Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Hope gasps. “I didn’t know! When was that?”
Marcus shrugs as he thinks back. “Must’a been around ’84, I guess.” To me, he asks, “You got a record with anything more serious than that?”
He’s asking casually, but I can read him. He’s making sure I’m okay to be hanging out with Hope, something I can respect. I’m getting the vibe that she’s a town favorite, even if she doesn’t know it.
I could easily lie. He’d never know the difference, not for real. But I’m not ashamed of my past. It made me who I am—a fucked-up sometimes-nice-and-neurotically-shy-other-times-in-your-face-asshole sort of guy who plays dress-up while singing onstage. The only part of that I routinely hide is the stage part, so I tell the truth. “Yeah, some criminal mischief, a little B and E. Stupid shit when I was a kid. Didn’t do time, thanks to my mom. And in a roundabout way, she set me straight.”
“You were a hellion!” Hope exclaims, using my own prior description of myself. “You probably kept your poor mother up at night worrying about you.”
“Yeah, same was true for me too. I worried about her just as much. Maybe more.”
Marcus has gone quiet, stepping out of the conversation but still listening, while Hope’s brows furrow. “Why did you worry about her?”
“She was a bad picker, always had a new boyfriend. A few were real jerks,” I say flatly, adding a no-big-deal shrug that minimizes the terror I would feel on the nights she didn’t come home. She might’ve been sleeping over at Mr. Latest and Greatest’s or . . . not. “The worst one gave her a black eye.” The image of my sweet, strong mother with a purplish hue surrounding one of her whiskey-brown eyes enters my mind, and cold fury dumps into my veins. “Not sure what she did to him after that, because thankfully, that guy didn’t come around again. If he had, I probably would’ve done everything in my teenage power to fight him and gotten my ass beat for it. Mom was a lot more careful after that too.”
“What about your dad?”
“Gone when I was a baby. It was just me and Mom,” I reply, trying to keep the anger out of my voice and at least partly failing. “And Sean,” I add at the last second, not wanting to leave him out. He’s my family as much as Mom is. He’s also got the same rap sheet since we did all the stupid shit together.
“He’s your ride-or-die like Joy’s mine,” Hope surmises. “You might fight like honey badgers, but nobody else better mess with them, or you’ll go at them full force, right?”
“Something like that,” I agree.
“Nobody talks shit about my sister but me, or I’ll bleed ’em,” she adds, doing her best to sound tough. There’s only one problem: Hope’s strong and fierce but about as tough as a pug in a sunflower costume.
“I met your sister, Hope. I don’t think she’d let anybody talk shit about her either.”
Her laugh rings out over the water. “Yeah, you’re right. But I’ve got her back the way she’s got mine.”
“I have no doubt,” I reply wryly. “You’re a force to be reckoned with, for sure.”
“Hey! I’m not always a clusterfuck of epic proportions,” she argues, but she’s grinning happily, enjoying the back-and-forth we’ve got going.
“I bet,” I counter before adding honestly, “I do know that you’re the prettiest train wreck I’ve ever seen, with fireworks and glitter instead of a twisted metal disaster.”
Her jaw drops open in offense, but a second later, she’s grinning wide again, seeing my words for what they are. “I think that’s the weirdest and best compliment I’ve ever gotten.”
Instantly, I inscribe the words on my brain to use in a song. A song for Hope, even if she’ll never know it.
We keep giving each other shit and talking as Marcus guides us back to the dock. There, he helps us both out of the boat. He squeezes my hand as my feet touch solid ground and my eyes jump to his. “Don’t hurt her,” he murmurs quietly enough that Hope doesn’t hear. “She doesn’t know how special she is yet.”
He’s astute, and firmly on Team Hope. I nod in acknowledgment but add, “I hear you. I’m hoping to help her figure that out while I’m here. That’s all.”
He smiles, looking like I said something funny, but I mean every word. I won’t hurt Hope. I only want to help her.
Chapter 9
HOPE
After the boat tour, it’s still early, and I feel like I’m fizzy inside, seeing everything through rose-colored glasses. Life can be so beautiful. Maple Creek can be so amazing. The people here, like Rosemary and Marcus, are so kind.
Ben too.
Yeah, Ben’s great, and him serenading the sunrise was an experience I won’t soon forget, but I’m not focusing on that. I’m sticking to healing myself, digging out the shitty dirt my soul’s been planted in and giving it space to grow with new, healthy soil. Okay, so gardening’s not my thing, but the point stands.