Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
I took a sip of my coffee and tried not to think about tonight being my last. “My dad called. He sends his best wishes for a fast recovery and says he has lots of tips for getting healthier.”
“Oh, good. He looked so great yesterday. And how cute were he and Julia on the dance floor together?”
“He seemed happy,” I agreed. Julia was exactly as everyone had described—lively, beautiful, kind, and best of all, she truly appeared to adore my father. She lit up whenever he looked her way, and he was obviously just as enamored, eagerly opening doors for her, pulling out her chair, offering his arm when they walked side by side. I’d never seen that side of him. It made me feel good to know he would not be lonely.
“He really did. And it was adorable that he stood in for Lexi’s dad.” Sighing, she tipped her head onto my shoulder. “It was a beautiful wedding. I’m sorry we had to leave early.”
“Don’t be. Devlin texted and said he and Lexi are thinking of your family, and they were glad you were there.”
“That’s sweet.” She straightened up and yawned. “Can I ask you for one last favor?”
“Of course.”
“Can you run me home so I can clean up and get my car? Then I’ll come back and give my mom a chance to go grab a shower. When she gets back, I’ll head to the diner.”
“Is that all you need? A ride?”
“Yes.” She paused. “What time is your flight tomorrow?”
“Eight a.m.”
She looked down at her coffee cup, flicking the edge of the plastic lid with her thumb. “Your dad will want to see you tonight.”
“We’re all getting together for dinner at his house at six.” I put a hand on her leg. “Can I see you afterward?”
“I won’t be home from the diner until after ten.”
“I don’t mind.”
“You have to get up so early, Dash. It’s an hour and a half drive to the airport.”
“I know.”
“Won’t everyone think it’s weird that you’re leaving to go somewhere on your last night home?”
“I think they all know what’s going on by now. And if they ask, I’ll tell them the truth. I want to see you before I go.” I met her eyes. “Is it okay?”
Her eyes filled, and she nodded. “It’s okay. I can’t promise I won’t be a little emotional.”
“Lucky for you, I’m an expert at emotions now.” I put my arm around her, kissed her temple. “Don’t worry about a thing.”
Outside, the skies had turned gray, and raindrops were just starting to fall. After dropping her off, I went home and crashed for a couple hours, lulled to sleep by the gentle roll of thunder and the steady hum of rain showers on the roof. When I woke up, I did some laundry, including my sheets, and packed up most of my things. I was hoping to spend the night at Ari’s house. Then I called Beatrix, who didn’t answer, so I left a message.
“Hey, this is Dashiel Buckley. I’m just wondering if you heard anything more from Katherine Carroll’s team about Tuesday. Let me know, thanks.”
I sent a quick text to Ari checking in, and she said she was back at the hospital. There were no changes in her dad’s condition, but she was pretty sure he’d have a bypass within the next few days.
My dad and Julia arrived home in the early afternoon, and the rest of my family came for dinner around six, even Devlin and Lexi. Since everyone was exhausted from the weekend, it was a fairly early night, Austin heading out with Veronica and the twins by eight, followed fairly quickly by Xander and Kelly, then Devlin and Lexi. Mabel, who was staying at the house, trailed me upstairs, leaving just Dad and Julia in the living room.
“Have you heard from Ari?” she asked, following me into my room.
“No. I was hoping you had.”
“Nope.” She flopped across the foot of my bed, head propped in her hand. “I feel so bad for her. She’s so close to her dad.”
“I think he’ll be okay.” I started placing the last of my clean laundry into my suitcase.
“Ari said you guys spent a lot of time together while you were home.”
“I guess.”
“She said you were really good to her. Helped her out a lot. Even took her to see some kind of food truck.”
I shrugged, moving some things around in my bag. “I just want to encourage her to believe in herself. Her parents are a little stuck in their ways, and some dickhead ex of hers made her doubt her talent.”
“I know. She was a wreck after that. But she sounds so much better now. Whatever you said to her really did sink in. She told me she wanted to talk to her parents about the truck—of course, that was before everything with her dad.”