Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25885 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25885 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
“I was—” I start.
“The desk fell—” Ms. Cotton says at the same time.
The girl backs away. “I didn’t see anything.” She laughs a little and whirls around so her back is to us.
I run a hand through my hair. Hope this doesn’t get back to Dunc. I’ll have to explain it when he gets home.
“Sadie, did you get the homework?” another voice, a deeper, masculine one says.
“I’ll come back later,” the girl says. She’s just out of the doorway, so I can’t see who she’s talking to. Not that I really care.
I dip my head to Ms. Cotton. “Sorry about that, ma’am. Dunc will tell you that I’m kind of a clumsy lug.”
“I highly doubt that. You run one of the most successful businesses in the city. I know you’re very bright just like your son.”
“I can’t take credit for that.” For all intents and purposes, I’m Dunc’s dad. He calls me Dad. I raised him, but I’m listed on all his forms as his guardian. I’ve never adopted him because that required terminating his parents’ rights, and I couldn’t do that to my brother and his wife. It wouldn’t be right.
“You’re so modest.” Ms. Cotton beams at me.
“Just go in there and get it. It’s school hours so Teach shouldn’t be doing anything but working on lesson plans and grading tests.” The male voice gets louder.
Ms. Cotton’s cheeks grow pink again, but this time I don’t think it’s embarrassment but irritation. She turns toward the door and opens her mouth, but before she can get a word out, I hear a thud.
The girl’s backpack falls out of her hand to the floor.
“What in the hell, Sadie—” The male’s voice trails off. I look up and am knocked back on my heels.
“Holy shit, Van, he looks like you,” the girl says.
Her voice feels like it’s coming from the end of a tunnel. I shake my head, trying to dislodge the odd sensation, trying to get a grip on what’s in front of me. If I had a long-lost son, it’d look just like this kid. Long-lost…
“How old are you?” I blurt out.
The boy’s lip curls. “None of your fucking business.” He grabs the girl’s hand, and the two disappear from the doorway. My feet get unstuck, and I burst forward, only to be halted by Duncan’s sudden appearance.
“Dad? You look like you saw a ghost.”
CHAPTER 4
FISCHL
I can hear Van and Sadie bickering before I enter the kitchen. I’m guessing their school day didn’t go as planned. The second Sebastian and I enter the room, they both stop speaking.
They have been as thick as thieves their whole lives. It’s why when Sebastian opened a new firm in River Oaks, we all moved here together. They might not be blood, but you’d never know it. Those two even gang up on Sebastian and me.
“I assume the second day of your new school wasn’t as good as the first?” I felt bad sending them to a new school so late in life.
They’re seniors, so it wasn’t the ideal situation to move them, but I thought it might be okay since they had each other. Plus, Sadie wasn’t feeling her old high school. Van, on the other hand, didn’t care where he went to school.
He has always been more quiet, not that he misses anything. He likes to take in his surroundings. So often he reminds me of his father. When I first met Cooper, everyone told me he strolled through life not giving a shit about anything except what was in his path.
I didn’t see that in him… until it was too late. I try not to dwell on that part.
I’d been in Cooper’s path at one time, so I was treated differently. He was always sweet and loving to me. I ate it up. My parents had always been cold. There was never affection shown toward me. Cooper showered me in it, and I soaked all of it in. So much so I ended up pregnant.
It seemed like in a blink of an eye I wasn’t in his path anymore; he was on to other things. What those other things are, I have no clue. I told myself I’d never forgive him the day those documents turned up showing he’d signed his rights away to our baby. I only pray I don’t run into him.
River Oaks isn’t far from where I met Cooper, but that was a lifetime ago. Even if in my dreams it feels like yesterday. Sometimes I swear I can still taste him on my lips or feel his lips against me. I know it’s insane to even think of him in that way after everything, but unfortunately, the heart wants what it wants.
Those papers giving away custody of our son had flipped a switch in me. I went into protective mode. I promised myself I’d never waste another second on him or another man that could hurt me in that way.