Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 152045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
“Where are you going?” my mom asks, sounding nervous.
He spins around, stepping through the door.
“Jared?” she calls.
“I’m just going to talk to their father,” he says as he disappears around the corner and pounds down the stairs. “Bring her home!”
Talk to their father…
I shoot a glance to my mom. “Mom,” I beg.
“Get your shoes,” she tells me. “Hurry.”
In less than a minute, I have my sneakers on, and I’m running down the stairs, tying my hair up into a ponytail. My stomach growls at the scent of eggs and bacon, but I don’t stop to think where it’s coming from.
My mom leads the way out the door, followed by my brother, and I see my car parked at the curb. I guess they thought I might like it for my last night here?
But then I climb in the passenger side as my mom drives, and it hits me…the dance.
And the coffees my dad showed up with. They probably brought breakfast for the fake family I’m staying with as a thank you for hosting me.
Shit.
And my mom probably wanted to see if I wanted to go shopping for tonight.
Son of a bitch. My shoulders slump as my brother and I fasten our seatbelts, my mom peeling out of the neighborhood. I don’t see anyone on the street, but it’s early, and Farrow is undoubtedly sleeping off his hangover.
I’d kind of love for him to be awake right now. It’s going to take an army to keep my dad in line.
My mom shifts into third, then fourth, cutting a sharp right and descending into the mill district. She races down River Road, and I glance at my brother in the backseat. His AirPods are in as he plays a game on his tablet.
I keep my voice low. “I promise nothing happened last night,” I tell her. “We all just slept.”
She throws me a look. “Dylan…”
And I can see that it’s as hard for her to believe as it was for my dad.
I know it looked bad. A situation like that where no one touched each other just wouldn’t happen.
But….
“Mom, I love Hunter,” I say.
And that’s all I tell her. It’s enough. I’m an open-minded person, and like I told Hunter, I absolutely believe that we’re all capable of a lot, given the right motivation and circumstances.
But I don’t want anyone else.
She glances at me once—then again—and I see her purse her lips as she races onto the bridge and kicks it up a gear. “And he’s loved you forever.”
She sighs, and I know she believes me.
“You could tell?” I ask.
She simply chuckles under her breath, speeding into Shelburne Falls. “Everyone could.”
So even though Kade was overreacting, he wasn’t wrong. He knew ten years ago.
“What’s Dad going to do?” I ask.
“Something that will ruin our day, I’m sure.”
I fold my arms over my chest, balling my fists and tensing every muscle, far too anxious. We need to get there.
All I can say is I’m glad I fell for a guy more like Madoc than like my dad or Jax. Those kinds of tempers aren’t conducive to my personality. Whoever falls in love with Kade will either need to be a saint or have a temper that rivals his.
We fly through town, but not fast enough. I’m tapping my foot, and not at all hiding the fact that I’m checking her speed the whole way there.
She’s only going five miles over the speed limit. “Ugh.”
She shoots me a look but continues at the same pace.
As soon as we pull into Madoc’s driveway, I see everyone in front of the house—Kade, Hunter, Fallon, Madoc, A.J., and my dad. My dad’s car door hangs open, the parking lights lit up.
“Oh, God,” I groan. He didn’t even take a split-second to turn off his car?
Mom speeds in, skidding to a halt, and she and I hop out of the vehicle. I hear their raised voices as we run over. Hunter casts me a worried look.
“What the hell happened?” Madoc shouts, dressed only in sleep pants. Fallon is, thankfully, dressed in jeans and a fitted gray Pirate hoodie. She wears her glasses with her hair swept up into a messy bun as she stands in front of her twin sons.
“I want them both gone.” My dad sticks his finger in Madoc’s face. “You send them to wherever your people send rich kids for school. You understand?”
“Don’t talk to me about what to do with my own kids,” Madoc retorts and then looks around. “Someone tell me what the hell is going on!”
“He found us in bed with Dylan,” Kade tells him.
Madoc’s eyes go round.
“Nothing happened,” Hunter rushes to add.
“They were practically naked!” Dad growls.
“None of us were naked,” Kade says.
“Dad, nothing happened,” Hunter explains. “There was a party in Weston, Kade and I were drinking, and we were teasing Dylan. We never meant to fall asleep.”