Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
I wanted to ask her about my feelings and why they didn’t seem to matter. But I already knew the answer. Dad was a member of Satan’s Fury, and his brothers and the club reigned supreme. For the most part, it wasn’t that bad. In fact, it was nice. We had a family who always looked out for one another,
But when you grow up with a massive crush on Dad’s best friend’s son, and he doesn’t even know you are alive, it tends to make you feel insecure and guarded. The whole thing was humiliating. I didn’t want him or anyone else to know that he’d broken my heart, so I feigned a smile and pretended all was right in the world. No one seemed to notice that it was all a ruse.
Not my parents.
Not my friends.
No one.
So, when I got the opportunity to get out, I did.
I went off to college and made a new life for myself. All was going well until I discovered I was pregnant. It was a time when I should’ve wanted to turn to my family and friends, but that was the last thing I wanted to do. I didn’t want them to know anything about me.
But once Ava started to get older, she started to ask questions about her family and why none of them lived nearby. That’s when I realized that my past heartbreaks didn’t have to be her heartbreaks, and I decided to move back home. I felt good about my decision until Torch walked in.
Our little exchange made me realize just how hard this whole thing was going to be, and I wasn’t sure I was prepared for it. I wasn’t sure my folks were either, so I went down the hall to ask them their thoughts. But when I got to Ava’s room, Dad was on the floor with his legs in the air, and Ava was propped up on his feet, zooming through the air like an airplane.
“You’re going to throw your back out doing that.”
“I’m fine,” Dad argued. “Besides, she’s light as a feather.”
“If you say so.” I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed with Mom. “Did you take care of the spider?”
“We sure did, and it was a good thing I was here.” Ava giggled as Dad lifted her up even higher. “He was a nasty little booger.”
I laughed as I told him, “I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”
“Me either. It’s a good thing Torch lives so close.” Dad lowered Ava to the floor and pulled himself up. “Something like that comes up and I’m not around, you can just get him to give you a hand.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, looking back and forth between him and Mom.
“He lives right next door.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I just did.” He and Mom took hold of Ava’s hands and led her towards the door. “Sucks when people don’t tell you stuff, huh?”
Mom gave me a knowing look as they walked out of the room. Feeling as if the rug had just been ripped from under my feet, I sat back on the bed with a sigh. Damn. Karma can be a real pain in the ass.
Torch
“What’s up with the truck?”
“Alternator is flaking. Figured I’d swap it out before it gave out on me.”
“You need a hand?”
“No, I got it.”
The clang of metal on metal echoed through the driveway as I tightened the bolts under the hood of my SUV. It was freezing out, and my fingertips were growing numb. I wasn’t paying attention, and the wrench slipped, skinning my knuckles. I clenched my jaw at the sting and grumbled, “Dammit.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Savage leaned back on his heels and smirked. “You gonna tell me what’s crawled up your ass today, or do I have to keep guessing?”
I ignored him, going back to work on the bolts.
I kept twisting, but my grip was too tight, and I nearly stripped the damn thing. “Not in the mood, Savage.”
“Yeah, no kidding. You’ve been beating on this damn thing like there’s no tomorrow.”
He wasn’t wrong. I’d been at this all day, trying to outrun thoughts that had been running through my head, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about Beck. She resembled the girl I knew seven years ago. She had the same dark hair and light freckles dappled across the bridge of her nose, but now, she was all woman with an hour-glass figure and lips that begged to be kissed.
I was just as attracted to her now as I was back then, and it pissed me the hell off. I tossed the wrench onto the ground as I snapped, “Everything’s just fine.”
“Clearly.”
Savage crossed his arms and gave me that look—the one that said he wasn’t buying a damn word of it. I leaned against the front end of my truck and sighed, trying my best to shake off the tension that was crawling up my spine. Didn’t matter how many times I tried; I just couldn't shake it.