Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“That’s true,” Bethany agreed, bringing a plastic Ziploc bag of herbs over to the kitchen island where Brian and I were still eating chips.
“There’s sweet potato ones too,” Brian offered. “I don’t care for them, but Bethie loves ’em.”
I looked at her. “Bethie is really cute.”
She gave me a big cheesy smile. “We used to be Bethie, Breckie, and Bri-Bri before Breckin left and never came back.”
We all looked at him.
“I…listen, things were different then.”
“I know,” she assured her brother. “So now, chai tea?”
“No, I—I just wanted to tell Tracy that Cord—the inspector,” he clarified for Bethany, “is not a good guy, and Tracy wouldn’t even be giving him the time of day if his ex hadn’t trashed his life.”
Brian squinted at me. “Is your life trashed? Because other than the bruises I can see, you look okay, and you sound fine.”
“Thank you, Brian.” I patted his arm.
“Wait,” he said quickly. “The ex didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No, sir.”
“Well, that’s good at least.”
Breckin moved over in front of me. “Your ex still loves you.”
“How?” Bethany chimed in as she put the kettle on the stove. “I mean, really. If this guy loved Tracy so much, why did he cheat?”
“Love and sex are two different things,” Brian said.
“I’m not arguing that,” she conceded. “But I’m just saying, if you love someone, before you put your dick in another person, maybe you should pause and think, Is this the best choice? Is this what I should be doing? Is this a good decision for my long-term happiness?”
“Hear, hear,” I agreed.
“You just want Cord,” Breckin told me.
“Of course he wants Cord,” Bethany replied. “Have you seen him, with the shoulders and the eyes that light up when he smiles?”
I wasn’t going to say anything and agree, even though his eyes did sparkle. It wouldn’t be nice in front of Breckin. He’d cheated, yes, but he was already up to his eyeballs in karma, and being mean didn’t do anyone any good.
“I’m not gay, or bi like you, Breck,” Brian said, “but even I can tell that Cord Nolan is a handsome man.”
Bethany gestured at Brian. “Truer words and all that.”
“Do you think you would want Cord if your ex hadn’t cheated?” Brian asked me.
I thought a moment. “I think I would have always wondered what could have been if I’d just had the balls to start something with him. But he was never ready, and then there was my ex.”
“So now Cord is in a place where he can appreciate you, and you’re free because of your ex’s infidelity, yes?” Bethany questioned me.
“Yes. Exactly.”
“Well, it sounds to me like everything worked out the way it was supposed to,” she said with a shrug. “And maybe even, in the long run, for the ex. I mean, everything happens for a reason—at least, that’s how I see it. You have to trust the universe.”
“That’s true,” Brian affirmed, smiling at his sister. “For example,” he continued, gesturing at Breckin, “look at this mess you and Celia are in. We probably wouldn’t even have you home right now if this psycho wasn’t after your wife.”
I nodded in agreement.
“So see? Things happen when they’re supposed to.”
I looked at Breckin. “They really do.”
“Ridiculous,” he muttered.
“Celia seems lovely,” Bethany said, smiling at Breckin.
“She really does,” Brian agreed.
“And a doctor,” I chimed in.
“Oh my God, I know,” Bethany said, widening her eyes. “I feel like a total washout next to her.”
“No. Remember what you just said about the universe? Your path is your own.”
“Thank you, Tracy.”
I waggled my eyebrows at her.
I was enjoying Breckin’s siblings so much, and then boom—suddenly the ground fell out from under me because there was a face at the window. “Oh shit!”
“What?” Breckin yelled, spinning around, frantic because I’d startled him with my yell.
Just for a second, I had seen a white mask in the darkness. “Someone was there.”
“Outside on the deck?” Brian started toward the sliding glass door to the patio.
“Don’t you dare go out there!” I roared, and he instantly froze. “Have you lost your mind? What if they have a gun?”
Bethany got down behind the island.
“What did you see?” Breckin rasped.
“A mask. A white mask.”
We all went still, glancing from the glass door to the large windows until the floodlights suddenly went on because some motion outside had triggered them. That was the scariest part of the whole thing—knowing for certain that I had not imagined it, that someone had been looking in at us.
By the time Officer Cumberland came rushing in from the living room, gun drawn, I had already calmed and moved across the room so I could see outside to the now-empty deck. There were two police cars outside in the grass, both with their red-and-blue lights cycling.
“Are you all okay?” Officer Cumberland asked, checking on the four of us.
“We’re good,” I answered quickly, and he opened the door and went outside.