Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 85399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
His voice rises and then falls curiously. I glance over my shoulder. My eyes lock immediately with his.
A chill races down my spine.
His point is unstated, but it isn’t necessary to be clear.
He knows about Lauren and me. But how much does he know?
Should I tell him we’re okay?
We are okay, aren’t we?
I replay everything from last night—our conversation and our kiss. Dinner. How we talked late into the night after we went to bed.
“He’s absolutely guilty,” she says, licking the spoon. Her eyes shine with talk of the latest celebrity trial. “There’s a mountain of evidence against him.”
“It’s all circumstantial.” I lean over her. “Give me another scoop of that.”
She pretends to pull the ice cream away from me. I bury my face in the crook of her neck, making her squeal.
“Circumstantial or not,” she says, giving me access to the pint, “the jury will never believe his story.”
“They will if they’re objective.”
She rolls her eyes. “I objectively think you’re wrong.”
“Bet me.”
“What do you want to bet?”
I think about it. “If he’s guilty, I’ll be at your beck and call for a week. If he’s not, you’re mine for seven full days.”
Her eyes twinkle. “Deal.”
Even though we didn’t make love, there was definitely more comfort between us. I didn’t feel as though a wall was barricading me from my wife—and the pillow wall was gone. I have to ask myself again, How long has it been since I felt that?
My stomach flip-flops as I pick apart our interaction for anything I missed. But the more I think about it, the more confident I am that there’s nothing I’m forgetting to worry about.
“But what about Maine?” she asks.
“What in the hell is in Maine?”
She elbows me in the side. “It’s beautiful there. And maybe the timing will be perfect, and we’ll catch the leaves changing colors. I’m not sure when the kids are off on fall break, but maybe it’ll work out.”
I smile at her. “Or we could go alone, and we wouldn’t have to coordinate any school schedules.”
“You would do that for me, Jack Reed?”
I lean across my shoulder and kiss her nose. “I could be convinced.”
“But what about the kids and fall break?”
“I don’t know. How do you feel about South Carolina?”
I exhale a sigh of relief.
“I’ve seen pictures of Grandma,” Maddie says, oblivious to the thoughts in my head. “She seems like she was really sweet.”
“She was,” Dad says. “I just wish I wouldn’t have waited until she was gone to realize it.”
Oof.
Maddie snaps the knife closed and turns to face us.
Dad takes it from my daughter.
“Good job, kiddo,” he says. “Now you’re immortalized in the tree with the rest of us.”
“We just need Michael and Mom to come out.”
Dad nods approvingly. “Yes. We do.”
I clear my throat. The woods are suddenly suffocating.
“You ready to go back?” I ask. “It’s getting awfully sticky out here.”
“Pops says the best berries are always the farthest back,” Maddie says.
“That’s a lie,” I say, winking at Dad.
He braces himself against the tree and slowly rises to his feet.
“It’s still early enough that if we go back, I can probably swim with my friends at the lake,” Maddie says, looking up at the sky.
“What are you looking at up there?”
“It’s probably eleven thirty,” she says, lowering her chin.
Dad balks. “Who taught you that?”
“Daniel. He sent me a link on how to tell time and direction when you’re in the woods.” She grins. “Isn’t that sweet?”
Dad begins to walk back the way we came. “At least he’s good for something.”
“He’s good for many things,” she says.
“Name three,” I say, unimpressed. So, the boy knows how to tell time by the sun. I’m pretty sure wild animals can do that.
“He knows how to tell time and direction in the woods,” she says. “He’s great at math. He can do sales tax in his head.”
“Oh. He’s basically a genius,” I say.
She sighs dramatically. “And he knows just about every country in the world and where it’s located.”
Okay, that’s slightly impressive.
“He’s probably yanking your chain,” Dad says.
“He is not. He plays this video game about conquering the world or something, and you must know geography to win.” She shrugs haughtily. “I bet neither of you can do that.”
I look at Dad and grin. “Think he can swap an engine in a car?”
“Think he can fillet a fish?”
“Bet he can’t drive a stick.”
“Wonder if he can piss standing up.”
“Pops!” Maddie says. “I can never bring Daniel around the two of you. God knows what you’d say.”
I chuckle, earning a grin from Dad.
“Maddie Moo, I can assure you that if you ever bring Daniel around me, I’ll be the same man then that I am now.”
She groans. “Oh, that’s comforting.”
“I hear that sarcasm,” Dad says, shaking his walking stick at her. “But believe me, boys will just break your heart. You’re better off without them.”