Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Silence dominated the room for far too long. My skin had begun to crawl, and my heart hammered until it was practically the only thing I could hear in my ears. Cold crept into my fingers and dug into my joints, sapping away what courage I had cobbled together since leaving the house. I wished Simon were there to hold my hand, to whisper that it was all going to be okay. Battling his demons and protecting him made me strong. Facing my own left me scared and wanting to cling to him.
“I’m gonna fucking kick his ass,” Rome muttered.
“Who? Me or Sawyer?”
“Both.” Rome paused, and I swore I could see him nodding in my mind. “Yes, both. Sawyer for accusing you of such a thing and you for not telling us what the asshole said.”
“I’m inclined to agree with Rome,” Declan stated, looking put out that he agreed with Rome.
“Ha! I knew we were more alike than you claimed.” Rome cackled, breaking the last of the tension in the room.
Sebastian reached across the coffee table that separated us and placed his hand on my wrist, squeezing lightly. I lifted my gaze to meet his sad eyes. “Sawyer was wrong to say what he did, and I truly think he would have apologized if he’d had the chance.”
I flashed him a weak smile that fell away almost as soon as it formed. The fear had subsided, but there were old worries and dark thoughts that still plagued me. “Simon said the same thing.”
“Well, Simon is Sawyer’s brother. He would probably know best,” Rome chimed in.
“But what about now? I promised Sawyer that I would always keep Simon safe. There’s no way he’d be okay with me dating his brother.”
“You don’t know that!” Rome snapped. “Oh, shit. Sorry. Sorry.” That was said in a whisper, and we snickered at him. Rome must have forgotten that he was at the library, and he’d disturbed some people with his outburst.
“He’s right. Sawyer had trouble with the idea of a twenty-one-year-old you with his thirteen-year-old brother. That makes sense. Simon is…what? Twenty-five? Twenty-six now?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“And you’re thirty-five,” Sebastian continued. “You’re both more than old enough to figure out your relationship stuff on your own. You don’t need a dead guy meddling in your life.”
“That’s our job,” Declan cut in.
There was a long second of silence as Sebastian and I stared at Declan after his unexpected statement. Rome burst out laughing like a hyena only to murmur more apologies.
“He’s right. We want you to be happy. Worrying about what Sawyer would want or think so many years later doesn’t make any sense,” Sebastian said.
“I know. I know. It’s just…it’s hard to shake off. It was literally the last conversation we had before he died. To date Simon now feels like I’m betraying him.”
“There’s one way to settle this,” Declan mumbled as he pushed to his feet. He strode across the office and jerked open one of the doors. “Kaylan!” he called out, to our surprise.
“What’s going on? I can’t see or hear anything? How is Declan going to settle things?”
Sebastian didn’t have a chance to answer him. Kaylan seemed to appear magically at the doorway. “What can I do for you, Mr. Foster?”
“Clear Sebastian’s schedule for the rest of today and tomorrow. Also, contact Sebastian’s pilot and mechanic. We’re taking his plane to Charlotte, North Carolina. We need to leave as soon as possible.”
“What?” I gasped. He wanted to go to North Carolina? Now?
After Kaylan hurried away to make his long series of phone calls, Declan closed the door and walked over to where we were seated. “Rome, find someone to cover for you at work and meet us at Lunken as soon as possible. We’re going to see Sawyer.” Declan looked at me, and his gaze was surprisingly gentle. “You need the chance to say your piece and close the door on this part of your past. It’s keeping you from being happy. That’s not what Sawyer would have wanted for you or his brother.”
As much as I dreaded it, I knew he was right. It was time to tell Sawyer how I felt.
23
PIERCE SUTTON
The sun was setting as we pulled through the big iron gates of the cemetery where Sawyer was buried. The air was chilly and damp, but at least it was warmer than Cincinnati. Bare limbs stretched out over the winding road, casting eerie shadows across the grounds as we followed the winding road to Sawyer’s plot.
I’d talked to Simon briefly on the phone before we left for Lunken Airport to see if he wanted to accompany us, but he’d turned me down immediately, saying that I had more to talk about with his brother than he did. I got the impression that Simon wished to cool off prior to seeing his brother again. It was likely he’d stomp on his brother’s grave if he visited right now.