Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 214(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 214(@300wpm)
I need more time. Two more nights isn’t going to be enough as it is, but the thought of saying goodbye to Binx before then makes me want to lift the burning grill over my head and toss it into the yard.
Tater Tot must sense that something’s wrong, because he hustles across the clearing behind the cabin and into the woods as fast as his pudgy legs will carry him, fleeing my bubbling despair. Or maybe he’s just scared by the sound of the car. We don’t get many vehicles up here.
I really fucking wish we weren’t getting one right now, I think, then immediately feel like an asshole.
What if this is Mom coming to get me because there’s a problem with Sprout? What if she had another shitty day at school, finally put chicken poop in that mean girl’s locker like she’s been threatening to do, and got suspended or something? Or what if she climbed onto the roof again, even though I’ve told her a hundred times how dangerous it is, and fell off?
Fear for my daughter cutting through my selfishness, I quickly transition the sausages to a plate beside the grill and cover them with another plate to keep them warm. At least I can bring supper home with me if I’m headed back to town. Then I turn off the grill and head toward the front of the cabin, walking around the side of the building to greet the car in the driveway.
When I get there, Binx is already standing in front of a white SUV in an animated conversation with…her mother.
Oh fuck…
Her mother.
I’m sure there’s someone I’d less like to see right now—an armed terrorist, maybe, or my asshole of a parole officer from back in the day—but Fran McGuire is pretty high on the list. The woman hates me. And while I can’t blame her for wanting more for her daughter than an ex-con sixteen years her senior, I’ve also never done anything to hurt Binx. I’ve been a good friend to her, the kind she can count on to help clean out her gutters or change her oil for free.
I’ve also never crossed the line between friendship and anything more…at least not until last night.
Since then, however, I’ve done way more than cross the line. I’ve run over it in a tank, poured gasoline all over what was left of it, and set it on fire.
“Seriously, Mom, I’m fine,” I hear Binx say in a strained tone that makes me think it isn’t the first time she’s said the words. “I don’t want to go home. It’s been really nice up here, actually. Very peaceful.”
“Peaceful?” her mom bleats. “Being lied to, tricked, and left in the middle of the woods with no way to call for help is peaceful for you? I swear, Binx, I’ll never understand the way your brain works. Never, not even if I live to be a hundred and ten.”
Binx sighs. “Well, obviously, but I’m okay, okay? There’s no need to freak out.”
“No need?” Her mom props her fists on her hips as she glares up at her taller daughter. “You could be dead! Your sister could have killed you.”
“I’m sorry,” Wendy Ann says, hanging her head out the passenger’s window of the SUV. “I was just trying to be supportive and think outside the box.” Fran shoots a dangerously sharp glance her way. Wendy Ann cringes lower in her seat and quickly adds, “But now I see that it was a dangerous and dumb and irresponsible thing to do. If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t do it, I promise.” She flaps an arm Binx’s way. “But she’s okay! See? We got lucky this time and everyone is fine. So, now, we can go, and I’ll come back on Friday morning to get them, the way we planned.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Fran says, jabbing a finger at Binx. “Look at your sister. She looks like she’s been through hell.” She fixes her attention on her older daughter again, clutching at her neck as she shakes her head. “I swear you look like you’ve lost ten pounds overnight. Your face is positively haggard.”
Binx’s face isn’t haggard. Her face is beautiful. When we were standing by the grill and she was smiling up at me, all I could think about was how fucking perfect she is. How stunning. Her mother is clearly seeing this entire situation through fear-colored glasses.
But hopefully, I can help ease her mind.
“Hey, I thought I heard a car pull up.” I force a smile as I approach from behind them, pretending I haven’t been eavesdropping. “Hi, Mrs. McGuire. Wendy Ann.” I nod at them in turn, ignoring the way Fran’s lips pucker into a cat anus in the middle of her face in response to my appearance on the scene. I cross my arms over my chest as I come to stand beside Binx. “I just finished grilling some sausages, if you’re hungry.”