Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 94716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“Your sister and her boyfriend at the time, Peter.” He said, sounding disgusted.
“I have a sister?” I whispered.
“Yeah. She still lives there, too. I check on her every year around Christmas.” He explained.
My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. I was flabbergasted. Although something was keeping me from going any further with that information. Something my brain was keeping me from remembering.
Gathering my frayed emotions, I continued. “I guess I inadvertently set something in motion, because the next thing I know, some man on a motorcycle is telling me to leave. He gave me two thousand dollars cash, told me where to go, and not to use my cards. He switched my plates out, gave me a new ID and everything. He gave me a picture of you and told me to leave now. I’ve been watching you for a few days. I was trying to jog my memory before I approached you.”
I worried my lip as I watched him process what I’d just told him. “What did this man look like?” He asked as he ran his fingers through his hair.
I stood and threw the now empty cheese can in the trash, and then returned to my seat. “Salt and pepper hair. Awesome beard. He was hot for an old guy.”
He growled low, then reached into his pocket and extracted his phone.
“Yeah, you need to come over here. Now.” Jack said, then dropped the phone unceremoniously down onto the counter. It clattered, and then slid perilously close to the kitchen sink, but didn’t fall over.
“You sure do know how to open a can of worms. Where are you staying?” He asked casually.
It was anything but casual though. He wanted me to stay with him, but I wasn’t ready for that. Sure, we were married, but that didn’t mean I was ready for anything more. In fact, I was pretty sure I needed to process all of this away from him.
“I’m at the Holiday Inn off the interstate. They were the only ones who took cash.” I admitted cautiously.
“We’ll go get your stuff as soon as we speak with Sam.” He said distractedly, as he went to the sink and washed his hands.
He did it methodically and thoroughly. Almost as a surgeon does right before he goes into surgery. Once he was done, he dried his hands off with the paper towels hanging underneath the top cabinets. Turning to me, he raised his eyebrow as if waiting for my refusal.
“I’ll stay in your guestroom. I need time.” I agreed.
No sense in wasting my breath. In the half an hour I’d been in his presence, I knew two things. One, you didn’t argue with him, and two, he had good snacks.
“You wouldn’t be the woman I married if you didn’t think things through. You know I won’t hurt you, but you need time to process the things you learned today. I understand, and I won’t push you. However, you are my wife still, and I’ve missed seven years with you already. I won’t lose any more time.” He said gruffly as he walked up to me and cupped my face in his large hands.
I watched as his eyes shuttered. He was a haunted man, and it wasn’t just from my so called ‘death.’ Other things had happened that only compounded on his grief. Things that I wanted desperately to know.
I watched his head lower, and then he kissed my forehead gently, gathering me into his arms. “I used to pray for this. When they remained unanswered, I started to change. I didn’t care anymore. Not about one single thing. I was a wild, reckless mess. I guess I was lucky I wasn’t killed over there, or I wouldn’t be here with you in my arms right now.”
My throat clogged, and I gave a watery laugh. “No matter what, there are always people who want you here. If I’m not here, you have a responsibility to continue living your life. I’m sure your friends would all miss you.”
“Yeah, my friends are the shit.” He agreed.
The knock on the front door broke our hug apart, and Jack opened it for the same imposing man who I had seen earlier, standing off to the side of our little altercation. The scowl on his face didn’t detract from his gorgeousness, though. He was nearly the same height as Jack’s 6’2, maybe an inch or so taller. His hair had a few gray hairs mingling in with the black locks, and a nasty looking scar right under his eye.
The t-shirt he was wearing was black, and had a hole at the bottom that looked like he’d caught it on something. The jeans were grease stained, and as he made his way into the house, the smell of burned oil followed in his wake. Now that the two men were standing next to each other, I realized that Jack was nearly just as dirty. Now I could see why he’d washed his hands.
Both men exchanged glance and then continued on to the table. I went to the fridge got the large man a bottle of beer and sat it down in front of him.
“Thanks.” He muttered as he twisted off the cap and folded it over with a twitch of his fingers. “I’m Sam. I’m the owner of Free.”
Although I listened to his introduction, I was still jealous of the ease in which he’d twisted off the bottle cap. Men could always do the smallest things and make it look easy. If I wanted to fold the cap over as he’d just done, I’d have to use both hands and maybe my legs.
I sat down and waited for Jack to get started. Sam looked wary of what Jack had to say, and I did too.
“Apparently, your father’s in the business of helping young women get out of dangerous situations. He sent Winter here.” Jack said without preamble.
Sam’s eyes went hard, and then went from Jack’s unsmiling face to mine. “What?”
“I didn’t know he was your father!” I squeaked.