Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
This one held more. It held the future.
Jay didn’t pull away. A soft sigh escaped his lips, his breath warm against my skin.
“Come on, let’s head back before it gets dark,” I said. “We can keep this going in the dorm.”
The beat of a techno song playing through my headphones pounded in time with my feet as I jogged the familiar path toward the boathouse. It was located a little further from the FU campus. Rowing practiced at a large lake more inland. Some people drove or rode their bikes, but I enjoyed the run.
Especially today. It helped me process everything I’d learned about Jay just yesterday. After he revealed the final piece of the tapestry that made him who he was.
My heart hurt for him. The pain he must have felt. The what-ifs, the nightmares, the sorrow, the survivor’s guilt. It was nearly too much for me to handle just listening. I couldn’t imagine how hard it was to live through.
No wonder he had such a hard shell. The world had betrayed him in one of the most fundamental ways imaginable.
Usually, this run down the trail was my zone. The burn in my legs, the crisp air in my lungs—they cleared my head, readied me for the focused intensity of rowing. Especially since Coach probably had some extra shit for me to do for missing practice yesterday.
Not that I cared. I’d do it all over again for Jay.
My phone buzzed, the ringtone cutting through my music. It was Dad.
“Hey, Dad, what’s up?” I answered, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand.
“My favorite son. Listen, we need to talk.” His voice crackled. Clearly he was excited about something.
Also, I was his only son, so it wasn’t too difficult to earn the “favorite” title.
“Just had class and headed to practice, Dad. Can this wait…?”
“No, I don’t think it can. There’s a drilling project happening off Beacon’s Bay and I’m going all in. And since you’re close to there, I want you working alongside me. I want you seeing how these deals shape from the ground up so that one day, you can do the same.”
My blood ran cold. Jay had talked about that exact project, seething every time he brought it up. And now, my family was pouring money into the very thing he was fighting against.
Immediately I was hit with a storm of questions.
Did I tell him? Confess my family’s direct involvement and risk losing him entirely? Do I hide it from him? Act is if I never knew a thing? The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. Yet, could I keep something so significant from someone who had let me into his own vulnerable space the day before?
“Dad, sorry, signal’s bad. Gotta head to practice—” I didn’t wait for his response, shoving the phone into my pocket with trembling hands. I had to make my choice, and it already felt like swallowing broken glass, whichever decision I chose.
I needed a little more time. I knew my dad would be calling me back, and I’d need to have a solid answer for him.
Everything Jay cared about, everything he’d spoken about with such passionate conviction, was about to be trampled underfoot by my family. The world seemed to spin, and I stumbled to a stop, leaning against a tree to catch my breath.
Every step I took toward the boathouse felt heavier.
As I reached the boathouse, a wave of familiar smells washed over me. The polished wood, the fresh lake air, the earthy dirt scent.
Travis, our coxswain, waved me over with an impatient look. “Redpine, what’s the deal? You missed yesterday, and you’re out of it today.”
“Just had some shit to deal with,” I muttered, the lie feeling like sandpaper on my tongue. The use of my last name as a nickname suddenly annoyed me.
The crew was already prepping the racing shell, the sleek lines of the sharp boat catching the sun. I slipped into my spot, the feel of the oar in my hands grounding me.
This was my peace. And it was Jay’s nightmare.
As we pushed off the dock and out onto the lake, the familiar rhythm of rowing began to take over. With each pull of the oars, the tension in my shoulders eased a fraction. The burn in my lungs became fuel.
For these brief hours, I could pretend the world was simple: muscle, sweat, drills. The peaceful water, the link with my crew, the drive to get better. I wasn’t just Ryan Redpine out here, my dad’s son, the heir to an oil fortune. I was a rower.
I’d figure all the rest of my shit out later, once I got onto solid ground again.
Chapter Thirteen
Jay
Maddy tossed her hands in the air and gave an exasperated shout. A few people around us jerked up and looked in our direction. I put up an apologetic hand and offered a sorry smile as they got back to whatever they were doing.