Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
It was a Chanel. The classic quilted shopper. She’d had one once. Her mother-in-law had told her it might help people forget she wasn’t one of them. Rich and well bred, she’d explained. Wearing the right clothes and carrying the right bag could help her fit in. And also, she should have some plastic surgery to fix that nose of hers.
There was nothing wrong with her nose. If there had been or she’d been insecure about it, she wouldn’t have had a problem with surgery. Whatever got a person through a day and all, but she’d never felt bad about her nose until her mother-in-law made the comment.
Nicole stared at that bag as Heather locked up. “You know there’s a bed and breakfast across town. And a resort about ten miles outside of town. I’ve heard it’s real nice there.”
Heather frowned and then seemed to realize what the problem was. She gave the bag a shake. “This is straight off Canal Street. Well, the Denver equivalent. Don’t tell on me, please. I like to think of it as faking it ’til I make it, if you know what I mean. And I looked into the spa. It looks amazing and also super expensive. I’m afraid this is what I can afford.” Her smile was back. “I’ve got a car if you want a ride.”
She glanced over to where Heather gestured. The car was obviously a rental, and it was small and compact. It didn’t go with the handbag either. That handbag should be attached to a Benz at the very least. Maybe Heather was telling the truth, but Nic was still wary. “I like the fresh air. Thanks. But you should try Christa’s.”
“I will.” She moved in beside Nicole. “And honestly, I could use the fresh air, too. I have to be out at the hospital in a couple of hours, and it always makes me feel like I’m in a tomb.”
She softened at the other woman’s words. It had to be hard to take care of someone you loved. She started down the street, the commute familiar and soothing. “Sure. You can join me.”
This place wasn’t scary in the light of day. She was fairly certain most of the bad elements were sleeping now, but it was nice to have someone to walk with.
“So why are you hanging around the motel? Do you have family here?” Heather asked.
“No,” Nicole replied as they started down Main Street. “I don’t have any family. I was married and when my husband died, I decided to take off for a while. See some of the world. My car broke down and I was pretty much out of cash, so I got a job and here I am.”
“You must have loved him a lot.” Heather said the words with a hint of longing. As though she knew what it meant to miss someone.
“I didn’t. He was an abusive bastard, and I was lucky to get out alive.” Somehow she couldn’t lie today. Last night had stripped her bare. “I’m sorry. That’s a lot for a new friend. I’m a little raw today. My husband wasn’t a nice man. He was kind of a bait and switch. He love bombed the hell out of me, swept me off my feet, and once there was a ring on my finger, he started tearing me down inch by inch.”
It should have been a lesson to her. Men were willing to say and do a lot to get the sex they wanted. The truth was she was lucky Josh and Grim hadn’t wanted to play nastier games with her. They’d talked about spanking her and tying her up, and in the heat of the moment, it had seemed like a good idea, but hadn’t she learned?
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Heather said. “I’m married, too. My husband had some anger issues in the beginning, but he worked through them.”
“Well, mine didn’t get the chance.” She couldn’t tell this woman she’d just met her life story. She’d been honest enough for the day. “He had a heart attack.”
Heather sighed, a sympathetic sound. “I don’t know what I would do without my husband. He’s a rock. When Mom got sick he put me on a plane and told me to do whatever I needed to do. He’s back home with our kids. We have two. A son and a daughter. My son is twenty-two so he doesn’t need much, but my baby girl is fourteen going on forty-four. She’s going to kill me.”
Heather seemed pleasant enough. Nicole fell into an easy walk beside her, trying to focus on what she was saying. She was from Colorado where she worked as a nature guide. They turned down the street that would lead them to Christa’s, and Nicole noticed the church was letting out. She’d slept way too long.