Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“I suspect my vision as well.”
Her chuckle was warm. “It’s like, yes, he wants you here, and is helping me with keeping you, but he also does not want to cut ties with you. It’s really very flattering.”
She was not a beautiful woman, but instead a handsome one with dark-tanned, flawless skin with bronze undertones, deep-set sepia eyes, great laugh lines, high cheekbones, and thick silver hair that fell rod straight to her shoulders. When you thought about what someone with the name Higheagle would look like, she was exactly what I’d have pictured. Utterly unforgettable.
“That’s a yes, then?”
I smiled at her. “Of course it is.”
“You can start next Monday.”
“Thank you for the opportunity.”
“No, thank you. You’re the only one remotely qualified.”
We were quiet a moment.
“I thought the Eena police station was going to become an arbitration center.”
“That kind of space isn’t needed for a one-man operation.”
That was true. “So what’s going to happen to the building?”
“It’s being turned into a youth center.”
I couldn’t think of anything better.
At lunchtime, I stopped by the supermarket for a couple of things we’d forgotten to get the day before, and all the parents I knew and waved at seemed exhausted. We’d all come through the same wave of stomach flu over fall break. When Luke called, I was still chuckling.
“What’s funny?” he asked as I made the left onto our street.
“Everyone at the store looked like absolute hammered shit.”
“Well, half of Tatum’s class today was still out.”
“Easy to see how things like typhoid got around, isn’t it?”
“Yes, now, listen. I want us to go get you an SUV this weekend. The Jeep’s not big enough. It’s time for an upgrade.”
I told him about my new job, and he was thrilled. Anything that cemented me more firmly in his life, he was a fan of.
“There, see? New job, new life, new car. It’s a sign.”
I smiled into the phone.
“Oh, and guess what—apparently I’m oblivious.”
“In what way?”
“Really?”
“What? It was a question.”
“Yeah, but I like how you didn’t say, What? You? No. Not you.”
I scoffed. “Just tell me.”
“Two of the guys on my crew, Matteo and Tim, they’ve been together for three years and are planning a wedding in the spring.”
“Huh,” I said, and muted him so he couldn’t hear me laughing.
“You muted me, didn’t you?”
It was crazy how well he knew me.
“How did I miss that, Nash?”
Waiting until I had all the laughing out of my system, I unmuted. “So it stands to reason that no one on your crew will care that their boss is bisexual.”
“Apparently not.” He sounded indignant.
“I might remind you that this is a good thing.”
“Nobody ever tells me anything.”
“I’m sorry, honey.”
He cleared his throat. “Where are you?”
“I’m on our street and will soon be pulling into our driveway. Then I’ll unload the small number of items that were forgotten yesterday at the store.”
“Like?”
“Cat litter, for one. Toothpaste, baking soda for some kind of science project, and Tatum needed blue hair dye because she and Anya want mermaid hair.”
It took a moment.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Just, her hair’s gonna be blue. Like, a bright neon blue.”
“And the school said that’s fine?”
“Yep, sure did.”
“Okay, whatever. What’re you gonna do after you put groceries and blue hair dye away?”
“Then I will finish the last of the notes on the job that brought me here so Owen can send a note to the accountant that the billing stopped the day you arrived home.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because Jared Colter always cuts the bill off from the day two people fall in love. As he says, that’s only good karma.”
“That’s very interesting.”
God. He was going to be insufferable.
“You realize the fact that the man has a stipulation like that in his contract speaks to how many fixers leave for love.”
“No.”
“Please. I was right. I was right the whole time, and you were giving me grief that day.”
“Fine. Maybe it happens every now and then,” I granted.
“Now and then my ass!” he crowed.
“Let it go.”
“You’re so full of crap,” he replied, laughing softly. “And you’ll be happy to know I invited Abel to come here whenever it’s convenient. He’s hoping to visit us right after New Year’s.”
“That’s amazing. I’m very proud of you.”
“Well, he sent you to me, so I have to thank him, and anyone who loves my kids and wants to protect them is someone they should know.”
Pulling into our driveway, waiting for the garage door to open, once I parked and got out, the second I turned toward the trunk, Wilson was there. If I hadn’t been on the phone with Luke, paying more attention to him than my surroundings, I might have seen Wilson on the side of the house, because that was the only place he could have come from. As it was, he was standing in front of me, leveling a Sig Sauer P229 Legion at the center of my chest. It must’ve been his duty weapon, which should’ve been removed during his issues with the law over the past month. Strange the things that went through your head, logical things, when faced with possible death.