Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
That time, I did gag. “You are so gross, Sutton! Eww!”
My sister stopped chewing, looked at me, then went back to looking for her next odd combo.
I caught sight of Harlee coming back into the room.
“It’s Harlee!” I said, causing Sutton to turn and look.
“They can’t be done that fast,” she said.
“Who did what fast?” Brody asked.
Ten seconds later, Brax appeared. Looking perfectly composed, same as Harlee.
“Jesus, was it even good for her?” I asked.
Brody frowned. “What are you two talking about?”
“That can’t be,” Sutton said, her words muffled around whatever she’d stuffed in her mouth.
“What can’t be? Someone tell me what’s going on!” Brody insisted.
I turned to him. “Harlee and Brax snuck off, but they weren’t even gone for five minutes. There’s no way they could have gotten it on and then come back in that time.”
Brody rocked on his heels and said, “Actually…”
Sutton and I both shot him a warning look.
He held up his hands. “I think I’ll go find Gannon.”
“This took a turn,” Sutton said. “Harlee looks…not mad.”
I looked at her closely. “Rattled. She looks rattled.”
Tilting her head and looking harder, Sutton agreed. “Yeah, she does look rattled. Do you think they had a fight?”
“With the way they always bicker, that’s a strong possibility.”
“You two look deep in conversation.”
My stomach did a little flip at the sound of Mason’s voice. I spun around and couldn’t help the smile that spread over my face. “Did you finish talking to your fan club?”
The moment we’d stepped into the room, a group of people had gathered around Mason. A few of the women had attempted to charm Charlie, and I’d had to laugh because he’d been soaking it all in.
Mason smiled. “The only fan club I have is you and Charlie. At least, the only two I care about.”
“Good answer,” Sutton mused before taking a bite of a pickle sandwiched between two oatmeal cookies.
I looked down at Charlie. “Are you having fun?”
He smiled “Yes! I’m going to ask Lily Abernathy to dance.”
I blinked a few times and then looked at Mason, who simply shrugged.
“You’re going to ask a girl to dance?” I said.
Charlie nodded. “Yep.”
Mason chuckled. “Kid has more confidence than I did at five.”
“Dad, I’m almost six.”
Mason closed his eyes and nodded. “Right. Sorry about that.”
Charlie sighed, and it took everything I had not to laugh.
“Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen?”
All eyes turned to Harlee, who was standing on the stage. She had a bright smile on her face and seemed to have recovered from whatever had happened between her and Brax.
“First, I want to thank everyone who came to the dance. Your entrance fee of five dollars will be donated to the food bank here in Seaside, for those who need a little bit of extra help when it comes to feeding their families. So, thank you so very much, and thank you to those of you who have made larger donations to the food bank. It means the world to them, and to me.”
Everyone clapped.
“We’re about to kick off the dance part of this dance party. But we’re going to do it a little differently. We have a special request for tonight.” Harlee smiled and waved someone over. Mason walked up onto the stage.
I jerked my head to the right to see that he was indeed gone from my side.
“When did he…how did he?” I whispered softly. Charlie reached up and took my hand in his.
“Come on, Palmer!” he urged, and we started to make our way toward the stage.
“Thank you so much, Harlee,” Mason said. “And thank you for helping me plan this.”
Harlee gave a nod and smiled.
Mason looked out over the crowd. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Dr. Mason Bryan. I bought Dr. James’s medical practice last year. I recognize a number of faces in the crowd, and I’m glad to see you here and not in my office.”
The crowd laughed.
“Although I do love it when you stop by to say hi or to bring Addie some homemade cookies, so please keep doing that.”
As the crowd laughed again, Mason cleared his throat and looked at Charlie and me. We were still making our way through the crowd.
“When I first moved to Seaside, I thought I was looking for a fresh start. Not only for me and my medical practice, but for my son, Charlie. We both needed a clean slate, and somehow, Seaside, Maine, popped up on a website I was looking at. I thought I was drawn here for the small-town feel, the beautiful scenery, and the great school system. We came to visit, and I soon realized that the people who live here were a huge factor in why I ultimately decided to make Seaside our home.”
He paused for a moment as he searched the crowd again. When our eyes met, he smiled.