Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
I bit back the words on the tip of my tongue asking how long he would wait this time before he gave up. As he headed toward my parents’ new house, I stomped back to the trailer.
“That went well,” my mom said dryly, leaning up from where she’d unashamedly been watching us from the window.
“Poor kid,” my dad said from his seat at the table.
“I’m not even sure which of us you feel bad for,” I replied. He just shrugged.
“You’ll figure it out,” my mom said as she strode toward their little bedroom area. “It always takes you kids a while to get your heads out of your asses.”
I was so full of nervous energy that I rolled up onto my toes a few times.
“Hey, dad,” I said, looking down at his shaved head. “Do we have to wait until the weekend to move the cart?”
“What are you thinkin’?” he asked, looking up at me.
“Can we get it today?” I asked, curling my fingers together under my chin. “It would give me more time to get it all set up and ready for Monday morning.”
“That’s actually a good idea,” my mom called.
With a sigh, my dad pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Grease and see if he can move it today. I think he’s the only one with a truck big enough to haul it.”
“You’re the best,” I said, leaning down to give him a hug, wrapping my arms completely around his head.
“We know what you’re doing,” my mom said, walking toward me as she buttoned her shorts. “And we’re more than happy to help. But just saying, distracting yourself so you don’t have to deal with Bishop hasn’t worked all that well for you up to this point.”
Chapter 16
Bishop
I felt like an absolute asshole. There was no getting around it and I’d stopped trying to reassure myself that I’d done nothing wrong. If we were discussing technicalities, I guess I was in the clear, but that didn’t really change shit.
I’d known in my gut that I shouldn’t be taking anyone else out. Sure, it was fun in the moment, but all that time I’d known that if Charlie would’ve crooked her finger at me, I would’ve dropped Tally in a heartbeat. So, I hadn’t been fair to either of them.
Taking Tally to the house had been such a moronic idea that half of me wished that Uncle Beau was around to thump me on the side of the head like he’d done when I was a kid and did something stupid.
Bottom line, I’d hurt Charlie, and that’s what made my guts twist in remorse. Charlie, who’d never done anything to me except be honest about what was going on in her life and why she didn’t have enough time to spend with me. Who’d gone out of her way to make sure that I had furniture, and bedding, and one of the best homes I’d ever lived in.
Instead of punching a hole into one of Casper and Farrah’s new walls, I picked up a broom and started sweeping. It would be a while before the rest of the crew showed up and I had too much energy to sit there doing nothing. I needed to figure out how I was going to fix things.
I thought of the way Charlie had shied away from my touch and cursed, throwing the broom across the room.
“Hey now,” Farrah said, stepping through the front door. “Careful in here, we’re almost at the finish line.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled, slicking my hair back from my face.
“It’s getting long,” Farrah said, nodding toward my head. “I can cut it for you if you want, or my Cecilia can.”
“Thanks,” I replied cautiously. Didn’t she know that I’d fucked up? Why was she being nice to me?
“I told Charlotte I’d ignore you,” she said, leaning against the window ledge that faced the driveway. “But I’m pretty sure she didn’t expect me to follow through.”
“She’s pissed at me,” I replied with a sigh.
“With good reason,” Farrah said easily.
I gave her a short nod. I wasn’t willing to get into the details of what had happened between me and her daughter, and even if I had been—was I really going to tell her mother that I’d done nothing wrong when I knew that wasn’t exactly true? Did I really think that I had room to defend myself?
“People don’t realize how sensitive Charlie is,” Farrah said conversationally. “They take her at face value, most of the time. Snarky. Strong. Tough. But my girl feels things deep even when she isn’t showing it.”
“I know that,” I replied quietly. I’d seen it.
“She’ll forgive you,” Farrah said, looking around the room. “I doubt she’ll even make you work for it. Charlie’s always been quick to anger and even quicker to forgiveness. It drives me nuts most of the time.”