Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 137(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
“Don’t you have a wife or girlfriend to go home to? I don’t want to disrupt your home life or anything.”
“Then you’re in luck. I don’t even have a dog. There’s nobody waiting for me to come home at night.”
No way. It’s hard to believe, but it’s also the best news I’ve heard in a long time.
“Well, if you think it’s best. You know more about these things than I do.”
“Great, then it’s settled. I’ll swing by my place later to get some things. Right now, we need to get to your statement. We’re not going to catch this guy if we don’t know what to look for.”
I give Nana her pills, and Luke helps me take her to her new room. Our hands touch as we help her into bed, sending little fires through me. I think he notices my reaction because he looks at me and smiles. Once again, I feel the heat of embarrassment creep over me.
We move to the living room and sit side by side on the sofa. Luke pulls out a notepad and pen so we can begin.
“I know I asked you this last night, but is there anyone who might have followed you here from the city? I need you to think carefully about it. Yours is the first home invasion in this county since I became the sheriff. It’s unlikely that the intruder is local.”
“If you’re asking me if I think there’s someone out there with a reason to hurt me, no.”
“No jilted lovers or angry stalkers on social media?”
“No, nothing like that. I barely even use social media, and I’ve never really had a boyfriend.”
He looks up at me and purses his lips. “Never? I find that hard to believe.”
“No, never. To be honest, I was busy trying to raise myself. I didn’t exactly have fancy clothes and makeup, so I didn’t look like the popular girls.”
“So, you wanted a boyfriend and couldn’t find one?”
I look down at my lap and shake my head. “No, not that. There were still boys who tried to get with me, but I wasn’t interested.”
I don’t know why I’m telling him this. I could have just lied.
“Why is that? I thought all young girls dream about having a boyfriend. You know, someone to take them to the prom and that sort of thing.”
Maybe I’m just too comfortable with Luke but something about him makes me want to lay my soul bare for him to see. I choke on the next sentence as the tears build in my eyes. “I was always afraid of ending up like my parents. They stay together, but they act like they hate each other. My mother says that my father is undependable and my father says that my mother is ungrateful. I’m sure they’re miserable together, but I guess they think they’d be even more miserable if they weren’t together.”
I’m full-on crying at this point and Luke leans over to wipe the tears from my cheeks. Then, he does the unimaginable.
“Come here, sweetheart,” he says, holding his arms out to me.
This man is a stranger, yet I find myself falling into his arms. As he holds me against his chest, I feel safe for the very first time. He strokes the back of my head and murmurs, “You’re alright now. Things are going to be better now. You’ll see.”
I’m supposed to be giving the police a statement, but here I am seeking comfort in the arms of the sheriff. I don’t care. I’ll stay here for as long as he’s willing to let me.
5
LUKE
Holding Lori is a shock to my system.
On one hand, all I want to do is shower her with the kind of affection she’s never had before. On the other hand, I want to find out if she tastes as sweet as she looks. I bet she does.
As I stroke her golden hair, I think about how nice it would be to have her as my own. The idea that her parents treated her so poorly enrages me. How could they not know how perfect she is? What kind of a man shirks his responsibilities like that? Worse, what kind of a man sticks around to be a burden to his child?
If I didn’t think it might cause a rift with me and Lori, I’d go find him and string him up by his feet. I’m glad she didn’t decide to run off with some high school dropout to get away from them. That just goes to show she has all the brains and compassion in the family.
I want so badly to kiss this girl. Maybe it’s wrong but nothing has ever felt more right. When her crying subsides, I hook a finger beneath her chin and lift her head. Her blue eyes are still wet, but she looks like a dream. I look down at her pouty lips and pause to see if she’s going to protest.