Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
“He’s definitely hiding from us, the little fucker,” my brother whispers from our hiding place behind the bushes beside Wren’s front porch. “Wren’s right. I think he’s afraid of men.”
“Then we find some way to flush him out,” I say, rubbing my gloved hands together.
It’s just above freezing, with the temperature falling fast now that the sun’s beginning to set. This isn’t the way I thought I’d be starting my Friday night—Sarah Beth and I were supposed to go over to my mom’s house for dinner—but I ended up sending Sarah alone so I could help Barrett stake out Wren’s front yard.
He’s as eager to put an end to the Kyle problem as I am. Wren’s been late to work three times in the past two weeks, which isn’t good for keeping things running smoothly at his office.
As for me, this is about vengeance. Fuck with my nanny and you fuck with me, motherclucker. The fact that Tatum feels like so much more than my nanny is something, again, that I try not to think about…
“Wren should be back soon, right?” I ask, a plan forming. “Maybe if we move our cars and sneak back to hide in the bushes again before she gets home, Kyle will attack her, and we can jump out and bag him.”
Barrett and I both have large burlap sacks, rope, and tasers, since Wren’s still insisting Kyle be removed humanely. She only shoots her shotgun into the air to scare the bird and made Barrett and I both promise to leave our hunting rifles at home tonight.
Barrett shakes his head, his dark brows still pinched in the middle. My older brother could be my twin except for those dark, bushy brows and the fact that his eyes are a deep blue. People in Bad Dog always say the McGuire genes run true, and they aren’t wrong. We all look like we were formed from the same Lego parts.
“Nope,” he says. “Wren was headed to Tatum’s place after work.”
My ears perk up at the mention of Tatum’s name. I shouldn’t be nosy about what she’s doing with her time off, but I can’t help asking, “Yeah? Why?”
Barrett shrugs. “They were talking about blowing up someone’s hair before they went out. Sounded dangerous, but I figured it was a woman thing, and I shouldn’t put my two cents in.”
I arch a brow his way. “A blow out, you mean? Even I know what that is. It’s when they get their hair straightened.”
He grunts. “Good to know. Do you see something? Over there? Across the street at the edge of the woods?”
I glance over, studying the leafless trees above the thin snow cover. “No.” I turn back to my brother. “How do you know so little about women? Literally all of your patients and staff are women. And I know you’re single now, but you were married for five years.”
His brows pinch even tighter. “I don’t know. Maybe I was as shitty a husband as Lane said I was.”
“Stop it,” I say. “You weren’t a shitty husband. You and Lane were just…different.”
He grunts again. “She’s getting remarried. In the spring. Sent me an invite. It’s going to be at that vineyard on the other side of the lake.”
I exhale. “Wow. Are you going to go?”
“I don’t know. We’re still friends. It hasn’t been anything more in a long time, but…”
“But it might still be hard to watch her promise to love and cherish another man until death do them part,” I finish. “I get it.”
“Would it be hard for you to see Nicky get remarried?” he asks.
I snort. “Hell, no. But it’s different. She abandoned our daughter. I’m too angry about that for any other feelings to have a chance.”
“Sarah Beth will be okay. She’s got the best dad I know,” he says, in a rare display of softness.
Barrett is a good guy, with a great bedside manner, but he’s reserved. Controlled. Even with family, he plays his cards close to his chest.
“Thanks,” I say. “I try. I just hope it will be enough.” I briefly relay what Carrie Cummings said to Sarah Beth about not having a mother yesterday, summoning an angry look from my brother.
“What kind of heartless bitch says something like that to a little girl?” he asks.
“I know. She’s the worst,” I agree. “But Tatum and I talked it through with Sarah Beth after and she seemed okay. I just hope she never blames herself for Nicky taking off the way she did.”
“She won’t. We won’t let her,” Barrett says, making difficult things seem simple, the way he always does. It’s one of his best, and worst, qualities. He sighs. “I don’t think we’re going to get anywhere like this. I need to think of something else. Some kind of bait to lure him out.”