Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96600 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96600 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“Charlotte heard them when she went to the bathroom,” Matt explained.
“Now it’s our fun little mystery,” I added.
“She’s cheating, though. On her husband,” Scott said.
Matt nodded and passed to him. “We already solved that part of the mystery.”
“Right.” Scott inhaled, his brow crumpled in concern.
“We’re not going to cause trouble for her.” Though I wasn’t sure why that would even be a concern for Scott. Sure, he’d known the family longer than I had, but I couldn’t imagine anyone being super attached to or emotionally invested in Catherine. She was so deeply unpleasant.
“Mind if I step in?” A voice asked from behind us. Matt’s expression momentarily darkened, but he instantly righted it and turned to welcome the newcomer.
“Not at all. Jackson, you know Scott,” Matt said.
“Of course.” Jackson shook my brother’s hand.
“And this is my girlfriend, Charlotte.”
I offered my hand, and the guy tried to kiss it. I quickly redirected it into a shake.
Matt offered him the joint, and I briefly wondered about swapping germs with a guy I didn’t know. Then, I thought about everything I’d done at Ascend Red and realized how goofy my concern was.
So, this was Jackson. The guy who’d let his wife come to the party weekend with their kids and a bunch of excuses. He was tall, white, blond, and handsome, but not so impressive that I would let him get away with treating me like that.
Then again, I couldn’t imagine a time when I would allow anyone to treat me like that. And I was certain Matt never would.
“I heard you had some difficulty getting here,” Matt said.
Jackson took a hit and nodded, responding tightly, “Traffic was a nightmare.”
“I thought you were helicoptering in,” Scott said, narrowing his eyes like a detective doing an interrogation.
“Fell through,” Jackson answered easily.
“I’m sure.”
Scott’s hostility struck me as odd. Maybe there was some history there that I was unaware of.
Oh, gross. He hadn’t dated Catherine, had he? And been jilted when she married her husband?
I quashed that notion immediately. He wouldn’t have had any standing to criticize Matt and I in that case, and the sister dating would have certainly come up in our conversations if Scott and Catherine had been involved.
After another quick hit, Scott said, “Cake’s calling to me. I’ll see you all inside.”
“I hope I didn’t run him off,” Jackson said under his breath, watching Scott mount the steps.
“He’s got the munchies,” Matt said. “It’s too bad about the drive up. What did you bring?”
A toothy smile lit up Jackson’s face. “The Huracán. Never got a chance to open her up, though.”
“It’s going to be tough getting the kids back in that,” Matt noted casually.
Jackson’s eyebrows shot up. “The kids are here?”
I worked very hard to make my face not make the face it wanted to make. The guy didn’t even know where his fucking children were?
“They came up with Catherine.”
How was Matt having such a friendly conversation with this asshole?
Maybe I didn’t have the patience to live this kind of lifestyle.
“Catherine won’t ride with me, anyway. She thinks I’m a dangerous driver.”
Jackson ashed the joint like a cigarette and handed it back to Matt, who passed it to me so as not to break the established rotation. Jackson didn’t even have the class to respect stoner tradition. Then again, he’d barely looked at me after our initial introduction. Maybe women were just accessories to him.
“How’s the leg?” he asked, leaning back a little as he surveyed Matt’s cane.
“Still attached,” Matt replied with an ease I knew he didn’t feel.
“Damn shame you won’t be able to keep up with us on the golf course now.” Jackson shook his head in weirdly gleeful sympathy.
I wanted to throw a punch. But Matt smiled. “A shame, or lucky for you?”
Jackson laughed, and it was the fakest thing I’d ever heard in my life. “I’m sure you’re happy to be spared. Matt doesn’t enjoy the annual charity golf weekend.”
Oh, am I finally being addressed? It wasn’t something I was expected to respond to, though, so I faked a laugh right on back.
“Well, I guess I should go say hi to the kids,” Jackson said, almost magnanimously, as if interacting with one’s own children were some kind of favor. “Nice to meet you, Charlotte.”
I didn’t respond in kind, and he didn’t notice because he’d already started to walk away. “What a douchebag,” I muttered, taking another hit.
“The douchebaggery is aging like wine too,” Matt said with a note of dismay. “Every time I see him, he’s somehow slimier.”
“I’m not a rich fancy person, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how wine works,” I said. “My brother sure doesn’t like him.”
“He’s never been a Jackson fan. Although, few people are.”
“Why did your sister marry him?” It couldn’t have been for the money; the Ashes already had plenty of that. “For his sparkling personality?”