Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
He said he didn’t mean to hurt her, but had panicked and then he decided he’d take advantage of her being there. He was going to come back and act like he walked in on the whole scene and claim Hanna must have killed his mom and maybe even his aunt. He just never planned on me showing up or Otto seeing him in the upstairs window, proving he was in the house.
I slide my hand off her stomach as I kiss the back of her head, then roll away and sit up on the edge of the bed, scrubbing my hands down my face. I’m exhausted, but I know I won’t be able to go back to sleep. Weeks ago, I gave up even trying after waking from a dream like the one I just had.
Getting up, I put my shorts on and leave the room, closing the door behind myself before making my way to the kitchen. Out the balcony doors, I spot Trevor sitting outside with a cup of coffee on the deck, with the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon behind him.
He and Liz drove down the day before yesterday to help us house hunt before we all go to Tennessee before the Fourth of July. Hanna and I plan on spending the holiday with my sister, her new man (a long story), my nephew and my parents. They also came because Hanna threw in the towel, something I knew was coming, since she has become increasingly annoyed with how “picky” I’ve been, as she put it. The thing is, I’m not going to settle. I want a house we can grow into, that is safe, in a good neighborhood with good schools, and is not far from the location of the building Otto, Ham, and I are purchasing to run our dive school out of.
After pouring myself a cup of coffee, I slide open the back door, and Trevor’s eyes meet mine.
“Liz still asleep?” I ask, and he lifts his chin in an affirmative. Not a surprise. She and her daughter were up late last night watching a movie, so late I had to carry Hanna to bed after she fell asleep on the couch with her mom, while her dad and I went over house listings in the area.
“You’re up early.”
“Yeah.” I move to the edge of the balcony and rest my coffee on the ledge as I look out at the sand. There are already a few people out running before the heat hits and all the tourist and beachgoers arrive.
“You still having nightmares?” he asks, and I glance back at him. I should have known Hanna would tell him about that. I’m learning quickly she doesn’t keep much from her parents. Especially when it’s something that is worrying her.
“Every night.”
“They’ll go away with time.”
Will they? Because at this point, I’m thinking that’s not the case.
“She’s worried about you,” he adds.
“I know.” I take my coffee and walk back to the table to take a seat. “She’s also not the one who walked into a situation where there was a woman dead and I thought she might be too.”
“I get it. I also know if you keep on like you are, she’s going to fight until she gets free, and you might not be able to catch her again.”
My stomach muscles clench. Even if that isn’t a threat, it feels like one.
“Pardon?”
“I get that all you want to do is protect her, but that’s the one thing that will drive a wedge between the two of you.” He shakes his head and lets out a long breath. “She moved halfway across the world to get away from me. You think if she feels like she’s being stifled, she won’t do the same with you at some point?”
My jaw gets tight along with my fist wrapped around my coffee mug.
“She loves you, but you’re going to have to loosen your grip a little.”
“Is this about her going back to work?” I grit out, because that seems to be the one thing I can’t even speak to her about when she brings it up. One of the things I know is bothering her, but fuck. The idea of her flying around the world and being miles and hours away from me isn’t something I can come to terms with, not right now. Eventually, maybe. But not right now.
“She’s always been a kid after her own independence and freedom. Heck, she even taught herself how to ride a bike without training wheels after taking them off her damn self, because I refused.” He smiles proudly at the memory. “She’s got a mind of her own and her own dreams. One of those has always been to have a family of her own, but the other was to find a man who would allow her to grow and flourish in the ways that I didn’t. You’re already giving her one of those things. You need to put your own fears aside and give her that other piece she’s always wanted.”