Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 52190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Martin laughs. “I’d have the space to make a serious laboratory. Research, invent, maybe I could come up with a cure for cancer after all, or contribute to some developments that make a real difference in people’s lives around the world. My best friend has been pushing me to come partner with him. He has a big research supply company. That was always my dream. My other dream I mean.”
“And the church would fund all of this?”
“No. I… I have money, Kitty. A lot of money. Money isn’t the issue. When my grandfather—my mom’s father—died, he left a sizable fortune. He gave half to my grandmother and half to my mom, and she left all of hers to me. It’s in a trust. Since I took my vows, I haven’t touched it, so it’s technically mine, but not until I invoke the terms of the trust and take over as executor. It’s weird, semantics but I don’t’ want to be the asshole here, but I gave my life to the church, I didn’t really want to give them all my money. Even priests have secrets.”
Like me. Does that mean I’ll be a secret forever too?
“But it’s enough to buy this place and finance a company with your own lab and equipment to develop, like, whatever you’re thinking of developing? That’s serious fuck you money.”
“I love your dirty mouth.” He turns in the seat and reaches out to brush a stray strand of my hair behind my ear.
“Is that how you know Hoover? Because you’re both super rich? Did you like, meet at a cocktail party on a yacht or something?”
“No. I don’t know Hoover, not really. Just enough for him to trust me with you.”
I think about that, then nod slowly. He’s always talked about trust, and I do trust him. I have to just go with that.
Looking around at the overlook, and the church buildings, the school, I get that image again, of raising a family here.
“It could work,” I say to myself. “Of course, I’d have to deal with Mom. And Hoover…”
“What could work?” Martin gives me a sexy smile and I decide to light this candle.
“You. Me. Here in this place. It needs work, but… We could be happy here.” I focus on his face. The twitch of his eyebrow, the way he grinds his teeth…
Before he can say anything, his phone rings from where it’s sitting in the console.
Bishop Murphy.
His body tenses, hand dropping from my face.
“I have to take this.” He says, leaving me dangling by a thin thread as he lifts the door handle and steps out into the grass, closing it behind him leaving me alone. Where it seems I am going to end up in all of this.
I’ve baited the hook enough. If this was real, he’d be commsumating all over the place right?
I mean you can have all the fun you want, as long as you don’t knock her up for the world to see.
Is that in the vow contract? Everything but the old dick in the babymaker?
My hopefulness crashes down crushing me with the reality I’ve been pushing away.
He’s the one that said how important vows are.
Out the window, Martin is turned toward the view of the ocean, hand on his head, his other hand holding the phone to his ear as he talks, gesturing every few seconds clearing involved in an important priestly conversation.
Fuck it.
I wasn’t wanted at home and here, I’m just a side-preist’s plaything. Nu-uh. It’s time for Kitty to grab her self by the balls and stop being the sub-character is someone else’s romance.
I ease open the door, the radio playing ‘Born to Run’ by Bruce Springsteen and now, that’s a sign.
I bolt onto the damp grass for the tree line. There’s a road down to the compound just through the trees, I’ll get my phone and figure out my own life. Fuck everyone else. I can do this. I don’t need Mom or Hoover or Martin.
I want him, yeah.
But need him?
Okay, whatever, now’s not the time to split hairs. My feet pound onto the soft dirty path covered with pine needles as I reach the edge of the woods.
Each breath burns as I push my lungs beyond their capacity reminding me I really need to add some cardio to my routine, but fuck it, right now, I just want to be away. Away from the fantasy that is clearly not the same one that Martin is having.
“Okay, just a little farther.” I tell myself as I scan the trees, I dig in my heels as I notice a crumbling stone structure just beyond the pines in a overgrown clearing and I decide to head that way when I hear my name.
Shit, he’s onto me. I figured any call with a Bishop would take longer.
“Kitty? Kitty!”
I ball it toward the structure, hoping there’s some old crypt I can tuck into and hope that he will go on by or head down to the church thinking that’s where I’ve gone.