Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32770 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32770 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
“What?” His eyes drop to my mouth. My heart starts to pound. Dunc leans toward me. Without a second thought, my eyes fall closed. His warm breath tickles my lips as he brushes his against mine.
A loud noise chimes through the cab of the truck. I jerk back away from Dunc to find my phone. Van’s name lights up my screen.
“Hey,” I say, answering it.
“Where are you? You need to get home. Shit’s happening.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you there.” I end the call before he can ask me where I am again or how I’m getting home. “Can you take me home?”
“You always jump when he calls?”
“Are you always a jerk?”
“Typically, they call me an asshole.” Right. I need to remember that. Not only because he is one. Trust when people show you who they are.
Hell, this morning when I said hi, he almost bit my head off. Even if I could get past some of his remarks, we could never be anything more than friends.
Things are about to get messy already. I won’t add to that. Not when I could so easily drift away from a family that might not be mine anymore.
CHAPTER 7
DUNCAN
She’s not related to me, sings the angel on my right shoulder. Shit, that means Van’s not either so they could still be hooking up.” I’d punch the demon on my left, but Sadie already thinks—I don’t really know what she thinks, but it’s not what I want her to think. I want her to want me, to desire me so much that she tastes it in her mouth. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s working out that way for me. Instead of spending some quality time at the lake in the back of my property, I’m driving her to the dickhead, her so-called brother.
If I was raised with Sadie, I would—I cut off that line of thinking. No good will come of me traveling down that path. I pull into the driveway of a large contemporary home. It’s glass and concrete and steel. I glance at Sadie. She doesn’t seem to be a hard-edges, steel beam kind of girl. I think she’s like her mom and likes flowers and pretty colors and molding. That’s how my dad built our house despite the only people living there being him and me.
“Nice place,” I say because people love their homes and don’t want to hear weird opinions about them.
“Is it, though?” She wrinkles her nose. “It’s kind of stark.”
“Your dad’s pick?”
“It was the only one around here that has a pool, so it’s really a default pick. I like more country homes. Big porches and rocking chairs.” She shrugs. “I guess I’m old fashioned.”
“You’d love my place.”
“Really?” Her eyes light up.
“We can go there right now,” I suggest, coming to a halt on the sidewalk.
“Maybe later. I want to hear what Van has to say.” She skips up the steps, and I follow.
I barely clear the door before there are two hands on my shoulders pushing me back against the wall. Instinctively I raise a fist, but a cry stops me. Looking to my right, I see Sadie clawing at Van’s shoulders. “Stop it, Van! Stop it right now.”
“His dad has our mom,” the guy shouts. “The police wouldn’t even help me. The dumb ass stood there and just let that old fart drive away.”
“Uncle Coop isn’t that old,” I interject partly because I know this will enrage Van.
“Fuck you,” he snarls on cue.
I cough to cover a laugh. Predictable. The pressure of Van’s hands increases, digging into my upper pecs. I could push him off, but the best card for me to play here is a passive one. Sadie wants us to stop fighting, and if I get bruises on my shoulders maybe I can convince her to play nurse—with her mouth.
Van’s eyes narrow at my lack of response. He senses something is up, but he’s not sure what. Quickly I don a pissed expression. Van squints at me once more before turning back to Sadie. “Doesn’t Dad know the mayor?”
“My dad knows the mayor, too,” I chirp.
“Did I ask?” Van snaps.
“Look, let’s go—” my house, I start to suggest and then I realize my dad needs some time alone with Fischl. He raised me. He sacrificed his life and his love to give me a solid home. The least I owe him is to keep these two out of his hair for a few hours. I capture Sadie’s eyes because my appeal is only going to work with her.
“My dad has never had another woman in his life as long as I’ve known him. He’s never dated, never had a woman over. He’s only loved one woman his entire life, but he lost her. Or he thought he lost her.”
Sadie’s eyes widen. Van scoffs. “Please tell me you’re not buying this bullshit.”