Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
I won’t be settled completely until I get to see her and talk to her.
And even though I’ve had a few new stations show up in Whiskey Run, it hasn’t been bad. Thankfully, Whiskey Run is still loyal to me. Whether it's because I donated to the high school, sponsored the women's shelter, or said yes to anything the mayor asked of me, no one is giving up any information about me. When the townspeople refused to give up any gossip and when I never entered rehab, the journalists moved on to bigger and better stories.
It’s been almost two months since I made the announcement, and I’ve seen Izzy, but she hasn’t seen me. Not yet.
I've stalked her home. I’ve watched her sit in the courtyard at the hospital and at her son's high school basketball games.
The time is coming. I can't be this close to her and not talk to her.
I’ve been waiting for the right moment. I want to approach her when she’s alone, but I haven’t been able to yet.
So here I am, standing in the shadows of the high school gym, watching Isabel watch her son’s game. I know she has to have heard I am in town. A part of me wishes that she had sought me out, but that hasn’t happened.
My hands fist at my sides as I watch the man sitting next to her try and talk to her. Even though I haven’t been around her in a long time, I can tell she’s not comfortable with the attention. I’m going to make a fool of myself if the asshole touches her because I don’t have it in me to just stay here and do nothing.
But who am I kidding? I’m sure once the men of this town found out she was single, they’ve probably been vying for her attention. I should have gotten here sooner.
I cross my arms over my chest and watch the woman that has been in my dreams for the last twenty years. She was my everything, and we’d planned a future together. It was the day after I was drafted, and I had to be on a plane that afternoon. I was going to go and get a place, and she was going to join me later.
But it never happened. She told me that she didn’t want to be with me anymore. She said that we wanted different things and she knew she couldn’t be happy with me. I was crushed. I thought she was scared about moving away from her family and her hometown. I thought I would go and do the spring training and then come back and convince her to come with me and that we were meant to be together.
I tried calling her, but she never answered. She didn’t return my calls or my text messages. I checked with friends to make sure she was okay, and that’s when I heard that not two weeks after I left, she was seen with another man. It made me think she’d been cheating on me the whole time. I didn’t want to believe it but…
The thought was devastating. I would have given anything to be with her. Hell, if I had to give up baseball, I would have done it. But she didn’t want me.
And maybe I’m a fool to believe I have a chance now, but I have to try. If after twenty years she’s still on my mind and in my heart, I have to try.
I can’t take my eyes off Isabel. Her face is lit up with a smile. She’s in one of her Christmas sweaters, and it takes me back to the days we were together. She loved Christmas. She started wearing Christmas T-shirts, sweatshirts, and sweaters in early November and wears them through January. I’ve never met anyone that loves the holiday as much as she does. I’m glad that the divorce and whatever her ex-husband did to her didn’t seem to take her spirit. She seems happy. My only hope is that I can make her happier.
I know the instant that my cover has been made. There’s a buzz around me, and I start to feel the stares. I thought I had stayed hidden, but once one person recognized me, it seems the word that I’m here spread really fast. I take one last look at Isabel and walk out of the school gym. Soon, the time will be right, and I’m going to get my girl.
CHAPTER 4
IZZY
“So?” Caroline asks.
“So what?” I ask her even though I can guess what she’s asking me about. Or should I say who.
She crosses her arms over her chest and taps her foot. “So? Did you see him?”
I play dumb because Caroline is just too easy. And she’s fun to mess with. “See who?”
I know exactly who she’s talking about. It seems like the whole damn town is talking about Ryker Kirby returning to Whiskey Run. Most people just mention him in passing, but the people who knew us in high school ask more detailed questions as if I’m going to have the answers or something. I know nothing. Hell, I haven’t even seen him.