Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
“What I want is for you to get the hell out of my shop.” I point to the bay door. Greasy winds around my ankles, clearly pissed Nora took his spot on the car.
“Knox.” She stands and puts her hands on her hips.
I don’t look at her. I’ve seen as much of Nora as anyone should have to.
“Where are your clothes? You know what? Doesn’t matter. Get out.”
“I thought you were playing coy with me for years.” She prances closer.
“Stop.” I hold a hand out.
“But when that dull girl from high school came back to town, you really pulled out all the stops. Acting like you were dating Ruby just to make me jealous.”
“Ruby is far from dull, not that you’d ever realize it. You barely have fluff between your ears. But that doesn’t matter. I love Ruby. I don’t want you and never have. I can’t make it any clearer.”
“Still playing coy.” She giggles in a high-pitched, little girl tone and takes another step.
“I’m warning you, Nora. Stop.”
She shrugs. “And what if I don’t?”
“Nora, don’t—”
She takes another step, but this time her high-heeled foot hits only air. She lands in the pit with a thunk and the sound of a dozen wrenches tumbling onto the concrete floor.
“I told you to stop.” I sigh and peer over the edge at her.
“Ow!” She sits up right as an oil can tips over and douses her. “What is—no!”
“Son?”
I whirl to find my dad behind me. “What are you doing here?”
“Help me!” Nora screeches.
“Is that Ruby?” He blinks.
“No.”
“That idiot is long gone. Now help me out of out here!”
“If you say another bad word about Ruby, I’ll strike a fucking match, Nora.”
Dad’s eyes widen.
Nora’s screeches turn to sobs.
My phone buzzes.
“Nora was just leaving.” I stride to my office. “What can I do for you, Dad?”
“Lorraine still has that figure. Still so … so spicy. You get me?” He waggles his eyebrows.
“You came all the way to my shop to tell me about Lorraine?”
“No.” He scoffs. “I came to tell that granddaughter of hers to leave you alone, that you aren’t meant for the likes of h—”
“If I have to knock your block off, Abner Lovejoy, I will.” Lorraine storms into my office. “Ruby loves your son. And he loves her. And if you’d spend more time with other people instead of locked up in your stupid mansion, you’d know that.”
“See?” Dad smiles. “Spicy.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Back up. You talked to Ruby?”
“He insulted Ruby. I told her to leave before he could get started with his bluster and foolishness, and I thought she’d have come here.” She glances around and sees Nora as she climbs from the pit, covered in oil, and still sniffling. “What is that?”
“Nothing. Where’s Ruby?” My phone buzzes again. I pull it out and see three security notifications. Ruby’s been at the house, on my computer, and now she’s gone. Shit.
“I have to go.” I grab my keys and sprint out of the shop as my dad calls after me.
“Quiet down, old man.” Lorraine snaps over him.
“Spicy!” He laughs.
I don’t have time for him. I don’t have time for anyone except Ruby. If the feeling in my gut is any indication, she must’ve heard enough from my father and seen enough from that idiot Nora to draw all the wrong conclusions. And if she dug around in my computer? I swallow hard. Yeah, I have a lot of explaining to do.
It’s snowing when I whip into the street and gun it the few blocks to my house. When I get there, my mailbox is destroyed, and a black SUV is pulling away.
Tension forms a ball in my gut as I tear off after the SUV. Ruby’s been taken. But what moron would dare try to take her from me? My mind flips through a million culprits—her pervy boss, Todd, some guy in the bakery who I noticed lingered a little too long. Each name has me gripping the steering wheel tighter.
I have to stop them. A side swipe should do it. Then again, the driver isn’t a professional. In fact, they’re going slower than Grams on Sunday morning. What the fuck is happening?
When the SUV slows as it comes to a stop sign, I pull up beside it.
A wave of relief hits me when I see Merry behind the wheel and Ruby in the passenger seat. I quickly pull in front of them and kill the engine.
When I get out, Merry’s eyes go wide, and Ruby tries to stare daggers at me. It doesn’t work, though, because I can see the tears on her cheeks.
I go to her window. “Red.”
She looks at me through the dark tint.
“Red, come on.”
She shakes her head.
Merry leans over and whispers something to her.
I raise my voice. “Merry, I swear to the ghost of Christmas Future that I will chase you until you run out of gas if you so much as think about trying to bail.”