Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
“No,” Kareena said immediately. “She’s perfectly healthy.”
“How do you think she’s going to feel if you die alone while she’s hundreds of miles away with no idea that you were ever sick? She’s going to carry that guilt around for the rest of her life, Kareena.”
Atlas’s mom only shook her head—just as stubborn as her bullheaded daughter. “It’s my choice, and while I appreciate you, Rowdy, I know what’s best for my child.” She set her mug down and crossed the small space between us, clasping my hand between her much smaller ones. “Promise me you won’t tell her.”
“I—”
“Promise me, Rowdy. I can tell you care about my daughter, and while your age difference doesn’t excite me, I can tell you’re a good man. Even if you don’t believe it yourself.”
My eyes widened a little, and she gave me a knowing smile and patted my hand. “I wasn’t a nun before I met Atlas’s father. I’ve had my fair share of bad boys to know one when I see one, Rowdy Wray. You’ve got trouble written all over you.”
I gulped. “And if I wanted to…date your daughter?” I forced out. It was my first time admitting aloud what I truly wanted from Atlas. And to her mother, of all people. “You’re telling me you would be cool with that?”
“No,” she answered honestly. “You’re twice her age. No mother would be okay with that. And if her father was still alive, I couldn’t promise he wouldn’t shoot you on the spot.”
I smirked at that because I’d do the same if it were my daughter. Regret settled deep in my chest, and I suddenly wished I could have met Tyler Beck.
“But I know my daughter,” Kareena continued. “She’s strong. Stubborn and a little impulsive, but she knows her own mind. If anyone is biting off more than they can chew, it’s you, baby.”
“I wouldn’t have her any other way,” I said with a wide grin.
“So, do we have a deal?” Kareena prodded, her eyes shrewd. “You don’t tell her I’m dying, and I give you my tentative blessing to date my daughter?”
I gulped, already knowing this was a bad idea but feeling myself wanting to agree for my own selfish reasons. Kareena couldn’t have been more wrong. I wasn’t a good man. “Fuck.” I huffed quietly. “All right. I’ll agree on one condition.”
“Yes?”
“You call someone to check on you every now and then, and you see a doctor.” I could tell she hadn’t been going, probably wishing to expedite her death rather than prolong her life.
Kareena’s already weak shoulders deflated even more. “Rowdy, I’m afraid that list will be very short and sad. My husband and I both grew up in the system. And when he became sick, it didn’t leave room for maintaining friendships.” She smiled sadly. “I’m afraid there’s no one to call.”
I nodded and tightened my grip on her hands slightly when she started to pull away. “Then let me.”
Kareena frowned, and I searched her features for signs of Atlas but found none. Atlas must have taken after her father. I tried to recall his face from the photos around the house, but then Kareena said, “Let you what?”
“Be there for you. I can give you my phone number. Anything you need, I’m just a phone call away.”
“I don’t know.” She peered up at me skeptically. “Are you doing this just to have your way with my daughter?”
I smirked down at this sharp woman who raised Atlas. “I can’t tell her you’re sick, remember?”
Kareena sighed, and I knew I had her. “Then I suppose that will be okay.”
“Cool.” I gave her a quick hug before Atlas’s mom took a step back as I dug my keys out of my jeans and started to leave.
“Maybe you could send me photos of her?” she called out when I had one foot out of the kitchen. “So I can see for myself that she’s all right?”
I debated my next move for only a few moments before pulling out my phone. I quickly scrolled through it while I closed the distance between us again, and when I found what I was looking for, I didn’t allow myself to think twice about it before handing my phone and the evidence of my obsession over to Kareena.
There were plenty, but I chose the least disturbing.
It was a photo of Atlas standing at reception, smiling at whatever the person on the other end of the phone she was holding had said. I remember feeling jealous because she had never smiled at me like that before pulling out my phone without thinking and capturing the moment for myself. I’d never admit how many times I caught myself staring at it while pretending that smile had been for me.
“This was taken a few days after she started.”
Kareena’s gaze seemed to drink in the sight of her daughter before saying, “She’s lost weight.”