Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
King nods. “She’s not going to be happy about it.”
I nod in agreement.
Holden gestures to Chrissy. “She going to be okay?”
I shrug. “Yeah. She’s an empath, so she feels things ten times more than any of us do. Plus, she’s stressed anyway.”
Dom shakes his head. “Yeah, with her patient the other day and now this. Cat said she was thinking about changing jobs.”
I nod, recalling our conversation. “Yeah, she’s talked about moving from the emergency room to another department. She told me what she was thinking after her patient died and she was stressed out, and I told her not to rush into anything. I told her she should take some time and think about it.” I let out a breath. “Maybe I should have told her to just quit.”
None of the guys say anything, making me believe that they’re not sure what the right thing to do is either. We all know Chrissy, and for the most part, her job makes her happy. None of us want her to lose that.
Needing to change the subject, I ask King, “Did Ledger say where he wanted to be buried?”
King nods his head and leans forward. Haven, Luciana, and Cat all come into the room before he can answer. They each sit down with my brothers, and it brings me some peace to know that they each have someone to lean on right now.
King clears his throat. “So last year when Ledger came into town, I talked to him about this, and I know I should have talked to you all, but well, I dunno. If you don’t want it, you don’t have to take it, but it’s yours if you want it.”
Holden is the first to ask. “What is it?”
King is never uncomfortable, but he seems to be right now. He shifts in his seat. “I bought a few acres on Whiskey Mountain. It’s off Hidden Hollow.”
We all wait for him to continue. “Anyway, Ledger is going to be buried there. I got us all plots on the side of the mountain…” His voice drops, thick with emotion. “So we can always be together.”
Holden wraps his hand around Cat’s. “And our families?”
King smiles and nods. “Yeah, there's enough space for everyone in our families since it's getting bigger.”
I let out a breath. It's a weird thought, I know, but it makes me happy knowing we'll all end up on that same mountain someday. “Yeah, I’m good with it.”
My brothers look at their wives, and they nod, so my brothers agree too.
Chrissy shifts in my arms and starts mumbling, and I whisper to the room, “I should probably get her home.”
They all nod, and I gently wake Chrissy up. “Honey, we should go.”
Everyone stands up and Dom says, “Yeah, we should go too.”
Holden nods. “Yeah, we need to pick up Cole from his friend’s house.”
Chrissy stretches in my arms, then stands up and goes around hugging everyone and apologizing for falling asleep. We all walk outside, waving at King and Haven while we go. Chrissy’s house is just down the street, so the trip takes no time. It’s not until we pull into her driveway that Chrissy says anything. “I know this is going to sound really crazy. I mean last night I’m asking for a break, and then well, now… I don’t want to be alone.”
I’m worried about the way her voice is void of emotion. Chrissy has been through a lot through the years, and I’ve never seen her like this.
I get out and walk around to help her out, but she meets me at the front of the truck instead. I grab her hand and pull her with me to her house. “I’m not leaving. Can I stay here with you?”
She nods, leaning her head against me as we walk toward the house.
We walk in, and she has her head down as she walks along the hallway to her bedroom. I lock the front door, remove my boots, set them by the front door, and then follow her. She’s sitting in the chair in the corner of her bedroom, and I squat in front of her. She leans back in the chair. “You think I can sleep here?”
I smile at her as I take off her shoes and socks. She always takes her shoes off by the door, and I’m surprised she didn’t this time. “Baby, you can sleep anywhere you want, but why would you sleep in this chair and not in your bed?”
She shrugs. “Because I worked today.”
I crease my forehead, trying to decipher what she means. “What does that have to do with it?”
She pulls at the scrubs she’s still wearing. “Because I have the filth of the hospital on me. I can’t lay down on my bed like this.”
I stand up and pull her with me. I know that more than anything else, Chrissy needs a good night’s sleep, and she’s not going to get it in this chair. It’s going to be pure fucking torture, but I don’t have a choice. If a shower is what she needs to get into her bed, then she’s going to get a shower. “Come on.”