Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 74(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 74(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Jesus, Hudson, shut the fuck up.
I swore I saw Mouse smile just a little at my less than graceful conversation skills, but it wasn’t until heavy raindrops began to fall on the windshield that he finally got in the truck and closed the door. The truck had ambient lighting, but it wasn’t bright enough to let me see Mouse’s expression.
That was probably a good thing.
As expected, the first few minutes of the ride were filled with pure silence. I should have left it that way, but I couldn’t. There was too much I needed to know.
“Did that fucker hurt you?” I asked. I’d purposefully kept my voice low and soft but Mouse jumped anyway.
“What?” he blurted, though I knew he’d heard me.
I glanced at him briefly before returning my attention to the inky blackness and torrent of rain that made the road nearly impossible to see.
“Did he—?”
“No!” Mouse cut in. “No, he, um, was really drunk I guess and thought I was a girl or something.”
He and I both knew his response was pure bullshit, but I didn’t call him on it.
“You… you didn’t need to step in like that. I know it looks like I can’t take care of myself—”
“I don’t think that,” I immediately said. I risked another glance at him. “I don’t think that,” I repeated.
There was no missing the little rush of air that escaped Mouse’s lips. He began to wring his hands together. “Sorry I ruined your night,” he said so softly that I wasn’t certain I’d heard him right.
“Who said you did?” I asked. My heart skipped a beat when Mouse glanced my way. Fear made my belly twist into what felt like a thousand knots but there was this strange need mixed in there too. “Who says it didn’t just get a whole lot better?” I admitted.
My words clearly had an impact on Mouse because he stiffened even more in his seat and began winding his hands around each other more violently. Before I could think better of it, I reached across the console and covered his hands with one of mine. Mouse stifled a little whimper but to my surprise, he didn’t jerk away. His hands stilled but otherwise he didn’t react to the contact, so I had no choice but to remove my hand.
“Truth was, I was supposed to meet someone at that restaurant but things kind of went sideways and I was glad to get out of there.” My words were completely true but lacking the information Mouse would need to make the connection.
Silence filled the cab of the truck again but this time it was Mouse who broke it a few minutes later. “Me too,” he whispered.
My chest felt like it was going to explode from the tension running through it.
“Do you want me to take you back to the restaurant?” I asked even though I knew it was a stupid question that I was using to selfishly fish for information. “I’ll make sure that fucker doesn’t cause trouble for you—”
“No!” Mouse practically shouted. “Um, I mean, no, it wasn’t a good idea anyway.”
“What wasn’t? Your date?”
“Yeah. I mean no,” Mouse began before letting out a sigh of frustration. “Yeah, I mean the date wasn’t a good idea anyway.”
Although I didn’t like his answer, I did like that he’d finally relaxed enough to lean back against the seat.
“How come?” I asked.
Mouse was silent for a while before finally saying, “It’s just not a good time.”
I sighed in disappointment. “Yeah, relationships aren’t always convenient,” I murmured.
“No, no, it’s not that,” Mouse responded, catching me off guard. “Sorry, Mr. Warner, I shouldn’t even be talkin’ to you like this.”
I hated the way the formality sounded, which made no sense since the only person who ever called me by my first name on the ranch was my foreman, Hank. “I don’t see anyone here who has a problem with us talking about this stuff,” I said as I pretended to search the interior of the car.
I was hoping the words would relax Mouse, make him open up a little more. Instead, he clammed up and his hands began winding around themselves again. I forced myself to focus fully on the road since the rain was beginning to come down in sheets. Within minutes, a torrent of heavy rain that the windshield wipers couldn’t keep up with had me slowing the truck and then eventually pulling off to the side of the road altogether. I hit the switch for the hazard lights and then put the truck in park.
“This should pass in just a couple minutes,” I said, raising my voice so Mouse could hear me over the sound of the rain hitting the truck.
Mouse didn’t respond. His head was turned so he was staring out the passenger side window.
“Why you bein’ so nice to me?” he asked suddenly, even though he kept his head turned away from me. I didn’t miss the suspiciousness in his voice.