Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 103552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Someday. For now, except for Dave and Cammie and the rest of my skeleton staff, it was all me. This is why you fired Matthew, I reminded myself. Because that was what I wanted—for it to be all mine, the good and the bad, including the paperwork. I turned and headed back to my office, sliding the piles of stuff on my desk out of the way and pulling my keyboard closer. I could answer some emails before I got to the rest. Blessedly, my phone rang. I knew that tone. Sterling.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“You busy?” Sterling asked.
I eyed the screen of my computer and my full inbox. “No,” I lied. “Why? What are you up to?” I glanced at the clock. Too late for lunch, too early for dinner. She wasn’t calling to see if I wanted to grab a meal.
“I’m at Quinn’s, waiting for a guide group to come back, so I can’t leave the desk,” she said. “Can you come over?”
I caught the thrum of energy in her voice. She was excited about something. My mind immediately flipped to the night before. Fuck, how did she know about West already? Normally, I might have spilled to one of my sisters by now, even if it was just a silly text. I didn’t hook up a lot. I hadn’t dated anyone since Matthew, and not a whole lot before. But even so, I might have shared the news the morning after.
It was different when it came to West. I was trying to avoid dwelling on how complicated this could get. I hadn’t wanted to before, blinded by the idea of getting my hands on him. The lust had hit me out of nowhere. Maybe not completely out of nowhere, but after a lifetime of knowing him, everything had shifted in a heartbeat.
I told myself I’d figure it out later, half convinced that maybe it’d be a one-time thing. Curiosity satisfied, no need for repeats. Except hell no to that. Curiosity had only been whetted, and repeats were absolutely in order.
“Avery, are you there?” Sterling demanded, interrupting my thoughts. “Are you coming over?”
The anticipation in her voice had me squirming in my seat. I wasn’t ready to talk about this.
“What is it?” I asked. “I kind of am a little busy here,” I hedged, “but I could come over. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine, it’s fine. I just... I don’t want to talk on the phone. If you’re not busy, come on. I’m not far away. It’s important,” she said, putting the nail in my coffin.
I wasn’t 100% sure what was important to Sterling these days, though I could make a list: Forrest, school, and whatever sketchy hacker stuff she was doing with Griffen’s friends from Atlanta; her family; finding that jewelry designer; and yes, most likely, needling gossip out of her older sister—especially if it concerned the police chief, who was as good as family. But if Sterling said it was important...
I let out a sigh. We’d ignored what was important to Sterling for too long. No more. If she needed her big sister, I’d haul my ass over there, even if it meant her giving me crap about West. We hadn’t exactly been discreet. There’d been a ton of tourists in the draft room the night before, but plenty of locals had seen me leave with West. Fuck.
“Be there in five,” I said. I put my computer to sleep, grabbed my bag, and poked my head through the door to the taproom, catching Dave’s eye where he worked behind the bar.
“I’m headed out for a bit. Call if you need anything, okay?”
“Got it, boss,” he grinned back.
I waved and headed out the back door. It wasn’t a long walk to Sawyer Outdoor Adventures. Hawk and Griffen, and probably West, too, though we hadn’t talked about it directly, didn’t want me wandering around by myself. I wasn’t calling for a pickup to go three blocks on Main Street. Even if this side of town wasn’t as well-trafficked, it was still tourist season. Everything was crowded. There were eyes all over the place. The only people who bothered me on my walk were locals, shooting me a smile and a raised hand. I waved back.
It wasn’t long before I found myself in front of Quinn’s guide business. The parking lot was full, and the Sawyer Outdoor Adventures van was gone. Quinn could be anywhere, but my guess was leading a leaf season hike. We’d gotten lucky this year with the right temperatures, the perfect amount of rain, and the mountains were a riot of color. Yellows, oranges, reds. Everywhere I turned, it looked like a postcard. Days like these, I remembered how lucky I was to live here.
My phone beeped with a text, and I looked down, stopping in the middle of the parking lot. West.