Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 104869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
He was grim-faced man who handled the powerful car with proficient ease.
Kenny was happy for his surly company. He rarely spoke, left her to do her own thing, and didn’t hover, only assisting her when she asked for it.
She enjoyed a mostly silent tour of the Garden Route. Had a solitary lunch at a quaint coastal eatery, explored a couple of flea markets and bought useless trinkets for herself, a pretty sea foam-green silk scarf for Tina, an intricately beaded handmade turquoise bookmark for Beth, who was a voracious reader, and a crocheted mother-and-baby elephant set for Fern and baby Cas.
Fern wasn’t due for another three months, but Cade had taken to calling the baby Cas. He claimed that the fetus resembled Casper the Friendly Ghost on the ultrasound.
The name had caught on very quickly and something told Kenny that the child would be saddled with it for real.
She was pleased with her humble cache of gifts and she hoped her sisters-in-law would appreciate it for what it was. An overture… a gesture of friendship.
As she slowly limped from stand to stand in the small, vibrant flea market, she very determinedly tried not think about Smith.
She was mostly successful, but her resolve to not wallow over the collapse of her marriage weakened a little when she spotted a gigantic teddy bear in the window of an old-fashioned toy store.
She stopped walking so abruptly that Caleb—who was shadowing her despite Kenny’s insistence that it wasn’t necessary—nearly walked right into her.
“Okay?” the man asked stiffly. His lips thinned as his eyes drifted from her cane to her cast.
He’d already quite effectively conveyed his disapproval of Kenny’s decision to walk around a little without saying a single word. He now looked convinced his doubts about her ability to casually stroll around the adorable shopping district of the tiny, picturesque village of Wilderness were accurate.
“Fine,” she said with a dismissive wave, looking away from the stuffed toy. “Come along then, I want to check out the artisanal cosmetics store. Follow if you must.”
Chapter
Seventeen
It had been five hours since Smith had heard from Kenna last. Every one of his texts after their last infuriating exchange had remained unread. His calls went unanswered.
She’d quite effectively shut him out. Similar to the way he’d done with her when he’d walked out on her all those weeks ago.
Was this how she’d felt? Helpless? Frustrated? Afraid? Confused? Guilty?
Hurt?
God. He was such a prick. Yes, he’d felt all of those emotions throughout their marriage as well. It was why he had left her, after all. But he’d never once considered how she felt after he’d left.
He hadn’t cared. Because part of him had believed that she didn’t care.
He was restless, unable to focus on anything for too long. He’d been with Harris and Greyson earlier. The two men had set up office at Grey and Libby’s home for the afternoon, so they could watch their four kids—the twins, and Grey and Libby’s two little girls—while their wives were at the restaurant. But Smith had been such terrible company, constantly checking his phone and losing track of conversations, that he’d made a lame excuse about needing some supplies and fled.
After that he’d spent an hour restlessly pacing from room to room, still tethered to his phone.
At one point he’d gone into panic mode when the battery had died. He’d spent five agonizing minutes quietly losing his shit while trying to remember where the fuck he’d put his charger. In the end he’d given up and made the irrational decision to sit in his car while it charged.
Then he’d waited an additional two minutes for the device to switch back on.
Only to be gutted that he’d received no missed calls or texts from her during those seven minutes without connectivity.
Out of sheer desperation, he did the unthinkable and messaged Tina.
Hey have you heard from Kenna today?
No response.
Was everybody fucking ghosting him today?
Although, to be fair, MJ’s was usually extremely busy on Fridays. It was nearly five, so the after-work early dinner crowd would be drifting in round about now.
He made a muffled sound of frustration and ran restless fingers through his hair.
He was stumped and had no idea what to do next. Which was when he’d come to the unwelcome understanding that it wasn’t his place to do anything.
His edginess stemmed from the fact that he wanted to talk to her. He didn’t like the way they’d left things last night. Kenna had been wanting to talk since arriving, and Smith had constantly brushed her off. She’d wanted to fucking talk last night too, and he’d run away like a scared child.
And now he finally wanted to talk and it was driving him crazy that she’d made herself so unavailable.
It was humbling to admit this was a problem of his own creation.
“Shit.”
The word was quiet and filled with regret.