Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
It was an old, familiar but most unwelcome friend. Panic. I hadn’t had a panic attack in years—until now. And there was no safe place to pull over. That only made the panic worse. I felt trapped.
After several excruciating minutes, I finally got off at an exit somewhere in Connecticut.
Pulling into a church parking lot, I put the car in park and tried to breathe. Afraid I wasn’t going to be able to get back on the road, I needed to talk to someone to calm myself down. I immediately dialed Owen, who picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, Devyn. What’s—”
“I need you to stay on the phone with me.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I just had a panic attack on the highway.”
“Are you hurt?” His voice shook.
“No, no, no. I’m fine. I got off the freeway and am sitting in a church parking lot.”
“You left the city? What were you doing on the highway?”
“I’m headed to Boston.”
“What? Why?”
Resting my head back on the seat, I sighed. “It’s Vera. She called me from jail there. She wants me to bail her out.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“You have back-to-back showings all day. I didn’t want to bother you. But when I panicked, you were the only voice I needed to hear.”
“Where are you right now?”
“Connecticut.”
“I need you to be more specific.”
I squinted to see the sign. “St. Andrew’s Church? White with a big steeple. Probably about thirty miles outside the City.”
“Let me look it up.” He paused. “Okay. That’s in Greenwich.” I heard some things moving around as he said, “I’m headed over there now.”
I sat up suddenly. “Owen, you can’t leave your commitments. I only called to talk so I can calm down enough to get back on the road.”
“Already in my car, Devyn.” The fasten-seatbelt warning beeped. “The last couple of showings can wait.”
“I really didn’t call so you’d come. I feel bad.”
“Don’t. I’d much rather see you than work anyway. Besides, you shouldn’t be driving if you’re anxious. Not only that, you shouldn’t have to do this alone.”
His words made my heart want to burst. “I’ve handled everything alone most of my life, Owen.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s right.” He paused. “You don’t need to anymore. Okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Not to mention, now’s not a good time for you to be stressed. Especially after what happened the night of Holden’s wedding.”
He has a point. “I thought I could handle this alone. But the panic caught up to me at the most inopportune time.”
“Are you okay waiting in that spot until I get there?”
“Yeah, but what are we gonna do with my rental?”
“We’ll leave it parked. I’ll drop you off there on the way back from Boston.”
I blew out a shaky breath. “Thank you, Owen.”
“Let’s stay on the phone,” he said.
Relaxing my shoulders, I shut my eyes. I felt like crap for interrupting his day, but I was so damn happy that I wouldn’t have to go to Boston alone.
***
It cost two-thousand dollars to get Vera out of jail until her first court hearing in a month.
My head spun as we exited the courthouse, Owen on one side of me and Vera on the other. We walked back toward the lot where Owen’s car was parked.
It turned out my mother had been arrested because she’d freaking stabbed her boyfriend. While I knew Vera was nuts, I also knew she wasn’t a violent person.
“What the hell really happened?” I asked her.
“Bo came at me with a broken wine bottle, so I grabbed a kitchen knife and swung it to try to protect myself. Didn’t mean to actually stab him. He called the police and told them I’d attacked him unprovoked. But it was self-defense.”
“What condition is he in?”
“He’s fine—in good enough condition to try to take me down and call the cops when he knows damn well why it happened.” She sighed. “I should’ve killed the bastard when I had the chance.”
“There were no witnesses?”
“No. It was just the two of us at his house—besides his German shepherd.”
Owen, who’d looked like he wanted to ream her a new asshole from the moment he saw her, had been holding back, probably for my sake. But he finally lost it. “What the hell have you been doing in Boston while your kids have been fending for themselves?” he spewed.
“Who is this guy, Devyn?” Vera asked, as if he hadn’t been with us the entire time.
“He’s…” I hesitated.
“I’m her boyfriend,” Owen answered matter-of-factly. “I’m also your landlord, although we never formally met.”
Boyfriend. Okay then.
“Ah. I thought you looked familiar. It’s nice to formally meet you.”
“I wish I could say the same, Vera.”
Owen disarmed his car, and the three of us got in. Owen and I sat in the front and my mother in the back.
“So, I suppose we’re not gonna get any logical explanation for your disappearing act?” I said.