Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
She’s on the run.
She wants a life that is full and staying at her parent’s compound meant she would forfeit her future.
I am a real Rough man, with a desperate urge to protect her.
Whatever the cost, justice will be served.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
MAC
Another week, another family dinner. As is the tradition of the Rough family.
A ritual we’re all fully dedicated to, a call we answer without question. Lately with all my brothers and sisters getting married, it’s been a bit of a drag, but I guess I'd start to miss it if I stopped going.
I sip my beer as I look around the table. It’s gotten a hell of a lot more crowded over the past few years, that much I have to say. It used to be just us Rough kids, plus Mom and Dad, but life goes on and we’ve found more people just as important to us as family.
“So with Tallie coming to the table, I guess Mac is next,” Rye says, a huge grin on his face.
“Oh fucking hell,” I reply, shaking my head and massaging my temples. “Don’t start this.”
“It’s tradition,” Graham adds. “They gave me my share of the shit, and look what happened.”
“Coincidences happen. Isn’t it supposed to be Mom pestering me about marriage and children and not my siblings?”
“Mom needs a break,” Lemon chimes in. “We’re just covering for her.”
It’s been like this every week for my whole twenty years. All of us gathered around a big meal, ribbing each other and having fun. I know a lot of other families only get together once or twice a year at most. I should be thankful I have this support network, as annoying as it gets sometimes.
And I am. I’d miss these big get-togethers and everything that comes with them if they stopped. They’re my family and I love them despite how they sometimes try to rile me up.
My parents had seven kids, and five of them are already married. Only Fig and I remain, and I’m a little older than her. She’s not here, she’s off at college, getting an education to be a fashion designer. I don’t know exactly what she wants in life, but whatever it is, my parents fully supported her. Go get whatever you’re after, Fig, I’m behind you too.
In the meantime, though, that means all attention around the dinner table is on me.
“How about we ignore the fact that I’m single for a bit and talk about that hunting trip we’re planning next week,” I say, determined to get the heat off me.
All the guys at the table start averting their eyes from me, glancing away, including Dad.
“Are we not going up to our cabin in the mountains for hunting next week?”
“Yeah, about that,” Bart says, slicking his hair back. “Meadow and I have something scheduled with her sister. She’s really been looking forward to it, and...”
“Same with Prairie,” Rye adds. “Well, not her sister. But it’s our three-year anniversary and I wanted to treat her to something special.”
“It’s Lucy’s birthday next week,” Graham says, frowning.
“And Plum’s kindergarten graduation,” Reuben continues to nail the coffin of my hunting trip hopes shut.
“Dad? What about you?” I look his way. I work with Dad, Rye, and Reuben. None of them mentioned any of this to me.
“Sorry, Mac. Fig called me the other day and it’s her school’s parents week. Your mother and I are headed down to California to spend time with her.”
I grit my teeth.
I’d been looking forward to this. It’s a seasonal thing for us. A big, long weekend, where we go to the cabin we built and just chill. Spending time, just the guys. Prime male bonding, that has the side effect of hunting enough venison to last us a year.
I don’t hold it against my brothers’ wives, or my sister. But the hunting trip is tradition just like family dinner. We’ve done it every year since I could remember. Feels like the last vestiges of my childhood are slipping away.
Maybe it’s for the best. I have to realize everything’s changing. I’m twenty-three years old, I’ve been legally an adult for half a decade. I couldn’t have expected everything to go on forever.
I force a smile on my face. “It’s fine. Really, it is.”
I should be happy for them that they’ve got so much going on.
“You’re welcome to head up to the mountains alone, Mac,” Dad says. “The cabin belongs to all of us. It can be used for far more than just a hunting lodge.”
“Thanks, Dad. Maybe I will.” Maybe a bit of solitude will give me time to think, and considering how everything is different now might renew my appreciation for the time we did have. If nothing else? I could use the challenge. Dad’s presence always made hunting easy what with everything he did for us to keep the weekend running smoothly.
Not to mention that I definitely feel a bit of jealousy toward all of them. Their sweet relationships mean so much to them. Completing them. Making them much happier than I’ve ever seen them.
I’d love to have someone that means that much to me in my life. But with a billion people on this planet, it feels so impossible to find ‘the one’.