Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 145823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“What can I do to help?”
She flashed a grin. “Just stand there and look pretty.”
She’d been doing more of that since her friends had come—smiling and teasing. I wasn’t going to go as far as to say that she was healed, and it wasn’t for me to say, anyway, but she had definitely taken a stride in that direction.
A slim, silver tape recorder caught my eye toward the back of the counter. “What’s this for?” I asked, picking it up so I could show her what I meant.
She looked up, blanched, and the bowl slipped out of her hands, rattling on the granite for a few seconds before it came to a stop. “It’s for therapy. Please don’t press play.”
“Okay.” I set it back down carefully. “I wasn’t going to, I promise.”
“Thank you.” She shook it off and forced a smile. “So, about Sharknado?”
I laughed, then picked up the bowl. “We can watch whatever you want, Kitty. After all, stay in and veg out was your idea for date night, remember?”
“Hmmm.” A devilish gleam sparkled in her eye. “What about Jane Eyre? Or Pride and Prejudice?”
I grimaced but nodded. “Like I said, anything you want.”
“You’re only saying that because there’s a storm going on and you can’t drag me out to go jetpack surfing or whatever.” She took a couple of pieces of popcorn from the bowl with an M&M. “Open up.”
I obliged her and then groaned as the mixture of salty and sweet hit my tongue. “Okay. I take back my earlier thoughts and doubts. That’s amazing. And I’ve never heard of jetpack surfing, but I’d be up for trying it,” I teased.
She rose on her tiptoes and kissed me. It was soft and ended way too soon. There had been a crackling electricity between us since the morning we’d been interrupted in my bedroom. Between my work hours and Fin’s evolving visitation schedule with Claire, Morgan and I hadn’t been able to find more than an hour or two together, and the awareness between us was nearly painful.
With Sam at Grayson’s parents’ for the night, we were alone. Actually, truly, completely alone for the entire night.
We settled back onto the couch, and she flipped through movie options rapidly, as if she didn’t care what we watched, either, because we weren’t really going to be watching it anyway.
A gust of wind moved the chaise lounge on the deck, and rain fell in sheets against the glass that stretched across the back of her house.
“Do I need to worry?” she asked.
“No.” I set the popcorn on the table in front of us and tucked her into my side. “This isn’t bad.”
“So I can stop waiting for the dune to break?” She peered over as the chaise moved again.
I kept my laugh well and smothered. “The dune isn’t going to break, Kitty. That would take a hurricane or at least a healthy storm surge.” My cell phone rang, and I grabbed it with my left hand so I wouldn’t have to let go of Morgan, then muttered a curse when the caller ID flashed.
“Shit. It’s the station,” I told her with a wince. “Sorry, I’m on call.”
“Well, then, answer it.” She flashed me a smile and clicked on comedies while I swiped to take the call.
“Montgomery,” I answered.
“Thank God.” Sawyer’s voice was tight, which immediately set me on edge. “Tell me you’re at your house.”
“I’m at Morgan’s.” I got up and walked to the windows. We had about an hour until sunset, so I had no problem seeing the massive white caps roiling angrily just beyond our beach.
“Close enough. A call just came in, the other crew is already engaged, and Hastings just slipped on the fucking deck. I’m pretty sure he broke his leg. Garrett’s looking at him right now.”
“Is it urgent?” The last thing I wanted was to leave Morgan and haul my ass out into a storm for someone who didn’t actually need my help. Problem was, if they called us, they needed the fucking help.
“Life threatening. We’ve got a capsizing fishing vessel with two sailors on board. How fast can you get in here?”
Shit.
“Run up the bird. I’ll be there in six minutes.”
“Roger.”
I ended the call and slid the phone into my pocket. It would take him roughly ten minutes to get the bird through preflight.
“Don’t go.” The words carried the brittle sound of terror as Morgan reached my side. That same fear manifested in her wide eyes.
“Kitty, I have to.” I cupped her face. “It sounds like Hastings fell and broke his leg, and Sawyer can’t go out alone. I gotta go save some lives.”
She ripped her face from my hands and pointed at the sea. “And who exactly is going to show up and save your life? You can’t go out in this!” Her muscles locked and her pupils blew. My stomach twisted. This was bad, and I didn’t have the time to reassure her like she needed. It would have been great if Sam had shown up right about now.