Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Elliott knitted his brows, thinking, hopefully remembering. I sure as fuck hadn’t been talking about Piper.
My God, had Elliott spent these past few years thinking I’d laid my heart out for Piper? I couldn’t recall the exact words, but I’d been drunkenly open. How Blake had been the light of my life and stuff like that.
“Piper made it clear that if we got married, I’d get to adopt Blake,” I admitted.
I’d waited three months before dropping to one knee.
Elliott stubbed out his smoke, then scrubbed his hands over his face. Next, his fingers disappeared into his hair, and he stared down, keeping his face mostly hidden from me.
I’d tried to be a good husband, despite entering the marriage for all the wrong reasons, but we’d been doomed from the start. We’d lasted four years, and then I couldn’t take it anymore. Piper had wanted me to quit the Coast Guard so I could be around more, and I’d already cut down on work as much as I was willing. I didn’t go on any long-term deployments anymore. I was on call and living on base for two thirty-day stints out of the year, something I didn’t wanna give up. During that time, I was still free to see my family for meals and school pickups and whatnot; I just had to get back to base at the end of the night, and I had to drop everything if we got a call.
For the remaining ten months, I was practically like any other nine-to-five worker. With slightly more uncomfortable hours occasionally.
Elliott stood up with a grunt and made a move to get back inside. “I’ve barely slept the past forty-eight hours. My brain’s shit. I gotta get some sleep.”
Was he serious?
“That’s it, then?”
He glanced back at me. “What’s the point, Joel? We can’t change anything—and you wouldn’t want to, which I totally understand. You got Blake.”
I swallowed hard, struck by the utter defeat in his expression, and before I could say anything, he left.
Motherfucker, did it have to be either-or?
He couldn’t let go any more than I could. This talk had made that clear—for once. For once, he’d been open enough to reveal he still felt something.
I released a frustrated breath and ran a hand through my hair.
No, we couldn’t change the past, but we could rewrite our future.
Crew Finlay
“After all these years, you don’t think it’s weird my wife’s name in your phone is still The Vegan?” Dad asked.
“Why’s it weird?” Uncle Greer retorted. “If she starts eatin’ meat, I’ll change it.”
“To be fair, she eats my—”
“What the fuck!” I yelled. “That’s my mom.”
Dad turned to me and furrowed his brow. “You think I don’t remember seein’ you comin’ outta her vagina? I was almost offended on her behalf with how much you screamed.”
Oh my God.
I palmed my face and groaned.
Adrien trying to contain his laughter next to me—and failing miserably—wasn’t fucking helping.
“Two minutes!” one of the pilots yelled.
Thank fuck. I had to get out of this bird.
I wished I could sleep through the flight like Mathis and Emerson were doing closer to the back.
“Don’t be embarrassed, son,” Dad told me. “It was a beautiful birth. I loved you almost instantly.”
“Gee, thanks,” I scoffed.
He faced Uncle Greer. “Once they cleaned off the bloody goo and shit.”
“I fucking swear.” I glared at him.
Uncle Greer couldn’t stop laughing.
Neither could Adrien.
Dad just grinned. I knew he was fucking with me, and it was working, goddammit.
He’d been trolling me the whole flight—since I’d stupidly admitted I was nervous to face the others. I didn’t know if they were pissed at me. Or worse, disappointed.
The truths came out in the debrief. The danger had passed, and now the superiors laid into the poor grunts, all the shit they’d done wrong. Such as disobeying orders and going AWOL. Maybe I’d lose my job. Shit.
I swallowed my nerves and started bouncing my knee.
Adrien put a hand on my leg, and I blew out a breath.
He dipped down and spoke into my ear. “Everything’s going to work out, sweetheart. I’d like to think the way you shook me down in front of my partner sweetens the deal for your unit.”
I bit my thumbnail, hoping he was right. I’d done my best—and Adrien had delivered instantly. The man had power. And cooperating with someone from a government agency clearly worked in our favor sometimes. I’d asked him to “work his magic” and get law enforcement off our backs when we got home. Since, like, they wanted to know where we’d been.
Even so, having a lightbulb moment didn’t mean I’d actually done anything. That was all Adrien.
“At least they’re fans of you,” I replied.
“They’re fans of you as well, Crew.”
We’d see.
Adrien hugged me to him, and I forced myself to breathe out and relax. I closed my eyes and buried my face against his neck. How he managed to smell delicious after the forty-eight hours we’d had here was a mystery.