Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“I do not look like that on stage.”
“You do. Trust me. My mom would watch you all the time, squealing like a little girl when you swung your hips back and forth, shirtless and sweaty.”
“I don’t sweat kid, I glisten.”
“That’s a synonym for sweat.”
“You’re a bit of a lil smart ass aren’t you?”
Everest laughed. “No, I’m a big ol’ smart ass, at least according to Aunt Bella.”
“Finally something we agree on. Hey!” The kid swiped the weed whacker again and started moving quickly and smoothly, making quick work of the overgrowth on the side of the main house.
“So, are you the reason she stayed away from here for so long?” To the kid’s credit his gaze never left the ground, but he waited patiently for me to answer.
“I don’t know.” I didn’t know for certain that I was the reason, but I would bet good money on it that I was at least partially responsible. “We didn’t really travel in the same circles back then.”
“So you were like what, a bully or something?” This time he looked up and hit me with a stare too serious for a kid his age.
“Let’s just say that I wasn’t very nice back then. I was just a stupid kid.” It was more than stupidity, but I wasn’t in the mood to get into all that, never mind with a kid.
“And you were stupid to her which is why she hates you?”
I winced at his use of that word. “I wouldn’t say she hates me.”
“She threatened to shoot you, man.”
“That was just a visceral reaction, because we haven’t seen each other in a long time. That’s all.” That’s what I told myself anyway.
“Yeah, sure dude.” He nodded casually, but everything about his tone told me he didn’t believe me. “Whatever.”
“Why don’t you ask her?”
“Because I don’t want to bring up any bad memories she has of this place. She loves farming, and she thinks this would be a good place to raise me after everything that happened. The last thing I want is to keep bringing up her most painful memories. That’s why I’m asking you, because you do know what you did don’t you?”
I nodded. “But I think she should be the one to tell you her stories, not me.”
“Yeah,” he sighed and nodded as his gaze drifted off into the distance. “I had a feeling you might say that. Tell me something though, are you still just a kid, or are you just not a very nice person?”
I folded my arms defensively. “I’ve grown up, and I try to be kind to everyone except those who don’t deserve it for very valid fucking reasons.” I’d matured a lot since the days of high school, and I worked hard so I wouldn’t be the guy that Bella remembered.
“Then you’ll apologize to her?” He turned to me directly and shoved his hands deep in his pockets. “Wont’ you?”
“It’s on my list of things to do.”
The look on his face was one I knew well. Disappointment.
Some kid I barely knew was already disappointed in me, and worse, it made me feel like absolute shit. “Yeah. Sure. See you around, super star.” He ambled off slowly, clearing the fence with ease, then he disappeared from view.
I tossed the weed whacker down in disgust. I couldn’t do anything right lately. Me, Derek Gregory, Mr. Perfect, the heartbreaker couldn’t catch a break.
Chapter 5
Bella
“So, are we just supposed to sit here all day and hope people stop by?” Everest lounged beside me in one of the cushioned folding chairs I’d brought. The chairs he’d insisted we wouldn’t need. A large York Farm umbrella protected us from the hot burn of the sun, and the produce sat in a tent behind us for safekeeping. “Or do you want me to go out there like those dudes who flip signs on the corner?”
I laughed and shook my head. “That won’t be necessary, Ev. People will stop by because this town loves supporting locals, and even more than that, they love it when a local returns home.”
“So you’re some kind of celebrity?”
My shoulders fell. “I hope not.” The last thing I wanted is to stroll down memory lane with people who didn’t know I was alive back then, or didn’t care. “But if no one stops by in the first hour, you can get out there and flip a squash or something.”
“This happens every weekend?” He looked around with wide eyes.
“Yep. We call it a Farmer’s Market but the truth is that vendors show up to sell homemade goods like jelly, jewelry and art. There’s an entire aisle of people selling cooked food on the other side of the square, and there’s even a pet adoption on the grassy area in front of the courthouse.” Carson Creek was a small town, but they didn’t do anything by halves.