Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
“We’re going to stay here for a little while, pickle-lilly.” I answered.
She beamed at me, completely unaware of the sadness that waivered my voice for a split seconds before I masked it.
“That’s awesome, daddy! Grammy got me a trampoline!” She squealed.
That didn’t surprise me either. The woman couldn’t say ‘no’ when it came to her grandchildren. Especially Janie. What had my brows rising was the fact that I hadn’t put the trampoline together, and I damn well knew those fuckers didn’t come fully assembled.
“Who put it together?” I asked her.
“Granddad Todd.” She said before running towards the back yard and scrambling through the net that surrounded the trampoline. As if she didn’t just drop a fucking bomb and take off.
‘Granddad Todd’ and Grammy have some ‘splainin to do.
Chapter 14
If you can still hear your fears, shift a gear.
-Biker Truth
James
Two weeks later
I saw her as soon as she walked through the door. Of course I did. It’s like my body was fine tuned to hers, because in the next instant, her gaze met mine across the expanse of the room.
I was sitting in a meeting with the rest of the SWAT team, listening to the captain harp on and on about teamwork. We were having the ‘monthly’ meeting at The Back Porch. We’d rented the back half of the restaurant for the next four hours. I was told that we’d go over our weekly schedules, hand out updates on anything and everything that had changed over the past month.
Luke also told me he’d introduce the new guy, which was me.
I’d contacted Luke the day after I moved back to my mom’s place. He’d laughed and told me to come fill out the employment forms, and I could start work the next day. Therefore, while Janie was off at school, I was filling out form after form of paperwork. Handing in my living will. Setting up a retirement account and all that other fun first day on the job stuff.
Shiloh stopped short of crossing the invisible barrier that seemed to cordon off the part we’d rented out and the rest of the restaurant. She watched me, and I watched her right back.
My heart ached heavily in my chest, and I cursed Sam for the thousandth time since he’d left me that night with his parting words. Stay away from my sister.
Finally coming to some sort of decision, she turned on her heel and walked to the front of the restaurant. Speaking with the cashier, she handed over her money. Moments later the cashier handed her a small to-go bag and a receipt. When the cashier tried to hand her another smaller bag, Shiloh shook her head and said something else.
Both sets of their eyes turned and locked on me, and I had to wonder what was going on. The answer came shortly after Shiloh’s departure when the same cashier brought the small bag over to me and set it down quietly before turning to leave.
Luke and Downy gave me raised brows, but I ignored them and opened the bag. My heart warmed at the piece of chocolate cake dominating the bottom of the bag. I grinned and pulled it out, picked up my fork, and dug in. Downy and Luke watched in annoyance since the Captain had just said we didn’t need any dessert a few minutes before Shiloh walked inside the door.
Ignoring their pleading looks and the droning voice of the captain, I thought about how miserable I’d been in the last two weeks. Sitting in front of the TV made me feel like I was betraying Shiloh, but I felt like I’d betray Sam if I went against his wishes.
It was getting increasingly harder by the minute not to call or text her though. I wondered what Sam had told her, which then made my mind drift off into darker places that my ex was firmly implanted, and I forcibly ripped my mind of that particular train of thought.
There was one thing I was sure of right now, and that was that I hoped I continued to have the strength to stay away from her. Although, it wasn’t looking too good from at present.
Shiloh
Three weeks later
My eyes wandered over to the empty house at the end of the lot, and I had to stop the despair that started to course through my bruised heart.
I hadn’t seen James in twenty-two days, fourteen hours, and five minutes.
The night of the police station incident, I’d driven around for two hours before deciding that I needed a woman’s perspective. What it turned out to be was an impromptu wine fest, and I was drunker than I’d ever been three hours later.
The next morning, I’d woken up to a pounding headache, but a much clearer head in Sam and Cheyenne’s guest bedroom. After speaking with my brother for a few minutes about nothing of consequence, I’d then tried to go see James. However, after searching for him at his place, and then the garage, I was told that he hadn’t shown up for work that morning.
It wouldn’t be for another four days that I became aware of the silent tension that was going on at the garage. I’d shown up another time to see if James was available to talk, and was told, yet again, that he wasn’t there and hadn’t shown up. ‘Hadn’t been there in well over four days now.’
Although Jack had said it with a light tone, I’d been able to read the worry that had crossed over his features before he’d managed to mask them. It continued ever since. No one’s seen hide nor hair of him. He wasn’t answering the phone, and pretty much cut himself off from his friends and loved ones.
Cheyenne was being quiet about it all, making it a point to change the subject when her big brother was asked about. Which broke my heart, because most of the time it was me asking her about him. She acted as if I’d done something wrong, and I really wished I knew what the heck it was.