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)
That virtue has never been my strong suit, but tonight, come hell or high water, I’m going to exercise it. After one last look at her perfect face, I turn and head for my truck.
It’s a short drive home, but it feels long, spinning thoughts racing through my mind at a million miles per hour. There are a hell of a lot of us here in Red Bridge hurting today, and for the most part, it’s not even because I’m an asshole.
My truck rocks to a stop in my parking spot in front of the bar, and I pull out my phone.
Me: I’m sorry for losing the plot today, dude. I know that shit was for Summer, not for me, and I hope you can forgive me for how I handled it. How is she?
Ben: She’s tired. So fucking tired. But I’m not ready. I’ll never be ready.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I slam my palm into the steering wheel and let out a scream. My sweet Summer girl doesn’t have much time left here on earth, and it’s so unbelievably unfair. It feels impossible, but I compose myself anyway. What Bennett must be feeling is a thousand times worse, and I have to be strong for him.
Me: You want me to come over?
Ben: Not yet. But soon.
Me: Just say the word and I’ll be there.
I’d do anything for that little girl. Anything. Sadly, though, there’s absolutely nothing I can do. There’s nothing anyone can do. Time, now, is our number one enemy.
37
Clay
Wednesday September 1st
I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep, but when I’m startled awake by the ring of my phone, I blindly reach out toward my nightstand to snag it into my hands. I have to blink several times before I can see the name on the screen, but when I see Incoming Call Josie, adrenaline surges into my veins and I’m more awake than I’ve ever been in my life.
With the way she was when I left the coffee shop last night, I thought I’d have to run ten marathons before she’d ever pick up the phone and call me, even to curse me out. When it comes to me, Josie Ellis doesn’t confront—she avoids.
“Josie?” I answer, my voice the kind of desperation most men would try to hide. Not me. I want her to know how much I love her every single fucking second, even if it makes me sound pathetic. “I was hoping you—”
“Bennett got arrested!” she interrupts.
“What?” I jump off my bed without even thinking, the words a shock to my system. I wasn’t expecting her to tell me she loved me or anything, but I sure as fuck didn’t think she’d say this either. “What the fuck do you mean, he got arrested?” I pace the hardwood floor of my bedroom and run a hand through my hair.
“Sheriff Pete took him into custody a little while ago. Apparently, Norah’s ex is back in Red Bridge, ready to stir up trouble. Breezy called me first, but Norah just got a call from Sheriff Pete to come down to the station too. We’re all on our way.”
“Fuck!” I shout at the top of my lungs as I shove a pair of jeans on over my boxer briefs. This is the last thing Ben needs right now. Summer is in her final moments, and he’s down at the police station dealing with that slimy fuckwit Thomas Kingston or whatever the fuck that rich prick’s name is? “I’m gonna be honest, Jose, I want to kill that motherfucker.”
“Get in line,” she says, not the least bit shocked by my admission. I snag a T-shirt and toss it over my head, maneuvering it around my phone and grab my keys off the kitchen counter after I shove on my boots. “We’re about five minutes out. You’re coming?”
“I’m already on my way,” I tell her and head out the front door. “Meet you guys there.”
“Thanks, Clay,” she says, and the call ends after that.
I jump into my old truck and start it up with a roar of my engine, not waiting at all before shifting into gear and flooring it. A spray of gravel flies behind me, and I squeal out of The Country Club’s parking lot on two tires.
The drive is quicker than it should be—probably because I’m going exactly forty miles over the speed limit, and I see Breezy’s rental fly into the parking lot from the other direction right ahead of me. I turn in and hit my brakes on a hard skid as I pull my truck to a stop in a parking spot right beside them. Norah and Josie get out of Breezy’s car at the same time as I hop out of my driver’s side door. I kick it shut with a slam and meet the three women on the sidewalk that leads to the front doors of the station.