Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 68366 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68366 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“It’s in shreds,” I say, but then I see the writing on the wall.
You’ll get what’s owed to you.
“What does that mean?” I ask Olivia, who now has tears streaming down her face. That’s the straw that broke Casey’s back because he storms over and grabs the phone from my hands to look at the pictures.
“Oh, fuck no,” he says and then looks at my father. “We need to lock it down.” My father just nods at him, and I’m about to ask him what he’s talking about when there’s a knock on the door.
My father looks at Casey, who grabs his shotgun and walks to the front door. He glances at my father, who is standing with his own gun in his hand, before he looks out the peephole. “Jesus fuck, what is with this day?” he says and opens the door, and for the second time today, I come face-to-face with the man I ran away from eight years ago.
Chapter Nine
Jacob
I don’t know why I get tense when we walk into the grocery store. I don’t even know why I do a sweep of the room, spotting a new blonde standing by the organic section. Right away, you know she’s not from here.
“I have a couple of things to get, so I’ll come find you when I’m done.” my mother says, and she takes off. I try not to eye the blonde and think to myself maybe I can date her. She looks like she’s new here, and she has no idea about my history in this town. No idea about the cloud that follows me. It’s better now, but in the beginning, they would shake their heads when I would walk down the street. It got better when Ethan was born, and then when I took over as sheriff, it was all back to normal. Now, don’t get me wrong. Some of the old timers still leer at me.
I push the cart down the aisles and avoid eye contact because each time I do look up, I have to have a ten-minute conversation with someone. And now that Kallie is back, I’m sure all the talk is going to be asking about what I am going to do. And then they will give me sad smiles and say, “That’s okay, dear.” I can’t take it, and when I turn the corner, I spot the scene right away. Turning around, I see that everyone has stopped, and now I see why.
The showdown that everyone was probably waiting for. The showdown that will be spread all around town by the time dinner is served.
Kallie doesn’t see me as I approach, and it gives me a couple of minutes to take her in. I want to say she looks the same, but she doesn’t. I want to say her beauty doesn’t blow me away, but I would be lying. I want to say my heart doesn’t speed up just looking at her, but you can’t mistake the galloping in my chest.
“How would we? She never thought to tell anyone,” my mother hisses, and I look at Charlotte who has tears.
“Tell you?” Kallie says, her words coming out in almost a whisper. “I needed to tell you how your son destroyed me?” The words cut me off at the knees.
“She wasn’t the one who changed anything, Crissy,” Charlotte says to her, using my mother’s nickname. The two of them were the best of friends, and then the rift started. “I lost my daughter that day. You still have your son. Your son who is always around. You have your son and your grandson.” I see Kallie close her eyes when her mother says grandson. “So don’t even think you got the short end of the stick.”
“What the hell?” I say, cutting this off before it gets even uglier. Kallie’s eyes come to mine, and I get lost in them just like I did every single time. I watch her movement as she turns to her mother, I watch her hands that I used to hold and kiss. When she slumps her shoulders, I want to grab her and put her over my shoulder and tell her everything. I want to tell her everything, and then suddenly, the anger from her leaving me comes in. The blonde from before comes down the aisle, and she is frantic and shaking. I look around, and I hear the two words that breaks me out of my trance. “The detective.”
“Let’s go,” her mother says, and my hand shoots out even before I can stop myself. I grab her arm, and the whole store sounds like it gasps in shock. Kallie doesn’t turn around; the only thing she does is move her head down, looking at my hand on her arm. Her arm that feels different, smaller, frail.