Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
“I guess so. I wanted to do something for you.” He reaches out, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear before his finger traces my jaw. “I’m probably going to fuck this up.”
“It looks good to me.” I take a bite of the omelet next.
“Not the food.” He stands, running his hands through his hair. He starts to pace back and forth.
“I can’t have you cleaning my home and still be sleeping with you. It doesn't feel right.” Is he firing me?
“I need this job.” Even as I say the words I think he might be right. That it would be awkward. I don’t know what Kale is to me now. My boyfriend? Will I have to beg him to not fire me?
Is he going to hire someone new and we’ll have to move out so they can have this space? So many questions run through my mind. A nervous feeling begins in my stomach at the thought of not having anywhere to go.
He starts to say something, but Colby comes running back into the room with Beast in his hands. “Oh.” Colby’s eyes go wide. “I forgot we weren't supposed to show him.” Colby holds the kitten tight to his chest.
“Why can’t I see it?” Kale walks over to Colby. He gives the kitten a pet under its chin.
“You might make us get rid of it.”
I watch the two of them.
“You can keep your kitten.” Kale looks over at me. I nod in agreement.
“Cool! Now we don’t have to hide her anymore.” Colby puts Beast down on the ground.
“You’ve been hiding her?” Kale smiles. God, he looks good when he smiles.
“Maybe?” I shove more food in my mouth. He doesn’t seem too shocked by the kitten, so I’m guessing he already knew we had one.
“Is Kale going to jail?” I cough, almost choking on my eggs. The smile drops from Kale’s face. “The chief is here.”
“Why is the chief here?”
“Doesn’t have a warrant so it doesn’t matter.”
“He thinks you’ve been kidnapped,” Colby answers. “Is Colten your boyfriend?” He scrunches his face.
“She's not dating Colten,” Kale growls. Annoyance shows on his face.
“Good, 'cause I think you two should be together.” His eyes bounce between Kale and me.
“Colby.” My face warms more. “What? He spent the night with you.” My mouth falls open. This is one of those times I wish the earth would open up and swallow me whole. How the heck am I going to explain this?
“He saw me this morning.” Okay. I guess that settles how I was going to tell Colby about Kale and me. I wasn’t going to tell him so soon since I’m not sure where Kale and I are even going. Or what exactly this is between us. We didn’t really do a lot of talking last night. So I’m unclear of what he wants.
“I don’t understand why anyone would think I was kidnapped.” I throw my legs over the side of the bed.
“I told him to leave. It doesn’t matter what they think.”
“But I can easily just go down and tell him I’m fine.”
“No.”
“No?” I stand there staring at him. I can tell from the look on his face he’s serious. Why would he be so adamant about me not going to talk to the chief? Maybe I have been kidnapped.
23
Kale
“If you don’t let him in, he’s going to get a warrant,” Tina warns.
I shift the phone over with my file so I don’t get metal shavings all over it. “I’m not keeping her by force. She can leave if she wants.”
“You know that and I know that, but Chief has Colten chirping in his ear about how you were aggressive in the restaurant. He’s getting everyone in town riled up. They’ve been making up stories about you since you bought the castle and refused to let anyone inside. Then you show up at Len’s Café hassling poor Colten over having dinner with your housekeeper. You dragged her out by her hair, and no one has seen her since.”
I stop filing the metal piece that will serve as the sculpture’s torso and scowl at the phone screen. “I said she can leave whenever she wants.”
“Then make her go! Otherwise you’re going to have a mob at your doorstep trying to save the sweet innocent from the terrible beast.” Tina hangs up in obvious frustration while I toss the heavy metal file onto my work bench, equally unhappy. Why can’t I just be left alone? Is it any mystery why I stay away from people? I know I look like a monster.
“Am I interrupting something?” says Summer.
I tilt my head to see her bringing in a plate of food. “What time is it?” The phone screen says its nearly dinner. “Damn. I didn’t realize it was so late.” Terror strikes me. Have I missed more of her texts? Is she about to dump the food over my head instead of in the trash? I grab my phone but before I can flip it on, her hand covers mine.