Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 121210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Sheriff Peeler is yelling as he comes toward us at a run, and it’s not surprising, given his penchant for both keeping order in his town and me—having taken up an almost fatherly role for me when I came back to town at the age of eighteen—but still, I feel desperate. My ears are humming and my heart is racing, and I swear I feel like I’m in a deep pool of water.
“Josie,” I think I hear, but it’s muffled and hard to understand. “Josie, stop. It’s me,” I think I hear again, but I push harder on my assailant’s windpipe to try to get him to let go.
“Josie!” Sheriff Pete Peeler yells finally, making me breathe a sigh of undeniable relief as my attacker releases me and stumbles toward Pete.
“Oh God, Pete, I’m so glad you’re here.” My breathing is stilted and shallow, but the relief of knowing I’m safe is enough to keep me on my feet. I grab at my chest and suck in as much air as I can.
“Uh, Jose,” Pete remarks, for some reason patting the back of the guy who was just trying to kidnap me. “Is there a reason you’re attacking Clay Harris tonight?”
My head jerks up and I take a closer look, and the startling realization of who was holding on to me hits me square in the chest. Clay makes it all the worse by waving a hand like I didn’t just go psycho Hulk on his ass. “Hey, babe.”
“Oh my God, Clay!” I rush over to him. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were a stranger or one of those guys I messed with during my cheater-catching phase!”
“S’all right, babe,” he says again, still struggling to breathe. “Really. I’ll probably barely even bruise.”
“I was caught off guard!” I exclaim, my chest tight from the remnants of adrenaline that are still rolling around in my veins. “And I thought I was supposed to call you! What are you even doing here?”
“Because I needed to see you. It’s safe to say I’ve been catching you off guard a lot lately, huh?” Clay manages, his voice still a little gruff. “Like when I told you I loved you last night. Caught you off guard,” he says then, right in front of Sheriff Peeler.
My eyes widen, and Pete whistles, turning away on his heel but not leaving. His ass is just as nosy as the rest of this town. A normal person would dismiss themselves from the conversation now that there’s no need for the law anymore, but not Pete. He’s got to get the whole scoop so he can get the story right for all of his gossip cronies.
“Clay, I…” I pause, completely out of my depth and unsure of what to say. Being vulnerable with my words isn’t my strong suit. Has never been my strong suit. I blame my mother for that.
“Don’t worry, Jose,” Clay says, a warm smile on his lips as he moves closer to me. “I know you love me.”
“You do?” I look into Clay’s sweet eyes and fall head over feet into his smile.
“Oh yeah, babe. I’m afraid of a lot of things, but you not loving me back isn’t one of them.” He reaches out for my hand and holds it in his, rubbing at the skin with the pad of his thumb. It’s a simple touch, but the effect is electric. “I want to be official, Josie. Me and you. A real live couple. Two people in it together with the goal of staying together.”
“I…I want that too,” I admit. Everything is better with Clay.
“Well, all right, then,” Pete finally says, tipping his hat. “You all let me know if you have any real needs for police assistance.”
I shake my head as he leaves, and Clay pulls me into a hug so tight I can hardly breathe. “I’m sorry I scared you. And that I’m always embarrassing you. And that I haven’t convinced you it’s safe to tell me you love me yet.”
I roll my eyes.
“But I want to be official, and I want to do it in a way where we have a toothbrush at each other’s places.”
I snort. “You want a toothbrush at Grandma Rose’s house?”
He nods.
“She’s my grandma, Clay.”
“Yeah, doll. How do you think she got that moniker? It wasn’t by following in the Virgin Mary’s footsteps.”
I cover my eyes in mortification. “Good grief.”
“Don’t blush, baby. It’s true. Your grandma is no fool. She knows what goes on between a man and a woman, and she knows you’re no kid anymore. I want a toothbrush there. And I want you to have one at my place too. Fair’s fair.”
“What’s with the urgency? You had to accost me as I was leaving work to tell me this?”
“Uh, yeah. Because time’s always ticking, and every second I spend not telling you what you mean to me is a second I don’t want to spend.”