Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
I kept going.
“The favor I need to ask, and I know this isn’t about me, and it’s definitely not the time…I also know that if anyone will understand when the time is, you will. So I wanted to ask you to explain that to them. I didn’t handle our visit well, and I’m embarrassed I had my episode when they’re dealing with so much. So it’s that. But also, I hope they’ll learn healthy ways to deal with it, but we both know they’ll never get beyond what happened. I just want them to understand they can hold on to the joy that they got her back.”
“That you got her back,” the reverend said.
“Well…” I demurred.
“The way you reacted, Rachel, said you cared,” he told me. “That’s it. They thought nothing of it. When something like that happens, we need to remember how very many people are out there who care. I think you’ve learned that. Am I right?”
Oh, I’d learned that.
I nodded.
“So don’t worry yourself about it. But yes, I’ll do you that favor. I’ll find the time. And I’ll share your story so they’ll remember to hold onto that joy.”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure. Thank you for trusting me with your history and giving me the honor of sharing it with Ben and Emily.”
What a nice guy.
We said our farewells, and with his arm around me again, Cap took me back to the Porsche.
We got in and he turned to me. “You good?”
I nodded. “I’m good, honey.”
“Can we get some real food now?”
He could eat after two donuts?
Whatever.
If we went somewhere to eat, I could sling back some mimosas. I just did what I’d just done, and in four hours, we had our showdown with Dream. I needed to begin preparations for the next onslaught, pronto.
“Sure,” I said.
“Hash Kitchen?”
“We’d have to wait an hour for a table,” I warned.
He started up the Porsche.
“I got AC in this ride. We’ll be good,” he replied.
Yeah, one thing that was certain and getting more so the more time I spent with him.
We’d be good.
TEN
PINWHEELS
I was seeing the error of Luna’s and my ways as the Porsche oozed to a stop in front of Scott and Louise’s house, which was all but hidden behind a jungle of overgrown plants.
We hadn’t gotten there yet, me and Cap. Partly because we were new. Partly because, let’s face it, I didn’t want to.
I’d given my big speech to Cap on Friday night, but when it came to getting along generally in society versus finding someone to spend time with and your philosophies on life melding, well…those were two very different kettles of fish.
But I liked him.
A lot.
And the more time I spent with him, the more I felt that.
And women like me and the boho-glam-living-paycheck-to-paycheck (mostly), low responsibility, devil-may-care lifestyle I’d curated, and men like Porsche-driving, gun-in-his-waistband, comfortable-in-a-police-station Cap, didn’t seem to mesh.
Anyway, everyone worried about people they cared about meeting someone they were growing to really care about, and all those factions getting along.
I’d never done this before, introducing someone like Cap to people like Scott and Louise. Therefore, it hadn’t hit me how important this was.
And in that capacity, I was sensing impending disaster.
So I had to give him the lay of the land so he knew what he was walking into.
In other words, it was time to go there.
Damn.
I turned directly to him after he switched off the ignition and announced, “Right, you’re in Tempe, which is a whole different ball of wax than the mixed sitch of Phoenix, and the entirety of A Z.”
“Sorry?” Cap asked, looking confused, and I didn’t blame him.
“This is a college town couched in a big city. And Scott and Louise are very college town people.”
I hoped my choice of words to stress shared my meaning.
Thankfully, Cap was sharp as a whip.
He got my meaning.
I knew this when he turned fully to me, paused a moment to ascertain he had my full attention (he very much did, now and pretty much always), then he spoke.
“I carry a gun for work. I have no issue with people owning them if they hunt or shoot at a range. I also have no issue with people owning them if they feel they need them for their protection, but only if they keep them secured, get training in how to handle them and handle them regularly, so they know what the fuck they’re doing. And I own a personal weapon for that purpose. That said, bottom line, a gun is a weapon. Period. It’s just a weapon. So I think we need stricter gun safety laws so they don’t get in the hands of people who should not be anywhere near a weapon. And in the Army, I used an assault rifle. Because I was in the Army. No citizen in a civilized society needs an assault rifle. Ever.”