Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
There would be no way in hell I’d make it to my place.
None.
I’d have to stay with one of my nephews or my brother. Which would fuckin’ suck, because they were all married, and some of them were actually happy at that.
There was only so much lovesick foolishness that I could take before I broke.
“What has you lookin’ like you’re about to murder someone with that tray of cookies?” Gracelynn’s sweet, seductive voice called to me.
I didn’t think she even knew what she was doing.
She didn’t know that her voice changed in pitch when she was thinkin’ about something she shouldn’t. Something she’d done quite a few times today.
“I was thinkin’ that I wasn’t going to make it out to my place in my delivery van,” I admitted. “And I was thinkin’ that I was going to have to bum a couch off of one of my nephews or brother. All of which annoy the fuck out of me because they either have kids, or they are so disgustingly in love and act like it, that it’s hard to be around them. Most of them, anyway.”
She didn’t hesitate even a second.
“You can stay with me,” she said softly. “It’s a win-win for me. You can drive me home in my truck, I don’t have to drive, and then you can drive me back to work.”
I looked at her, wondering if she knew what me staying with her would mean.
But she continued to dig that hole, continued to pull me in, without even realizing it.
When I’d finally left Rachel, I’d promised myself that I would never fall for that again—love.
I would never let another woman pull me under and hold me hostage there.
However, I had a feeling that with Rachel it was a choice to be held there. With Gracelynn? I wasn’t sure that choice would be an option. I’d known her for a solid thirty-six hours. And in those thirty-six hours, I’d done nothing but deny myself.
I’d never, not ever, had to give myself a pep talk to stay away from a woman.
Not Rachel. Not my high school sweetheart. Not a single pole chaser (ladies that looked for a lineman at a bar after disasters were through.) Not anyone.
At least, not until her. Gracelynn. The woman that I’d done nothing but relive every second with since I’d had her in my bed.
“And I’d like to address that kids comment,” she chirped. “Is that kids a ‘hard no’ or is it something like you don’t like anybody’s kids but your own?”
“Help me gather up all this shit and get it ready to transport quickly if I need to come by and get it,” I urged. “And I’ll tell you a story.”
The next ten minutes I told her about Erich and my dislike of kids.
“I think kids just come as an intrusion,” I explained. “I have sensory issues. Loud sounds, abrupt sounds. Mess. Clutter. Hugs and touching. All of which go hand in hand with having a kid. Erich came with Rachel when we got married. He was half grown, however, by the time I got around. He was never a nice kid.”
I moved the tray of cookies into the back corner where they would stay until tomorrow at least.
“When I got around him, Rachel already had him at boarding school. He split his time between there, his dad’s, and our place. But this kid was so fuckin’ vindictive. He would know I wouldn’t like something and go out of his way to make sure I knew it was him doing whatever that something was.” I paused. “We’ll talk later about how you were dating my ex-son.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works.” She laughed. “He’s not really your ex-son. He’s your son if you treated him like your son.”
“That’s just it,” I said. “He’s not my son. He never was my son. We have zero bond other than me helping pay for his cushy life. He loathed hard work. He was twelve when I got married to Rachel. Already a spoiled little asshole. But, the thing was, Rachel didn’t have much. Her ex-husband definitely didn’t have much anymore either—he was an investment banker who decided to start skimming a little off the top. He got caught, sentenced to prison, and Erich chose to stay at that boarding school the majority of the time. The only time I ever saw him was during holidays. And at that point, I’d already immersed myself into living the life of a lineman. I worked a lot of hours. I went where I was needed. I learned the trade. Pretty much, Rachel kept the house running at home. That kid was just someone who visited every once in a while when I was around, and I tried to stay out of his way when he did.”
“That’s odd,” she said. “But I noticed that about him in the short time that I knew him. I think that’s why we never really clicked. He was very cruel.” She winced. “I agreed to a date because the first time he asked, I felt extremely uncomfortable. But he was a different person at dinner when we were alone…”