Total pages in book: 185
Estimated words: 180510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 903(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 602(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 180510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 903(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 602(@300wpm)
“I don’t know if your parents have had ‘the talk’ with you, but …”
I nodded then shook my head. “No. I mean … yeah, I know about that. I should have knocked, and …”
“You saw something you weren’t supposed to see.”
“I-I’m … sorry.” I closed my eyes and shook my head.
“Hey, look at me.”
Again, I dragged my gaze to his. “I need you to make me a promise.”
I nodded at least a half dozen times. Anything. I would do anything if it didn’t involve going to jail.
“You forget about what you saw.”
More nodding.
“And you never kiss my daughter again.”
I kept nodding. His words barely registered.
“So we’re clear? We’re good?”
A hundred more nods. “Y-yeah …”
He rested his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. “I’m going to talk to your dad. I think it’s about time you learn how to use a rifle.”
Forget about the large penis.
Never kiss Josie again.
Use a rifle.
Got it.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“I’ve never felt normal. But what is normal? How does one end up in this profession?” I ask.
Alicia sips her drink while I stir my lemonade with my straw. I’ve needed this girls’ night out, especially since I don’t have a lot of girlfriends. Never have.
“I have a seven-year-old son who tells his friends I sew up dead people.” She rolls her eyes.
I laugh.
Alicia shrugs. “Someone has to do it, right? It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure. I wasn’t exactly a ‘normal’ child either. I didn’t hunt with my dad like you did, but I was never grossed out by things. Not gory movies. Not grotesque odors. Nothing.”
“Did you have a fascination with death?”
She shakes her head. “No. Did you?”
I think about it, eyes narrowed at my drink. “Kind of. Yeah. I hung around the funeral home. I asked my dad a slew of questions every time I overheard him talking about a death. I wanted to know all the details. When I’d ride my bike near ponds or creeks, I’d scour the area for dead bodies.”
Alicia snorts. “You grew up in Iowa, right?”
“Yes. I didn’t say I found any dead bodies, but …”
“A girl can dream, right?”
My eyes widen as she returns a wry grin and shrugs. “If you know, you know.”
On a chuckle, I nod. “I brought home a dead badger from the woods behind our house when I was seven. My mom was beside herself. Later, I overheard them talking about the incident, saying it was something one might expect from a dog, not a young girl.”
Alicia gives me a wide-eyed, unblinking stare. “A badger?”
I nod and shrug a shoulder. “I wanted to see if I could find its heart.”
“Why? Had you watched something on television that made you curious? Did one of your parents have a zoology book lying around the house?”
“No. One night, our neighbor’s Bichon got attacked by something. They had to put it down. My dad suspected it was a badger. He said badgers can be ‘heartless bastards.’ Well, I didn’t believe any animal could live without a heart, so I wanted to see for myself.”
Choking on her drink, Alicia coughs and pats her chest as laughter assaults her ability to speak or breathe. “You’re … k-kidding.”
“No. That was when I learned everything about rabies and all other diseases carried by animals. My dad told me I could no longer bring home anything that wasn’t a bird, snake, or fish since they can’t carry or transmit rabies.”
“Oh my gosh … your dad is too much. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to grow up as the police chief’s daughter. Were you allowed to date before you went to college?”
On a slight chuckle, I shake my head. “It wasn’t easy. The only boy he cared for was the neighbor boy, but he didn’t want me with him. He simply wanted a son my age. My dad adored him. Took him under his wing. They worked on my dad’s Chevelle together. When we were in high school, my dad worked out with him. Morning runs. Weight lifting. They became quite competitive. Never got him to hunt, but he taught him how to shoot a gun.”
“You must have been envious of the neighbor boy.”
“Mmm … I had strong feelings for him, but I’m not sure envy is the right word.”
“You liked him?”
I nod. “Too much.” Do I tell her it was Detective Mosley?
“But your dad wouldn’t let you date him?”
“No. Well, I don’t know the answer to that. We had a unique relationship where his loyalties were split between my dad and me since my dad made him promise to never kiss me again after an incident. So whenever our relationship breached the more-than-friends zone, we had to keep it from my dad. And I’m not going to lie … I was all over the place. Protecting my heart wasn’t easy. I kept him at arm’s length, which kept me miserable for years.”