Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 122219 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122219 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
“Can’t spread rumors if I keep to myself. But you’ve been staring at her nonstop since we walked in here. I know I’m the only one who knows you had a short thing with Avery, but if you keep staring at her like you are, everyone in town will know.”
Evan was the only brother who knew about Avery and me. It wasn’t that I was trying to keep her a secret. If anything, at one point, I wanted to shout from the rooftop about Avery and how much I loved her. But it was so short-lived that I didn’t even get a chance to do so. Evan only knew about the whole situation because he walked in on Avery and me once when I was helping her around the farm. He found us making out next to the horse stables.
I averted my eyes away from Avery and grumbled as I took a swig of my beer. “I’m coaching baseball at the high school.”
Evan arched an eyebrow. “No shit. To be closer to Avery?”
“No,” I urged. “To get back into the game I love. I miss it. When the school district came to me with the idea, I ran with it.”
“It didn’t hurt that she’s a coach there, too, huh?”
No, it didn’t.
He didn’t need to know that, though.
“I missed the game,” I explained. “That’s it, that’s all. But I’m pretty sure Avery hates my guts now. The school put me as the head coach. I was under the impression Avery knew about that until she snapped at me.”
“Is that why she’s giving you a solid fuck-off stare whenever she looks your way?”
“That could be the reason, yeah. She still doesn’t know I’m not taking the position. I’m going to be her assistant coach. Alex said he wouldn’t consider partnering with us if I didn’t step down.”
“That’s pretty messed up.”
“It’s loyalty to his sister-in-law. I can’t be mad at a man with family values. I would’ve done the same thing if the roles were reversed,” I said, looking back in Avery’s direction. When I did, she locked eyes with me, and a deep scorn fell on her face before she looked away. She turned to my brothers and smiled brightly, pouring them another shot.
Why did they get her happy smiles?
That didn’t seem fair at all.
“Just a heads-up, she’s engaged,” Evan mentioned as he took a sip of his beer.
I arched an eyebrow. “Why would I care that she’s engaged?”
Evan almost smiled, but before he could reply, we were being called to the bar to take a shot with the other guys. We headed to join them and found a line of shots set out. Easton turned and handed one to me and another to Evan.
“Sweet Miss Avery made some birthday shots for the boys,” Easton said as Avery pulled out a lighter.
“Happy Birthday, River and Grant. This is your year, boys,” Avery stated. Seeing her treat my brothers so kindly while she handled me as if I was scum annoyed me. The tinge of jealousy hit me hard.
River patted his twin’s chest. “See? Told you it’s my year!”
“And mine!” Grant urged.
Avery looked like she was in a damn good mood. She placed the birthday boys’ shots in front of her, sprinkled something on top, and lit them on fire. “Happy Birthday, boys. Make a wish.”
River and Grant shut their eyes for a moment, then blew out the shots.
“Give a toast, Nathan!” Grant requested as he picked up his shot. “You always give the best toasts.”
I smiled and held up my shot glass. “River and Grant, life was a lot less hectic before you came along, but it wasn’t anywhere near as fun. Here’s to the birthday boys, who’ve been copying and pasting each other since day one. May your nights be as long as your arguments and your hangovers be as short as your differences. Cheers, brothers!”
“Cheers!” they all shouted, tapping their glasses on the bar countertop before downing the shots. The moment I put my shot glass on the countertop, I caught Avery’s stare.
It wasn’t packed with the same hatred as before. Her look seemed more curious this time. Soft. Unalert. With haste, she shook off the stare and gathered the shot glasses to clean up.
The guys headed off to play a round of darts, leaving me sitting at the bar as Avery cleaned. She was the only one working behind the counter, but that seemed fine, seeing as how the place wasn’t packed. It had a handful of regulars, my brothers, and me that night. Most people in town went over to Stan’s Bar and Grill on Saturday nights. That was why the boys preferred O’Reilly’s—they had more opportunities to get wasted and take over the jukebox.
“Since when are you a bartender?” I asked when I had built up enough courage to speak to Avery. I didn’t know why, but that woman made me nervous. I wasn’t used to getting nervous around people, but she sure knew how to shake me.