Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“Quiet,” I order, and she shushes, glancing my way before taking off at a run to move farther into the yard.
When Gemma runs back toward me with one of the dozens of tennis balls, she’s hidden in the yard. I walk down the steps, then pick it up from where she drops it at my feet. While I’m tossing it toward the shadows cast by the trees that line the back of my lot, I look over at the house next door and find Olivia and Kourtney sitting on the back deck. They’re talking quietly, with a fire burning in a round gaslit fireplace between the two of them.
I’ve lived next door to Kourtney for a couple of years now, but as Olivia said, she travels a lot for work as a nurse. So besides the occasional chat when we catch each other coming or going, we haven’t had much contact. She was also in the same grade as Olivia, which put her a few years behind Liam and me in school, so we never ran in the same social circles.
After about ten minutes of playing fetch, Gemma begins to slow, obviously tiring herself out with all the running.
“You ready to go inside?” I turn to head for my deck but stop when Olivia’s voice cuts through the dark.
“I guess we’re going to be neighbors.”
Turning her way, I glance behind her and notice Kourtney is no longer outside, and the fireplace has been turned off.
“You’re taking the room?”
“Yeah, it’s perfect for right now.” She takes the steps down into the backyard, and Gemma takes off for her, stopping just short of the invisible fence. “Liam told me that you two got pups from the same litter a few years ago.” She continues into my yard.
“This is Gemma.” I bend down and pick up the ball Gemma dropped and carry it with me toward where Olivia stops.
“Hey, Gemma.” She squats down, and my dog—never one to miss an opportunity to make a new friend—immediately greets her, her entire body shaking in excitement. “You look just like Lucy.” She tips her head back to look up at me with a smile that causes my fist to flex around the ball in my grasp. “Liam told me that your cousin July was pretty insistent you two both needed puppies when they were dropped off at her vet office.”
“You could say that, or you could say she didn’t give either of us a choice.” I laugh, and her smile brightens before she falls to her ass to sit crossed-legged in the grass, allowing Gemma onto her lap.
“Do you guys ever let them play together?”
“She normally goes with me to work, and since Lucy does the same with Liam, they spend a lot of time together.” I squat next to her.
“That’s sweet.” She runs her fingers through Gemma’s thick fur, then looks over her shoulder at my house. “I was surprised when Kourtney told me you live next door to her.”
“Were you?”
“Yeah, I always pictured you living on a piece of property like your parents’ land, out in the country, with no one around and lots of trails for four-wheeling,” she says softly, her eyes lifting to mine.
I don’t know if it’s the outdoor lighting coming off the back of my house or the quiet of the night around us, but she looks even prettier than she did back at the bar.
“Some of my favorite memories growing up are from when you and Liam would let me tag along, and we’d spend the whole day riding in the woods on your parents’ property.”
The reminder of our history stings. She’s not some woman I met for the first time a few hours ago. She’s Liam’s little sister—the girl who used to ride behind me on the back of my four-wheeler and squeal with laughter when I’d purposely go through every mud puddle. The girl who would eat s’mores until she was sick and who giggled anytime Liam and I threatened to beat up some boy who liked her… or a boy she liked.
“My parents still live out there. You’ll have to have Liam take you the next time he goes.” I stand and take a step away from her, catching her brows dragging together before she pulls her eyes from mine.
“Yeah, I’ll do that.” She glances over at Kourtney’s house. “I should get back over; I need to head back to Liam’s soon.” She wipes her hands down the front of her jeans and pushes up off the ground, dusting off her ass. “Bye, Gemma.” She rubs the top of my dog’s head, then stands to her full height, which I still tower over, and tips her head back. “Have a good night, Bax.”
“You too, Oli.” I watch her walk away with my hands fisted at my sides and wait until she disappears into Kourtney’s house before I let my head fall back to my shoulders and curse the night sky.