Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Adalynn,” she says with a sigh, her chin quivering a little. I swear if she cries, I’ll cry. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Do what?” I ask, darting away another tear, my smile locked in place. “Her third birthday is very important.”
“You said that last year for her second.”
“They’re all so very important,” I remind her.
I lift my hand to the locket hanging around my neck. I have valued this thing more than any other gift anyone has gotten me. Even with the fight Cash and I just had, I know I’d never be able to take it off. Even if our friendship doesn’t survive the recent mistakes we’ve made, the locket is a reminder that there was a time that he loved me, even if it wasn’t in the way I needed him to.
“The balloons?” I repeat.
She shakes her head. “She’s allergic to latex.”
“That’s sad. Balloons are so much fun. Have you been to The Devil’s Lettuce this week?”
“I got a postcard in the mail letting me know I won a hundred-dollar gift card for any in-store purchase. The stickers on it were a nice touch.”
“Stanley Jones is a lovely man,” I say, wondering how long we’re going to play this game.
“I don’t like charity.”
And the game is over.
“You just get lucky.”
She scoffs.
“Listen,” I say, coming around the counter so I can step closer to her.
“I’m doing my best,” she says, emotion clogging her throat.
I press my palm to her forearm.
“None of that,” I urge. “You’re a part of Lindell, and we take care of our family. You’re just going to have to get used to that.”
She shakes her head but I don’t read it as her rejecting the help, just that maybe she doesn’t feel like she deserves it.
“Hux loved you. I know that if he were here today, he’d love that precious little girl just as much.”
She takes a step back, breaking our connection. She turns to face me after grabbing her box of cupcakes.
“Thank you for this.”
“Anytime,” I tell her, but she’s already heading toward the door.
I take a deep breath, thinking that I’ll have a few minutes to sob and feel sorry for myself, but the doorbell chimes once again. I smile at the next customer before going right back behind the counter.
I can do this. I can live in a world that doesn’t include Cash Tucker.
I rolled the dice, gambled with our friendship, and I lost. I have to come to terms with the consequences of my actions.
Chapter 33
Cash
I can’t even begin to count the number of mistakes I’ve made in my life. Hell, my birth was a mistake—one my birth mother remedied for herself the day I came into the world. She couldn’t get away from me fast enough, so I don’t know why it comes as such a shock that Adalynn has also had enough of me.
We weren’t even dating, and it still feels like I’ve lost the love of my life.
Getting out of bed this morning was harder than it should’ve been, considering I don’t think I slept at all.
If this were ten years ago, I might have done something stupid. I might’ve ended up in a destructive spiral that landed me on the wrong side of the badge I now proudly carry.
My t-shirt and running shorts feel like sandpaper on my skin as I dress.
The sheriff’s department is covering all calls for us today. It’s the Sixth Annual Guns and Hoses competition, a fundraiser for the local departments, in an effort to keep the citizens’ taxes down and keep the police and fire departments operational. Those who can afford to pay support us through donations, and those that can’t, aren’t penalized the way they would be if the money was demanded from the local tax assessor.
It’s supposed to be a friendly competition, but the guys at the firehouse act as it’s the Olympics. Maybe if Chandler, the two reserve officers, and I took it a little more seriously, we wouldn’t lose to them every year.
The air outside is already hot and thick from the overnight thunderstorm we had. The bright lightening and loud thunderclaps made me almost forget about the fight I had with Adalynn. I had grabbed my keys to go to her house, knowing her fear of storms, before I realized she no longer wants me in her life.
Instead of grabbing a lawn chair out of the garage like I do every year for her, I simply toss the duffle with my change of clothes to the passenger side and climb inside the cab. It’s going to be a long-ass day. Hell, it’s going to be a long-ass week.
My phone chimes yet another notification about her fucking fertility like it’s been doing every day for the past week. I take deep breaths as I open the lock screen and delete the app entirely instead of crushing the phone in my palm or throwing it out the damn window.