptoeing around. He’s ready to get down to brass tacks and get those answers.