Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“I know my daughter hopes you and I will become something,” he said. “And she doesn’t know the half of it—that we were something. That we will always be something, no matter where our lives take us. The connection we had never left. It’s just been smoldering for years.” He reached out to brush my hair aside. “But the fact remains, your life isn’t here. You don’t live in Dry River anymore. Yet this is where I am. This is where I have to be, and add to that the fact that any partner in my life will basically become a mother to Effie by default. It’s why I’ve always made sure the women I’ve dated never got too close because no one has ever been worthy of Effie’s heart. The last thing I ever want is to hurt her—or you—ever again.”
I let that sink in for a moment. “I love that you protect Effie so fiercely. She can’t afford another heartbreak. I get it.” Looking down at the pink note still in my hand, I cringed. Have sex with me, it read.
“I hate that note for ending our friendship,” he said. “But in a weird way, without it, we might not have gotten where we are today. You wouldn’t have left and become successful, and I wouldn’t have Effie. Me giving it back to you is a full-circle moment. You can burn it. Do whatever you want with it.”
I decided to make light of it. “Oh, you thought I said sex?” I joked. “Well, no wonder you acted weird all these years.”
He chuckled. “What does it actually say?”
I pointed to the note. “That clearly says Chex. The cereal?”
He laughed. “Oh yeah?”
“I was only asking you to have cereal with me. So you freaked out for nothing.” I winked.
“What a dumbass I am.” He smacked his head in jest.
“What are you guys laughing about?” a little voice said.
We turned to find Effie in the doorway.
“Sorry we woke you,” I said.
This house was way too small and the walls too thin.
She rubbed her eyes. “What’s so funny?”
“We were just talking about cereal,” Evan told her.
“That’s silly.” She yawned.
He pointed toward her room. “Go back to bed, baby. I promise we won’t wake you again.”
She nodded and turned away. After she disappeared down the hall, I stood and stepped away from the edge of the bed where we’d been sitting.
“I’d better go to sleep, too.”
As I walked away, Evan stopped me. “Hey.”
I turned. “Yeah?”
“Despite every seemingly logical thing I’ve said tonight, if you ever ask me to have Chex again, I’m gonna eat the shit out of it and lick the bowl clean.”
Chapter 27
* * *
EVAN
From Effie’s perspective, this was the biggest day of the year: my uncle Drew’s annual Halloween party. Drew always turned his place into a haunted house and invited half of Dry River. The only requirement for admittance was that you came in costume.
The day had started off right because somehow my daughter let me sleep in. I couldn’t remember the last time Effie had allowed me to stay in bed for any amount of time on a Saturday. Normally, she was my alarm clock, always wanting something special for breakfast on her day off from school.
But this particular morning, I got up at ten AM, and it felt like half of the day was over. The coffee was already made, but it was still hot on the machine. And there were some waffles sitting on a plate, waiting for me.
Yet the house was quiet. It didn’t seem like Chloe and Effie were here. What the hell?
Then I looked out the window and spotted them. I could hear Effie’s muffled giggles through the glass. They were stuffing hay into a scarecrow. It dawned on me that last week at dinner, Chloe had promised Effie they could make one for Halloween. Now that I knew my daughter hadn’t flown the coop, I relaxed and poured myself a cup of coffee, bringing it over to the window. As I sipped, I felt almost euphoric as I watched them make the scarecrow. They’d stolen a flannel shirt and a pair of my jeans for the task. How had I not noticed them in my room? I couldn’t even be mad about it.
I opened the door and stepped outside, the cold fall air perking me up even more. “How long have you two been at this?”
“Since eight.” Chloe looked over. “I promised her today was the day, so she got me up early, but I made sure she ate breakfast before we started.”
“How come you didn’t wake me up?”
“We didn’t need you, Daddy.”
“We decided—right, Effie?—that your dad could sleep in for once.” Chloe winked. “So we were quiet.”
If there was one thing I knew, it had certainly not been my daughter’s idea to let me sleep. Effie liked nothing more than waking me up on weekends. Chloe had granted me the gift of a good night’s sleep. You couldn’t put a price on that. I basked in the warm feeling of knowing she was looking out for me. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had truly cared about my well-being.