Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Because even though he didn’t give a rat’s ass about his daughters, he still wouldn’t have stood for them being part of that family.
I just returned to my cabin and am packing a few bags, getting ready for tomorrow because tonight is my last night out here for a long while.
And if I ever do come back to live on this property, it’ll look very different.
I grab my phone and open the group text with my sisters and type out a message to them.
Me: FYI, I’m headed to Idaho tomorrow to get married. I won’t be reachable for the day. Don’t ask me who because I’m not telling yet. Also, if any of you want anything out of the farmhouse, you need to come get it. I’m tearing the fucker down next week.
It takes a millisecond to start getting responses.
Dani: WTF? WHO IS SHE? I don’t want anything out of that house.
Charlie: SPILL IT! FFS, you can’t just say that to us, Holden.
What does FFS mean? Why can’t these girls just type the goddamn words?
Darby: Can I have Mom’s china set? I think she got it from her grandmother.
Me: You can have anything. It’s all in there.
Alex: We’re all coming out there tonight. I’m bringing pizza.
I sigh and press my fingers to my eyes. I love my girls. I raised them since Mom died not a year after Charlie was born. I wasn’t quite nine at the time. Dad didn’t give a shit about the girls and could be really cruel to them, so I did whatever I could to keep them calm, happy, and quiet.
That’s not easy to do with toddlers.
I’d never tell them that they can’t come out here. This is theirs as much as it’s mine, but I don’t really want to see them tonight. I should have waited to send that text until tomorrow. But they have the right to know what’s happening, and I really do want them to take whatever they want from the house.
Instead of tearing it down, I should burn it.
In fact, I think I will. I’ll call Bridger and ask him for help to keep the fire under control.
I’ve just finished packing and loading the couple of bags into the back seat of my truck when Dani comes driving up, all three sisters with her in her Ford SUV. I motion for them to drive over to the farmhouse, and I set off on foot to meet them there.
I fucking hate this house. Most of my shitty memories are in here, and I only go inside when it’s absolutely necessary.
I know the girls don’t like it any more than I do. So, maybe it’s good that they came out tonight, so we can just get it all over with.
“Hey,” Charlie says, giving me a side hug. “You look considerably better than you did this morning.”
I grin down at her. “Duh. Also, it’s an improvement that no one is spraying water in my face.”
I hug each of them and keep Alex by my side, my arm looped over her shoulders, as we walk to the porch.
“We’ll eat pizza after,” Dani says.
“Maybe we should eat it before,” I reply. “Might not have an appetite after.”
Hell, I don’t have an appetite now.
“I hate it here,” Alex says with a whisper and shivers as her eyes are pinned to the front door. “I hate everything about this house.”
“I know. Me, too.” I squeeze her to me and then feel Dani push her hand into my free one. “You know, you guys can just give me a list of what you want, and I’ll pull it out for you. You don’t have to go in. We can just go over to the cabin and eat pizza.”
“We’ll go in,” Charlie says. “And get it over with. Then you can do whatever you want with it.”
The front door isn’t locked. Hell, even the wildlife steers clear of this house, as if it knows what kind of evil lived here. So, we walk right in, and the smell of must assaults my nose.
Dust motes filter through the air. No one has been in here since the son of a bitch died.
I was the lucky one to find him. Dead in that chair. Likely had a heart attack while watching TV, since it was still on.
That was too easy of a way for him to go out, in my opinion. Too fast. Too painless.
“I think that anything I want is in the kitchen,” Alex says, moving quickly that way. “I want Mom’s recipes and China.”
“We should look for photos,” Charlie suggests. “There are probably albums somewhere.”
“Closet,” Dani says, pointing to the hallway.
There are so many fucked-up memories already assaulting me. Dad throwing Mom down those stairs because she was wearing lipstick, and what the fuck was she doing wearing lipstick on a ranch? Who was she fucking behind his back?