Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 135522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
The Strong Fitness Zone, upon first approaching it, looks like an out-of-place warehouse at the edge of downtown Spruce, with a flashy front and enormous parking lot. (Well, it’s enormous for Spruce, Texas standards, to be clear.) I park off to the side, since I hate to take parking spaces meant for the customers, then sit in the car and use my remaining minutes to finish Mrs. Reed’s tasty and generous breakfast she packed me. I don’t know what she put in those eggs, but it sure does put a smile on my face.
I make my way to the big glass doors of the gym holding the empty container. The fresh, clean smell of the building and the cool air conditioning hits me first thing, as it always does. This place is still a fairly new addition to Spruce, which shows as soon as you enter and see the state-of-the-art workout equipment, rock climbing walls, and clean condition of everything, from the floors to the spotless ceilings. There are even private rooms for yoga and dance classes, though I haven’t spent much time in any of them.
I pass by the front desk and give today’s greeter Rhea a wave as I make my way to the employee room in the back of the gym. I spot a couple of the regulars among the weight machines, one of whom I got to sign up for a membership my very first day here. A fellow employee gives me a high-five as he passes by. Another one is cleaning and sorting the free weights and shouts, “Hi, Cole!” as I pass. I love the family I’ve found here at this gym. If it weren’t for Jimmy Strong and his newlywed husband Bobby, this community wouldn’t exist. Who knew there were enough people in a small town like this to sustain such a business?
I make a stop by the break room to rinse out the container Mrs. Reed’s breakfast came in, then hop over to the terminal to clock in and start my day.
That’s when my efforts are unexpectedly impeded.
“Nah, your shift is covered today, man,” Jimmy tells me in his office ten minutes later. “It’s a done deal, done and done. You’ve got business to do at the McPhersons’. Thank my mama.”
I’m standing in front of his cluttered desk.
A rag in one hand and a bottle of sanitizer in the other.
I was seconds away from getting to work on my first to-do.
And now he drops this bomb on me?
“Look, when my mama’s on a mission,” says Jimmy, “there’s no sayin’ no to her.” He shakes his head. “Sorry about not textin’ you. Everything’s a madhouse around here. I have no idea which way my head’s turnin’ next, I swear. The dang employee portal is supposed to be back up and runnin’ soon so you can check your schedule from home. If a shift needs coverin’ Friday or Saturday, Hoyt can take it, since he’s home every weekend from college and always lookin’ for hours. Got a techy gal workin’ on the portal as we speak, too. Shoot, that reminds me about somethin’ I forgot.” Jimmy whips his tattered red hat off, stops, and scratches his head. “But now I’ve forgotten what it reminded me of.”
I decide not to harass Jimmy any further. “Don’t sweat it. I’ll, uh, go meet with your mom and see what she has planned.”
“Oh, my mama’s got mayor stuff goin’ on, that much I know from somethin’ my brother said. It’s not her you’re meetin’ with. It’ll be the other bachelors out at the McPhersons’. Ever been?”
“Uh … yes,” I say distractedly, feeling like I’m twelve steps behind in playing catch-up. “TJ threw a big pool party when he graduated high school. I got roped in. It was a couple years ago.”
“Isn’t TJ great? He always serves the best scoops of ice cream at T&S’s. Also, he gives me toppings for free. Don’t tell my brother. Or his husband. Oh, nice write-up in the paper! Saw the story. I didn’t know you saved someone’s life at the festival!”
Oh. I forgot that the story ran already.
Noah did warn me last night—right before we slipped into the shower together and got all sudsy and intimate.
I’d give anything to be right back in that shower right now.
“I mean, really, you’re a town hero!” sings Jimmy. “Way to go, Cole! I don’t usually read the paper, but we got it first thing, and I was told you were right there on the front page.”
“Oh … Front page?”
“Yep, right smack-dab on the front. Dean King? Nice man, real solid, met him a few times. He’ll make a great bachelor. Anthony’s, well … he’s Anthony.”
“Yes, he is,” I agree absently, still thinking about the paper and the article. Should I read it? Maybe that’s why it seemed like Rhea greeted me extra energetically when I came in. Or that’s just my imagination. “Wait. Anthony was in the story, too?”