Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 113270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“You don’t own the name,” Logan asserts, his smile as brittle as Bennett’s high notes.
“How about the two of you call me Tad since that’s my name,” I suggest. “And I’m not the problem. The three of us being dismissed to the outdoors without any answers or resolution to why the heck you were shouting down the whole world while Breezy cried in the first place is the problem.” I sigh. “Not to mention, this burn barrel is getting a little wild.”
“Zip it, Ted,” they say in unison, making me sigh.
Autumn is still on Bennett’s hip, and he hands her a piece of cardboard, which she tosses into the fire hazard burn barrel with glee. “Burns! Poof!” she exclaims in glee, making her little pigtails bounce up and down.
Bennett looks over at me, and whatever he sees on my face makes him chuckle like a real asshole. “Don’t get your panties in a twist over the barrel, Ted,” he says. “There’s too much snow to start a forest fire. And trust me, if I wanted to blow up your farm, I would’ve done it a long fu—effin’ time ago.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell Bennett—and that dickhead Logan too, frankly—to fuck off, but being responsible for one toddler-repeated f-bomb is enough on my conscience for the day.
“You know, Ted, I am curious, though. Why are you still here? In fact, why are you here at all?” Bennett asks, his eyes moving back to me as his gaze searches my face closely. “Even though Logan isn’t welcome here, I know why he showed up like an uninvited di—dummy. But you? I don’t—”
Before he can finish that thought, Norah and Breezy bust out of the house.
“We’ll be back!” Norah calls out, making pointed eye contact with Bennett as she leads the way by holding open the door and ushering Breezy through.
“Where are you going? When will you be back?” Bennett asks, and Norah doesn’t hesitate to answer with straight-up sass.
“None of your business. And we’ll be back when we get home.” No doubt, she’s still ticked off about the scuffle that just occurred in her house.
“Love you, Nore,” Bennett says, the man clearly trying to gauge just how pissed his wife is.
“Love you too, you big dummy!”
Bennett just chuckles, still holding Autumn on his hip, and the two of them wave bye to Norah and Breezy.
I fight to meet Breezy’s eyes the entire time, but she clutches her purse and takes great interest in the ground. So much so, I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew the count of every blade of grass.
I step away from the contentious bachelor group without delay, following closely behind the two women as they make haste toward Norah’s car. My posture is as sheepish as my flock, however, since the last thing I want to be is antagonistic. She’s already upset, and I don’t want to make it worse. “Breeze,” I implore. “Can I talk to you?”
She shakes her head, and Norah steps in front of her, blocking me like a professional football defensive end. Her small stature suddenly seems like a six-four, three-hundred-pound hologram of Myles Garrett. “Now isn’t a good time. Later. Try again later.”
“I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
“She’s fine,” Norah answers for her again.
“I’d love to hear that from her,” I say as kindly as I can. Not only is none of this Norah’s fault, but there are two very angry wolves temporarily pretending this is Show Tunes on Tour for the sake of the adorable toddler in Bennett’s arms. One wrong move, and I’m liable to be worm food. “Breeze, please,” I beg.
“I’m good, Tad,” she says, but her smile is fucking brittle. “Promise. Upset. A little off, but nothing you need to worry about right now, okay?”
“We’ll talk later?” I ask, needing the confirmation for some godforsaken reason. Her avoidance should be the excuse I need to shut down and bug off. Her business shouldn’t be my business. That’s part of keeping it casual—leaving the care and emotions at the moment of intimacy, no more, no less.
And yet, if the burn in my chest is any indication right now, when it comes to Breezy Bishop, all my usual careful boundaries left and slammed the door behind themselves a long fucking time ago.
“Yes.” She nods. “We’ll talk later. I promise.”
I take a deep breath as Norah ushers Breezy forward again, settling her into the passenger side of her car and then rounding the hood to climb inside. Her eyes guard everything, and I watch avidly as she cranks the engine and swoops a broad turn around in the gravel drive. I don’t take my eyes off the taillights until they’re completely out of the driveway.
When I eventually do turn back to Bennett and Logan and the burn barrel, danger is waiting for me in the form of two sets of very ominously keen eyes.