Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
The ground is icy as fuck because we had twenty-four hours of a wintry mix of snow, rain, and sleet. Now, the snow has an icy shell over it as we make our way back to the house. It crunches with every step, but it’s better than walking across any ice, or you’ll end up on your ass.
I start later, but Lennox is already working at the grocery store, so my plan is to eat something and change. Finally inside the house, I get ready, warming up a little bit when I hear a squeal. Looking outside, I see our little neighbor dropping her backpack as she tries running in the snow. My head turns down the block, and I spot Frank Johnson, the asshole from down the block. The fucker has issues, and now he has a new one. I’m out the door and down my steps as he grabs the back of her coat.
“Time for a whitewashing,” he says.
“Yes, it is.” I rip him away from her by his scalp, sending her forward into the snow, but she gets up quickly and grabs her bag. My size is formidable. I quickly dunk his face into the rough, hard snow.
“You want to fuck with someone so young? How does it feel?” I ask when I first pull his head out of the snow.
“I was only playing,” he cries out.
“Playing? She’s a kid.”
“Jillian,” I hear her mother call out. I turn just long enough to realize her mother is home, and when I see her, I understand there’s a reason her mother didn’t come out to get Jillian. She has a fucking shiner on her eye.
“You have to be kidding me.” I slam Frank’s face once more and then stand up. “Sorry, Jilly Bean. I hope you’re okay.”
“Thank you, Sawyer.”
“You know which one I am?” That shocks me because most people who have known us for years can’t tell us apart.
She nods with a smile that unnerves me. “Yeah. You have brown eyes and a scar on your hairline.”
I tilt my head and say, “You’re observant.”
“My dad’s a cop.” That bothers me a little because he clearly knocks her mother around.
“And a…”
“Jillian…come inside.”
“Thank you again.”
“Please be careful. I’ll make sure Frank stays away from you, but I see there are more dangerous people around. Let me or my brother know if you need anything.” My eyes glance at her doorway before returning to her.
“Okay.” She nods and slides around the icy ground and up the stoop.
I turn back to Frank. “You stay away from that kid because the next time you come around her, I’ll tell her father, the cop.” He blanches and scurries away.
Later that evening when I come home from work, I see her father come home, and he stops me as I reach my porch. “Are you the one who protected my daughter today?”
“Yes, but obviously, he’s not the only one she needs protection from,” I growl. He jerks back at my vivid dislike of him.
“Excuse me?”
“You rough up your wife, too?”
“Oh, I see what you mean. I didn’t do that to my wife. She’s a nurse, and unfortunately, she had an incident with a patient at the hospital yesterday and was sent home early. The man had to be restrained after being hopped up on some substances, but before he could be, he attacked my wife.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. I saw your wife’s face and…”
“No, it’s understandable…I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”
“I’m Sawyer Masterson.”
“Thank you, Sawyer, but I want to say be careful around my daughter. I think she’s got her first crush now.”
“Funny, my brother said the same thing when I mentioned Frank to him at work today. Well, like I told him, I’ll be graduating from college before she’s old enough to date. Have a good night.” I wave him off and head into my house. I’m tired and shake off the silly notion that a little girl could have a crush on me. I’m four years older than her. As much as I worry about her, there’s no way I’ll ever see her as anything more than little Jilly Bean.
Six Years Later
Sawyer
“Hey, Sawyer, where are you going?” Lennox says, adjusting his tie. We have a busy day in the office, but it’s early and I have a pit stop to make before going in. We’re twenty-two, and our firm is just getting off the ground. It’s a massive undertaking that we pride ourselves on. We managed to save the starting capital since our first job in high school. It’s one of the major lessons we learned from having financially unstable parents and something we took with us after they were buried.
“I’m going to check on Jilly Bean,” I confess.
He tilts his head and asks, dragging out the one syllable, “Why?” We’re four years older than her, and we haven’t actually spent any quality time with her in the years since we moved out when we were eighteen.