Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Keira laughed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Thank you, Alex.”
“For what, princess?”
“For being on my side. For understanding me. For loving me and wanting to make me happy.” She pulled back and smiled genuinely for the first time since everything happened. “And also for letting me use your SUV.” He chuckled and reached into his pockets to give her his keys. Keira didn’t waste another minute as she slipped on her shoes and raced out of the house. She needed to find Reese.
Keira didn’t know where to start in her search for him. It was a Saturday afternoon and knew he worked at the tattoo parlor on occasion, so that was where she’d start.
She parked in one of the open spots in front of the parlor. There were a few cars parked outside the small, rundown-looking establishment, but she knew that it was a well-known and respected tattoo shop in Black Mountain.
She didn’t see Reese’s truck but thought it might be parked in the back where she couldn’t see it. Or maybe that was hopeful thinking. And if he wasn’t there, maybe someone inside could point her in the direction of where she could find him.
After getting out of the car and making her way to the front door, she realized she felt lightheaded from her nerves. She was scared. She was terrified that once she spoke with Reese after all this time, he’d have realized the distance had been for the best.
Keira shook her head, not wanting to go there. She’d worry about that if or when the time came.
33
A bell jingled above the door, announcing her entrance into the tattoo parlor. Classic rock music played softly overhead, and the buzzing sound of a needle along with the murmurs of conversation blended together.
“I’ll be with ya in just a few,” an older man with a long white beard called out from where he was seated, hunched over a middle-aged woman’s back.
From the distance, Keira could make out the image of a koi fish he was tattooing on the small of her back.
She sat down on the black, ratty vinyl couch and grabbed a magazine. The cover showed a heavily tattooed woman in nothing but a few strips of fabric covering the important bits. After ten minutes of Keira flipping through the pages, the man with the white beard stepped in front of her.
“What can I do for ya?”
Keira stood and set the magazine on the table beside her. She had to assume this was Max, the man Reese was fond of.
“Uh.” She looked around in hopes Reese would magically appear from the back room so this would be so much easier. “I’m actually looking for someone. Thought he might be here.”
He didn’t say anything, just lifted an incredibly bushy eyebrow and waited for her to continue.
“Is Reese Trenton working today?”
A flash of surprise washed over the man’s face, and she wondered if it was because someone in general was looking for him. That thought made her feel incredibly sad.
“Reese?” He slowly said his name, and Keira nodded.
“He, uh… he told me he worked here, but not his schedule or anything.” Keira had tried calling, of course, but he’d been avoiding her ever since their last conversation, and her call had gone right to voicemail.
“Yeah, he works here, just not today.” He didn’t move from right in front of her, just continued to watch her with dark, knowing eyes.
“Oh.” She licked her suddenly dry lips and nodded. “Okay, thanks.” She turned to leave, but he called out to her. She stopped and faced him.
“You’re that ‘someone special,’ right?”
She felt her brows pull down low. “Excuse me?”
“The girl Reese talked to me about. The one he said was somethin’ special.”
Her heart hiccupped in her chest. She nodded slowly.
“I could tell for the last couple weeks somethin’ has been bothering him, but he’s a pretty private person. I assumed it was female trouble.” Max turned and walked over to the front desk. He stood behind it for a moment, clearly contemplating what to say next. “I shouldn’t be saying this to you, because it ain’t my business, but I have a piece of advice for you, since he clearly won’t see reason.”
She didn’t know what that “reason” was. Maybe they’d talked about her, about the situation? Maybe he just knew.
“Never take something that makes your heart race or your gut clench for granted. There are not too many things in life worth fighting for, but when someone opens up your world, makes your head spin, and has your heart aching for more, it’s only then that you walk to the ends of the world to make it work.” His words hung in the air between them, and emotion struck Keira fast and hard.
She nodded slowly, because she wasn’t sure what to say after that.