Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
She snorted a laugh. “I’m just messing with you, Tris,” she said. “I will support you in all of your life journeys.”
Shawn was still leading the way down the path, occasionally glancing back at me. “In all seriousness, it sounds like you’re opening yourself up to a lot of new things lately. And that’s always a good thing, in my book.”
“Part of me feels like I’m just ruining everything, though,” I said. “Deciding to move far away from my best friend, then getting weirdly attracted to him and hooking up, all before I ditch him to be alone in Kansas?”
“Well, that’s why you’re convincing him to move here, right?” Shawn asked.
I stared at him.
“I was joking when I said those things, Shawn.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Really? Because it didn’t seem like it to me.”
My stomach dropped as I kept along the path, breaking eye contact with my brother. “Of course I’d love it if he came here. But he would never do that. His whole world is back in Kansas.”
“The way he looks at you, I’d say you’re the biggest part of his ‘whole world,’ Tris,” Lindsay said. “But it’s none of my business. I know that.”
I gave her a little shove. “Damn right it’s none of your business. I didn’t tell you to move to New Jersey with that traveling businessman you said you hooked up with last week.”
Lindsay made a little puking sound. “New Jersey is not Jade River, Colorado,” she said. “Just sayin’. If my bestie were moving here, I’d come here, too.”
Shawn was up ahead on the path. He waited for us to catch up and then he put his arm around my shoulders, giving me a standard bro side-hug. The three of us continued around the path at the property’s edge, occasionally stopping to check out birds overhead or pull some weeds.
I decided that I was going to be hands-off with Jack for the rest of the trip. I wasn’t going to make any more moves on him, even though I wanted to kiss him every time I saw him, these days. I wasn’t going to even joke about him moving here. I wasn’t going to persuade or coax him in any way.
I was going to let things happen organically and naturally. If Jack wanted more, he would come to me.
I hoped, at least.
By the time we had looped back to the house, Jack had been set free from his sprinkler duties. He was out in the front yard with Dad, who was showing off the sunroof on his car.
And he was shirtless, working in the sun.
Shirtless, god damn it. How the hell was I supposed to act totally neutral around him when his perfect fucking body was on display like that?
“There you are,” Jack said, giving me a wave.
Just be cool.
“Hope you’re ready to see the new Tristan Wood estate,” I said.
“Estate, huh?” Jack said with a dimpled grin. “I didn’t know you were going to be living in luxury out here.”
“It’s a… two-bedroom, two-bathroom estate,” I said. “A very small estate. Modest. Humble.”
Jack’s smile only grew wider, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he looked at me. Adorable. Which I was going to ignore. “I can’t wait to see your new estate,” he said.
Dad pulled his head out of the side of his car and looked out at me. “Your friend Jack here is a wizard, I’m telling you. A damn wizard. Fixed that sprinkler after barely even looking at it.”
“He’s pretty awesome, isn’t he?” I agreed.
“A wizard,” Dad emphasized.
“I feel like you’re basically calling Jack the Harry Potter of handy-men, Dad,” Shawn said.
“Better than Harry Potter,” Dad said with a chuckle. “He’s the Gandalf the Great of handy-men.”
“It’s Gandalf the Grey, not Great,” I corrected.
“I didn’t know you were such a big Lord of the Rings fan,” Dad said, giving me a little slap on my shoulder. “Tried to get you to read The Hobbit as a kid and you always wanted to read Stephen King instead.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “I was a thrill seeker, after all,” I said. “But I agree with you. Jack is a wizard, with just about anything.”
“I think I’ll start putting that on my business cards,” Jack said, reaching up to stretch his arms above his head in the sunlight. “The Gandalf of General Contracting.”
“Brilliant. You’ll get all of the business from Lord of the Rings fans who also happen to need contractors,” I said.
“You all ready to hop in the van and head to the cove?” Nathan said, coming out from inside the house with a towel slung over his shoulder.
“Hell yes, we are,” Lindsay said. “I haven’t been to Big Rock Cove at all this year.”
“What’s Big Rock Cove?” Jack asked. “You’re telling me there’s a Big Rock Cock in Kansas and a Big Rock Cove here?”