Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“It said three seventy-five for forty-five minutes, but I was like let’s put it to four hundred to be safe.”
“Oh, it’s safe, all right.” He tries not to laugh. “What else did you buy for dinner?”
I look up at him and smirk. “Whipped cream and some chocolate sauce.”
“Meh.” He shrugs. “Who needs chicken anyway?” There in the middle of the kitchen where I just burned our dinner, and he didn’t freak out, I laugh like I’ve never laughed before. He grabs me around my waist and pulls me toward the stairs. “But first I need a shower.”
18
GABRIEL
I’m taking inventory at the bar when the phone rings, and I reach in my back pocket, pulling it out to see it’s Patricia. “Hey.” I put the phone to my ear. “What’s up?”
“Hey,” she says, and it sounds like she’s rushing, “just letting you know I’m picking Colson up.” I look at my watch and see that it’s just after one in the afternoon.
“Why?” I stand, putting the clipboard on the bar. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” she replies right before I hear the car door slamming. “He threw up at school,” she informs me. “I think he got what Meri had last week.”
“Do you want me to get him?” I tap my finger on the counter.
“No, that’s fine. I’ll go get him. Might as well save yourself anyway.” She laughs. “I think I might be coming down with it also.”
“Well, he’s been with me for the past three days so, if anything, I might already have it.” I look down at the clipboard in front of me.
“But you’re safe for now. I’ll just keep him for the next couple of days, and if he’s feeling better, he can come back to you.”
“That sounds good,” I tell her. “I’ll call you later and see how he’s doing. Give him a kiss for me.”
“Will do,” she agrees, disconnecting. I continue to take stock of the inventory before going into my office.
I pull out my phone and call Charlie, who answers after two rings. “What’s up?” He doesn’t even bother with hello.
“Hey, are you around, or are you with Jennifer?” I ask of him and his girlfriend, who lives three towns over in Montgavin. He’s been thinking about moving out there, full-time. He even started the groundwork to open a therapy center there, and so far, the response has been really good.
“I’m back for the rest of the week,” he says. “Why?”
“Can you cover the bar for me tonight?” I ask him.
“Yeah,” he answers, “I’ll swing by now to get the keys and stuff.” He disconnects, and I toss my phone on the desk, leaning back in my chair and looking over at the bed in the back. My mind automatically goes to Zara. I haven’t been with her since that night she tried to cook me dinner, and we had to make do with eggs and bacon that I cooked after we filled up on three cans of whipped cream. We ended up taking two showers to clean the stickiness off us. So now it's been three nights that I haven’t been in bed with her, which hasn’t meant I haven’t seen her. I’ve stopped by each morning after dropping Colson off at school and before going to the barn to work. It’s usually just an hour or so, but it’s something. I have to remind myself each time that she’s leaving in less than a week, but each time I do that, I push it away and don’t think about it.
Charlie arrives within five minutes, and I toss him my keys before getting into my truck and going to her. Walking into the house, I find it empty. I finally see her sitting outside on the back porch steps, looking off into the distance. “Knock, knock, knock,” I say when I open the sliding back door, “is anyone home?”
She looks over her shoulder, and I see she’s wearing the same thing she was wearing when I got here this morning. Some cashmere light gray pants with a matching sweater. “Hey.” She smiles at me. “This is a surprise.”
“Yeah,” I reply, sitting beside her and leaning in to kiss her lips. “I would have called, but I don’t have your number.” She laughs.
“You keep forgetting to get it,” she says, picking up her phone from beside her. “What’s your number? I’ll call you now.” I smile as I give her my number, and she gets up, walking back inside the house when my phone starts ringing. It shows a 212 number.
I put the phone to my ear, glance back, and see her walking back and forth in the kitchen. “Hello.”
“Hey,” she says, and I smile at her voice, “it’s me, Zara.”
“Hey, Sweetheart.” I get up from the step to look at her through the window. “Whatcha doing?”