Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 128(@250wpm)___ 107(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 128(@250wpm)___ 107(@300wpm)
Something I’d have to try again tomorrow because tonight, I was going to see what Gooskis had to offer.
The dive had a slightly run-down appearance, and the name lacked pretension. A white sign that contrasted with the building’s dull gray exterior read, It’s always noon somewhere. Only eight other cars sat in the dimly lit parking lot.
After easing into a parking space beside a large pickup with windows so dark I questioned if they were legal, I took a second to get my thoughts in order. There was exactly seventy-two dollars and fifteen cents in my bank account. One Hungry-Man was in the freezer, and a loaf of bread I’d already pushed beyond its expiration date was sitting on my counter. Things were a little tight, to say the least. We’d drained our finances moving and then piecing together the trip she was on.
For as badly as I wanted to throttle her sometimes, Molina deserved it.
And I deserved a drink.
I might have to turn a few tricks to pay the gas bill that month, but I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to walk my ass in this bar and get some liquor therapy. I slipped out of the car and did just that. As I approached the entrance of the bar, I heard raunchy laughter over a catchy Joan Jett song.
The familiar stench of cigarette smoke lingered right inside the dark entryway where a dingy No Smoking sign hung. I smiled to myself at someone's minor act of rebellion.
The interior of Gooskis looked just like I thought it would. There was a horseshoe bar, neon signs, posters, a few beer banners, and lace panties hung all over the grungy walls. Though I wasn’t sure what possible reasons there could be for the latter.
Seeing that the bartender was occupied, I made my way to a booth, scanning the room as I went. A few people were playing a round of pool and a couple sat at the bar. Everyone else was seated at a table. I claimed a spot that would allow me to people-watch. I slid across the leather bench and examined the scuffed wooden tabletop.
Within a minute of me sitting down a bottle blonde sidled up to the table and placed a plastic menu that looked as if it’d gone through a war in front of me.
“I’ll be right with you, pretty girl,” she lilted before waltzing away, leaving behind the smell of vanilla perfume. I tried not to let her endearment bother me, but God did I loathe it. She wouldn’t know anything about that, so I couldn’t count it as a strike against her. I began assessing the cleanliness of the dive so I knew what not to order at a place where the taps were probably questionable.
I couldn’t help but contemplate my life for the millionth time while doing so.
Things would be incomparably different if I had chosen the family over desolate freedom. If I hadn’t walked away from odious vows and the promise I’d bled for. I wouldn’t be in this dump or rubbing pennies to make ends meet, that was for sure.
Some might say I was running from the past because I didn’t want to face it, but nothing could be further from the truth. I had no reason to run. I’d survived it and sometimes, surviving is the worst part.
CHAPTER TWO
ROSELYNN
BEFORE HIM
If I did nothing else in life, I was leaving Ashridge the first chance I got. I’d be forever grateful that I was given an opportunity to start over after everything that happened. Grandpa had taken me in without hesitation. His patience and genuine kindness reminded me so much of my father sometimes that my heart ached. I adored him to no end, but I just couldn’t see myself being here forever.
The sprawling town was built on a foundation of old money roots and operated with even older ideologies. Some lived by their own principles, but they still stemmed from some form of wealth or higher social chaste and paid respects to the families above them, like Grandpa and my I assume at one time my parents.
As a newcomer, I never got the opportunity to mingle with any social cliques. That was just as well since I had no interest in any of the hierarchy drama and couldn’t see myself doing well if I had to wear a façade the rest of my life.
My aspirations, or lack thereof, weren’t remarkable by any means, but I didn’t want to sit on idle hands so it would be best to leave. I couldn’t see myself marrying any of the guys around town, not realistically. Getting involved in Ashridge politics as some women did wasn’t in my future either. Not only was I completely out of the loop, but I knew I would hate it.