Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25885 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25885 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
She’s always given pushback about Sebastian and me faking it. It’s not out of ill will. I know she wants us to find true love.
“I do love your father,” I retort. She rolls her eyes again, but this time it is directed at me. “Sadie. I have all the love I need.”
The moment the words leave my lips, I regret them. It wasn't till I heard myself say it that I knew it was a lie, and I never want to lie to my son or Sadie. I try to be as honest as I can without hurting them. Thankfully, Van doesn’t ask about his father.
“Liar,” Sadie snips playfully as she bends over to kiss my cheek. “Love you.” She bounces out of the car. It’s nice to see her happy going into school.
“Love you too,” I call after her, watching her head inside the building until a thick body blocks my view of her. My breathing freezes when my eyes lock with Cooper’s. He’s got a backpack in his hand. I swallow, realizing he must be bringing it to his own child. I’ve been in his position more than once when Sadie or Van forgot something they needed at home for school.
For the first time in my life, I don’t feel sadness and heartbreak when it comes to Cooper. All of it turns to rage and hate.
CHAPTER 7
COOPER
Sometimes when you’re on the top of a roof after spending hours bent over with the hot sun cooking your back and the asphalt shingles burning your hands, you stand up, and the whole world starts spinning. I’ve seen men drop to their knees and puke up their entire lunch, and some just kind of collapse into a heap. I overhead one of my men say it’s vertigo, a temporary loss of balance. That’s how I feel right now. A loss of balance. My whole world’s spinning. The breakfast I made a couple of hours ago is crawling up my throat.
I’ve thought about her every day. Maybe this is a mirage. Maybe there was something in the water I drank. Maybe it’s not here. Maybe there are two doppelgängers in this town. Wait… A cold sweat breaks out.
The car in front of me lurches forward. I jump back, barely avoiding getting run over. My eyes narrow while the woman behind the wheel turns pale. I stride over to the driver’s door and wrench it open. Fischl balks and tries to back up, but I reach inside and haul her out. She’s no match for me. Never was. The girl didn’t weigh more than a few sacks of concrete back in the day, and she’s not much heavier now. I throw her over my shoulder and arrow toward my pickup.
“Dad?” I hear behind me. I pause and spin around to see Dunc standing about ten feet away with a puzzled expression. I sprint toward him and shove the forgotten backpack into his arms. “If I’m not home tonight, don’t worry. I’m taking care of something.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Stop. This is kidnapping!” Fischl yells, beating her hands on my back. Her knees make contact with my gut. It’s painful, but I don’t care. You could hit me with a bulldozer, and I wouldn’t let go. “Someone call the police.”
“Don’t you dare,” I order, not really knowing who I’m talking to.
Fischl screams for help all the way to my Ford, but no one stops me. I dump her into the back and then slam the door in her outraged face. She tries to escape, but I always have the child safety locks on—old habit from when Dunc was little and thought opening the car door on the highway was huge fun. Lost about five years off my life when that happened, but now I’m grateful because how else would I be able to get into my pickup without Fischl scampering off?
“This is against the law,” she screams as soon as I climb into the driver’s seat.
“I don’t care.”
“My kids are going to call the police.”
Her words cause my hand to slip as I’m jamming my buckle into the latch. I end up scraping the hell out of my fingers. “Kids?”
She freezes and snaps her mouth shut.
“How old are they?” I demand, staring at her in the rearview mirror.
Her lips stay zipped. I want to climb into the back seat and kiss her until all her secrets fall out, until she begs for my forgiveness, until she’s naked and under me, her pussy wet and her lungs screaming for mercy.
I scrub a hand over my face and start the truck. This is madness. I’ve gone completely crazy, but my insanity is not solved by sitting in the parking lot. I pull out, trying not to run over a bunch of teenagers in my hurry to get someplace where I can find out the truth.