Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
The blinding grin he gave me was charming and adorable enough that I considered kissing him for a split moment. He was much closer to my age and a lot nicer too—completely my type before I ever came to Idlewild.
I didn’t get beyond the thinking stage of my plan when Roc’s voice broke through my drunken haze. “If you really want to thank him, Jailbait, I suggest you let him go. Immediately.”
I couldn’t recall why my brain pushed me to listen, but I released Will anyway and pouted at Roc. “Booooo! Go back to your section, party pooper.”
“Just trying to keep the man alive,” I thought I heard him mumble as he strolled back to his side.
I rolled my eyes.
Will reclaimed his seat, and after looking around, I realized there weren’t any left as I swayed on my feet. Stumbling over legs and feet, I made my way over to Will and stood between his legs with my hands on my hips. “It appears my seat was taken.”
“Don’t sweat it, beautiful. I have one for you right here.” Will patted his lap, making me grin.
“My hero.” I started to lower myself into his lap as seductively as I could when I was suddenly snatched away from Will. I stumbled and landed in a startled Golden’s lap, making him spill his beer on his clean white shirt.
Whoops.
I blinked to clear the spinning room brought on by the sudden movement. As it all slowly came back into focus, I could hear screams from both near and far, shattering glass and food and drinks spilling everywhere. The unmistakable sound of chaos unleashing.
“O, you trippin’!”
Roc’s panicked shout drew my gaze to the source of the destruction, and my stomach dipped in horror at the brutal beating unfolding before me.
Oh, my God…no.
Roc and Joren were attempting to pry Rowdy away from Will but weren’t having much success. I looked away in horror only to see Will’s friends staring at me accusingly. I was still sprawled across Golden’s lap, too weak from shock and liquor to move.
This was all my fault.
I’d pushed Rowdy too far, knowing he wasn’t all there.
And now Will was paying the price.
He’d long given up fighting back and was barely conscious when Rowdy pulled his piece, prepared to end his life.
Thankfully, Roc was quick to snatch his gun before he could fire, so Rowdy sent one last vicious punch to Will’s temple, knocking him out cold.
Will had never even stood a chance.
Knowing I was next, I finally pulled myself up to my feet, stumbling a little, which caught Rowdy’s attention.
He’d taken one step toward me before I bolted.
I darted around the toppled table and fled the bay, pushing aside anyone who got in my way.
“Atlas!” My heart skipped a beat, but I wisely kept going. “Bring your ho ass back here!”
Outrage had me turning on my heel to confront Rowdy’s hypocrisy, but my lips parted in a soundless gasp at the sight of Rowdy being tackled to the ground. It took Joren, Roc, and Golden to take him down while Rowdy kept his furious green gaze on me. The same fury that had driven him to choke me in his car.
As I raced toward the exit and safety once more, I didn’t look back or stop again.
“I’ve had a chance to read over the contract, and the terms are more than fair,” Robert, my lawyer, told me through my car’s speakers as I left the interstate and followed the directions on my GPS. “Mr. Henderson is practically giving you his business. He owns the property and land and doesn’t appear to have any family from the information I’ve gathered, so there shouldn’t be any pushback if you decide to accept his offer.”
“All right.” Hearing all I needed to, I disconnected the call.
I tried to focus on the drive, but my mind kept drifting back to Harry.
He’d put his blood, sweat, and tears into building a successful business and keeping it going until he was physically unable to. In the end, it was all for nothing.
It had taken me a couple of days to decipher his message and the mistakes he’d warned me away from making.
Harry should have retired years ago, but somewhere along the way, he’d forgotten to ask himself who he was doing it for. His only hope of keeping his legacy alive was now in the hands of…me.
I wasn’t his son, but I was the closest thing to it, even though our relationship had been mostly business. I scratched his back, and he scratched mine. I was sure it would have meant more to him to leave the car wash in the hands of someone with whom he shared deeper ties.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it.
The future.
Once I set my mind on something, there was no changing it, and I’d decided a long time ago that marriage and baby carriages were not for me. Still, the thought of ending up like Harry made my stomach hurt.