Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
I got a bunch of food, making sure to refill my cheese sticks—Tillamook Sharp Cheddar was seriously the best thing ever invented—and headed to the checkout within ten minutes of arriving.
I smiled tightly at the woman who tried to get me to speak to her about the lottery and her chances of winning, and left before she could add anything more to the conversation.
When I got home, Bernice was already in bed, so I ate alone standing up at my kitchen counter.
I stared out over the length of my backyard for a while, wishing that winter in Montana wasn’t quite so debilitating. I’d never given much thought to anyone outside of Alabama before, choosing to focus on the hell that was my life rather than dwell on anyone or anything else.
But now that I lived here, I wondered how native Montanans ever found joy in the winter.
This place was a massive winter wonderland, sure. But that would get old.
Hell, it was already old.
“What are you doing staring out the window like a creeper?”
I looked over my shoulder at my sister. “Wondering how I never thought about anyone or any place other than Alabama and the people that dwelled there. I didn’t care about snow or whomever had to deal with it. I was just sitting here thinking about how sucky this is. Right now in Alabama we could be outside playing football on the beach. The water would be a bit chilly, but there wouldn’t be a thick blanket of snow on the ground with tons of snow on the way.”
“Stop being a little bitch, Creed.” She deliberately put emphasis on my new moniker. “And how about you start, I don’t know, building a snowman?”
I flipped her off. “But my nose always feels like it’s going to fall off. Even when it was September.”
“You’ll get used to it,” she teased. “And so will I.”
I scowled at her.
“I already let my apartment manager know that I was leaving. I’m flying home tomorrow morning. Your friend Odin said he’d give me a ride to the airport because my flight is leaving at six. He said he has to be somewhere by five, and can give me a ride. I’m on his way.”
I sighed. “You’re sure?”
She winked. “I’m more than sure.”
With that, she pecked me on the cheek and went back to her room just as quietly as she’d arrived.
I took myself to bed, trying not to think about what the future might hold.
Because if I did think about it, a certain curly-haired brunette was front and center, with my baby sister right there beside her.
The next morning, I was up at the crack of dawn because my sister was not a quiet person, my mind spinning a thousand miles an hour, with nobody to blame but myself.
Bernice had left an hour ago after banging around the house for an hour. Odin picked her up in his massive, loud-ass truck that woke the dead.
After they left, I counted the planks of wood on the ceiling, wondering if I brought Birdee coffee…
My phone rang, and I glanced down at it, contemplating whether I should answer it or not.
Since the number was local, I decided to answer it, but only because I sometimes had to do stuff for the club when I was a prospect that required me to answer any and all local phone calls.
“Hello?” I asked I sat up in bed then swung my legs over the side and got up.
The chilly air hit me like a slap in the face.
“Is this Creed Daugherty?”
I paused just inside the door to the bathroom before saying, “This is Creed.”
“This is Nicole Wightman with Great Dane’s. I’m sorry to have to make this phone call, but something happened to Birdee Calvert. She’s on the way to the hospital right now.”
My stomach sank. “What happened?”
Eighteen
Or, what if, hear me out: No.
—Text from Birdee to Shade
Birdee
“Why do you think they like getting started so early in the morning?” Charleigh asked.
I wondered the same thing.
When I’d interviewed, one of the interview questions I’d been asked was if I was an early riser.
I’d answered honestly, letting them know that I wasn’t necessarily a morning person, but that didn’t mean that it would stop me from doing my job.
They’d told me after asking that they generally tried to get started working by six-thirty in the morning.
At the time, I’d been so desperate to get a job that I hadn’t thought to question why the time was so early.
Now that I had it, I kind of wanted to know the answer.
“I actually meant to ask Nicole yesterday, but forgot,” I admitted.
“I did, too,” she said as she opened a can of beans and started to eat straight out of the can.
“What are you doing?” I wondered.
“Eating beans?” She shrugged as she scooped up some beans.