Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Only I couldn’t tell him no, could I? Because there was something about Rush. It was why I’d continued to sleep with him when I was sad and lonely. Why I’d done it even when Beau said it was a bad idea and I’d known it was. My feelings for him were also the reason I walked away and told him we couldn’t keep screwing around.
He was one of two people in the world I truly trusted, or at least I was beginning to trust him on that level. He was the first person to make me want to find a way to believe in them. “Yeah…I want you.”
“Okay. That’s all I needed to know. This conversation isn’t over.”
I swallowed hard, silently grateful that he wasn’t giving up on me.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Rush
Missing six to eight weeks has to be devastating for Rush Alexander!
It was going to be a long-ass eight weeks. I was so fucking pissed at myself for screwing up, for crashing and messing up my entire season. The loss was likely something I should work through, but at the moment, I had too many fucking things to figure out. Between Mom, Linc, and the journalist, I had enough on my plate.
I watched as Linc pulled out of my driveway and onto the road, a minute later disappearing behind the trees. Christ, I didn’t know what it was about him. I liked the way he made me laugh, his confidence, but I also saw that insecurity hiding beneath it. The truth was, I did like him, I’d liked him for a while, and maybe it made me a cocky motherfucker, but I knew he liked me as well. I didn’t much see the point in denying ourselves something we wanted. People spent too much of their lives denying themselves happiness.
My mom had spent hers doing it…denying herself what she deserved, staying with someone who fucked with her heart. Walking away from her own dreams.
At the thought of her…at the thought of him, my muscles tensed. How could he hurt her like that? I didn’t understand that shit, hurting people you loved. My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out and saw Dad on the screen. It wasn’t the first time he’d called since my wreck, and I hadn’t answered any of them.
My gaze traveled toward my track on the right side of my house. I wanted out there, wanted on my bike, wanted to fucking fly. It was the one thing that cleared my head, and I didn’t even have that at the moment.
Stupid fucking collarbones and AC separations.
I turned and headed for my large, white, ranch-style home. Off to the left of it was a small guesthouse I figured might come in handy with Mom being there. I’d offer her a room in my house, obviously, but I knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t take it. She’d want to give me space.
Outside of that, there was nothing but dirt and grass and trees as far as the eye could see, and I fucking loved it. Loved my land, my freedom to ride out here.
The door opened, and Mom smiled at me. She was wearing a red-and-black apron I’d seen her wear my whole life. The fact that she brought it spoke volumes. She was going to be here for a while…and she should. It was time she lived for herself.
Fuck him.
“I came in from the guesthouse so I could make you something to eat. Lincoln couldn’t stay?” she asked as I made my way up the porch stairs.
Yeah, he likely could have, but he was too busy being in denial and freaking the fuck out to risk it. I couldn’t say that, though. What I could do was tell my mom we weren’t really together…and it was exactly what I should do too.
“He’s a lovely boy, Rush. Why didn’t you tell us about him?”
But I was just as bad as Linc, because I wasn’t going to tell her, not yet. I figured it wasn’t horrible on my part since I knew she was going through a lot, and I knew she loved the idea of me being with someone, settling down. She deserved that. Plus, I wanted to date Lincoln. I wanted to call him mine, and I was tired of pretending otherwise. Still, I didn’t want to go overboard and get her hopes up, so I replied with, “Like I said, it’s not serious, Ma. And it’s new. We’re friends first, so it likely won’t last.” I kissed her forehead before tugging on the goddamned sling again. At least it was my left arm. That helped.
“Well, as far as I know, you’ve never officially had a boyfriend before.” I actually had, but no one I cared about the way I cared for Linc.
“It’s not official now. We’re just…seeing what happens. And I dated Tony for a few months a couple of years ago. Remember?”