Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 81285 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81285 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
From there, it was blur of questions, excitement, and relief.
We both piled into the van and headed home.
When we got to Lila Kate’s apartment, I had to practically pry her out. She was excited and relieved, and she wanted to know exactly how everything had played out with Davis. And I told her everything, multiple times, and I was ready to call it a night and put this crazy day behind me.
I’d wanted to get home and go straight to sleep, but the second I crawled into bed, my mind started running with one thought after the next. And at the center of it all was Luke.
I could still hear the warning in his voice when he told his brother to leave town. There was no listening to excuses or apologies. Not that any were given. Davis took no responsibility for what he’d done. He just stood there staring at his brother with disdain in his eyes.
At that moment, it was clear that whatever ties these two had were now broken, and I had no idea what that meant for either of them. I just knew without Luke and his brothers, I would’ve never known that Davis had tried to pull a fast one on Lila Kate and me.
He’d manipulated her. He’d manipulated me, too. He counted on my panic and the love I had for my sister, and it almost worked. I would’ve handed Davis the money and kept believing his horrific lies without ever being the wiser.
That was a hard pill to swallow, but it was the fact that Luke didn’t think twice about helping us. He had to know this would be a final blow to their relationship. He had to know Davis might never speak to him again. That didn’t matter. He saw the threat, saw the risk to me and Lila, and he did what he thought needed to be done, to hell with the consequences.
Now, he was left to carry the weight of it all like it was just another day of the week. Only it wasn’t. He knew it. His brothers knew it, and I had no doubt his father knew it, too.
I’d seen the despondent look in his dad’s eyes when we all started to leave. He was about to be alone again, sitting in that chair in a room full of silence and a head full of questions. The thought made my chest ache.
I had to do something. No. I didn’t have to, but I wanted to.
I would make him a pie. I would visit him for a short while, make sure he was okay, and then, I would be on my way. At least, that’s what I told myself.
But the next morning, when I was standing on his front porch steps, the pie felt heavier than I expected. It was silly. It was just a pie. Some flour, sugar, and butter. Nothing life-altering, but my heart was racing, and my palms were sweating as I tapped on the door.
Seconds later, the door opened, and my heart dropped when I found Luke standing in front of me. He looked equally as surprised to discover that I was the one at the door. He glanced down at the pie in my hand and asked, “What’s this all about?”
I lifted my shoulders in a small shrug and said, “After everything with Davis, I felt bad and thought I should do something.”
“Yeah, I thought the same.”
He eased the door open, revealing several bags of groceries sitting on the kitchen table. Seeing what he’d done made my chest soften in a way I didn’t expect. Without another word, Luke reached out and took the pie from my hand, carrying it into the house like it was something special.
Like it meant something.
Like I meant something.
I followed him into the house. While it was quiet, it didn’t feel empty and dark like it had the night before. Luke placed the pie on the table as he called out to his father, “We’ve got company, Pop!”
“I see that.” His father stood and came over to me. “We didn’t get a chance to meet last night. I’m Gordan. Luke’s father.”
“I’m Presley. I’m an old friend of Luke’s.”
“Yeah, Luke filled me in. Mighty nice of you to stop back by.”
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry for how everything played out last night. It wasn’t fair for us to bring that to your doorstep.”
“You didn’t bring nothing, doll. That was all on Davis.” He shook his head. “It was only a matter of time before his bad decisions caught up with him. Just hate he had to pull you and your sister into his mess.”
“Pie is getting cold,” Luke interjected.
I assumed this was his way of getting us to drop the Davis talk, so I nodded and said, “I’ll grab some plates.”