Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
It’s amazing to me what she’s accomplished in the last two weeks. The bedroom and the living room are done, and what she’s turned them into is pretty amazing. We spend most afternoons working side by side, me moving the furniture or helping her put things together and her telling me where things go. In the evenings, we have dinner together, watch television, go to visit my brothers, or just sit around and talk.
But being this close to her and not being able to touch her is driving me slowly insane.
I rub my hand through my beard because I feel just a smidge guilty. If she knew that I was still sleeping on the pad on the floor, she wouldn’t be happy. She’d blame herself and be convinced that I don’t like the bed she got, but in fact, it’s perfect. I’m not sure what is going on in my head right now, but every time I lie down on the soft bed, all I can think about is the past and my time in the Army. Men that didn’t come home surround my thoughts, and I can’t sleep. It’s almost as if I feel like I don’t deserve to sleep in a plush bed with sheets and a thick blanket.
I open my phone, wondering if she’s read my text and see bubbles that she’s typing something.
I stare at it impatiently.
“What is it with you and wanting a picture all the time?”
I’m smiling as I type the words. “It’s not all the time.”
She sends an eye rolling emoji. “Only every time we’re not together.”
“Maybe I just want to see your pretty face.” I no sooner finish typing it than I delete it. Flirting with her is not distancing myself. I want more, but I need her to trust me first. So I type something else. “Maybe I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
She doesn’t respond, and I send another text. This time, I try to be nicer about it. “Send me a picture, please.”
A few minutes go by, and finally I get the picture. As soon as I open it, I can’t look away. Her smile is shy, but her eyes are lit up, telling me she knows how this picture will affect me. I take it all in. The curve of her neck, the way her lips curl up with her smile, the blue of her eyes, and the stories hidden behind their depths. I could look at her all day, but my phone pings with another text from her.
“Your turn. Pay up. I want a picture of you.”
I sit up a little straighter. All the times I’ve asked her for pictures, she’s never asked me for one. I don’t think about posing or anything; I am just thinking of her when I take the picture.
I inspect it, and sure enough, I look like a man in love. I’m a goner for sure. Will she see it when she looks at it?
I hit send before I can talk myself out of it.
She puts a heart on the picture and replies, “Thank you, Huddy.”
I swear I can hear her soft voice saying my name, and my cock twitches in my jeans.
“I’m bringing home dinner. What would you like?”
“I made dinner… and I have a surprise for you.”
“Dinner and a surprise? You better watch it because I may not want to ever let you go. You spoil me, you know that, right?”
She sends a laugh out loud emoji. “Really? I think it’s the other way around, but don’t get too excited. It’s only lasagna, but the surprise is pretty cool. When are you coming home?”
I’m up out of my seat in an instant. I holler to my brothers I’m leaving as I walk down the hall and text her back. “I’m on my way.”
I toss my phone into the cup holder, and it rings as I pull out of the parking lot. I recognize Walker’s number on the screen on the dash and hit the answer button. “Hey, Walker, what’s up?”
I’m driving across town, and even though I’m thinking about Ellie, I’m trying to focus on what Walker has to say.
“Hey there! I’m just following up. Were you able to get any more details from Elle?”
I shake my head. “No, I haven’t gotten anything else.” The truth is, I haven’t wanted to push her. It took her a while to get comfortable at the house. She felt like she was in my way, and I’ve tried to reassure her every step of the way that I love having her there. I just hadn’t wanted to go backwards by forcing her to talk about things she wasn’t ready to talk about.
Walker sighs into the phone, and my stomach drops. “What? What are you not telling me, Walker?”
“Well, the mayor is still looking for her. I started tracking him and his son. It seems he’s as shady—and probably more dangerous—than his father. His name is Alan Casey, and he’s had fifteen arrests in the last ten years, but they’ve all been dismissed. It seems that five of the women he intimidated have disappeared.”