Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Every second of my life is a reminder of her and what I’ve lost. The last thing I need is a fucking app letting me know she needs to be fucked.
Should’ve gone with the donor.
Her words eat away at me from the inside like a cancer that has no discernible preference.
What she was saying was that she regretted that time we spent together. She’d rather have a doctor use medical technology to impregnate her than have me touching her.
I wonder how many times she scrubbed at her skin to try and erase the memory of my touch.
But my brain isn’t fully on board with her exit from my life, and thinking of her in the fucking shower takes me on a much different path.
“Fuck!” I snap, slamming my hand on the steering wheel as I turn onto Main Street.
I regret the mini outburst the second I look over and see a child about nine or ten watching me with a frown. I have no doubt the kid is more than capable of reading lips.
I smile, the best one I can manage, and give him a little wave. I’ll make sure to try and find him in the crowd during the parade and toss him an extra handful of candy.
“Shit,” I grumble, making sure my lips don’t move as much.
I forgot to go to the store and get candy for the parade.
No wonder the damned fire station wins every year. I can’t stay organized for anything.
I’m running through a list of things I’ve forgotten for today as I pull into my normal parking spot at the police station. All cruisers have been parked closer to the center of the town square as a form of decoration for the town to see. I have no doubt Harper, who works as the office manager of the fire station, suggested that purposely because they have a ladder on one of their rigs that needs to be replaced and she wants the townsfolk to see it, hoping it will increase donations.
I jerk when knuckles hit my window.
Eastyn is grinning on the other side, and her smile doesn’t falter even when I can’t manage to smile back.
“I don’t know why I parked,” I grumble. “I have to go to the store.”
“The Fresh Quest Grocer is closed today, just like every other business in town.”
Not every business in town is closed. Boone Myer, the owner of the local mechanic shop, has never fallen in line with what others do. His shop for example is named The Garage instead of something with a pun in it. It’s another thing that has been brought up more than once at the town hall meetings. They’ve since enacted a rule about the city council having business name approval, but Boone’s business was grandfathered in.
“I’ll have to go into town. I forgot candy for the parade.”
“I grabbed four bags when I went to the courthouse.”
“Eastyn—”
I snap my mouth closed when I spot Chandler walking up, not missing the way his eyes drop to her ass before he looks over at me. The man may be heartbroken, we buried his father only a few days ago, but he’s still a man. Sometimes I hate my gender.
I mean, I see the appeal. Eastyn is a beautiful woman. She’s just not Adalynn, and that has always been enough to keep me from seeing her as anything but an employee.
“That’s very thoughtful of you. Give me the receipt on Monday and I’ll pay you back.”
She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind as she steps back and gives Chandler a spot in this small impromptu meeting.
“Hey,” I say as I climb out of my truck and shake his hand. “I didn’t know if you were going to be here today.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” he tells me, taking my proffered hand. “Pop loved this competition. He always gave me shit for being a cop rather than joining the winning team. Sorry for the language.”
Eastyn frowns, as if realizing she’s not as much a part of the team as she considered herself. “I’ve heard worse.”
“Still,” Chandler says, his eyes darting from hers back to mine, like I’m going to chastise him like a child for cussing. “It’s disrespectful.”
“Fuck it,” she says with a shoulder shrug.
Laughter erupts from my throat, and Chandler’s ears turn pink.
I spend a minute looking between the two of them. I have no doubt Eastyn would chew him up and spit him out. I think Eastyn has a little bit of a wild side to her that Chandler could never keep up with.
“Okay,” she says, clapping her hands. “This is the year the Guns win it all.”
I follow behind her as she turns toward the town square. I don’t pop her bubble. I know us coming in dead last will do it soon enough.
“You know,” I begin. “As the office manager, you can take part in this competition too.”