Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 108124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
I rolled my eyes and shifted the bag of groceries to my other hand so I could dig in my purse for the car keys.
“Alex and I are actually very happy here.”
That statement was only partially true. While Alex seemed settled, the last couple of days—full of run-ins with Levi—had me considering packing up my entire life and moving back to New York. I clicked the key fob and unlocked the trunk of my car.
“How can my son be happy when his mother moved him a thousand miles away? A boy needs to be near his father.”
I dumped the groceries into the trunk and slammed the hatch closed. “Actually, Tanner, a boy doesn’t need to be near his father. He needs to spend time with him.”
“And how am I supposed to do that with you living all the way down in Beaufort?”
I sighed. Back in New York, Tanner had only lived a few miles away, yet he’d seen his son maybe six times over the last year. Distance had nothing to do with why Alex and his father weren’t very close.
“I’m busy running errands, Tanner. Did you call to have this argument again, or was there another reason you needed to speak to me?”
My ex cleared his throat. “I need you to hold off on depositing that check I gave you.”
My forehead wrinkled. “A new check? The last one I received was the one you gave me before I left, almost two weeks ago?”
“Yeah, that one.”
“I deposited that a few days ago.”
“Well...it’s not going to clear.”
I closed my eyes. I’d written a check for Alex’s football camp with that money, not to mention the phone bill and a few other things. “Why this time?”
“I ran a little short this month.”
The last few years had taught me how to translate the language I called Tanner Speak. I swear, if I popped I ran a little short this month into Google Translate, it would return I lost a big bet. Unfortunately, after his injury, when Tanner couldn’t play for a living anymore, he’d started getting his action fix by betting on games. At first it had been just football, but over the years it had spread to most sports.
I sighed. “That check was only half of what you owe me, Tanner. You were supposed to send me the other half by this week, and now you’re telling me you can’t even make good on the first half?”
“What’s the big deal? You have plenty of dough these days since you scored my half of The Palm Inn.”
Though he hadn’t come out and said it, I was pretty sure Thatcher left half of the property to Alex and not Tanner because he knew about Tanner’s gambling addiction.
“First of all, the inn isn’t even covering its costs right now. And second, even if it was showing a profit, that money would be Alex’s, not mine.”
“Why don’t you just sell the damn thing?”
I balled my hands into fists. “Ugh. Now you sound just like your brother.”
“Well, there’s a first. You mean my big brother and I actually agree on something?”
I shook my head in frustration. “I have to go. Is there anything else you needed to discuss?”
“No, I’ll call Alex in the next few days.”
Sure you will. “Whatever.” I didn’t bother to say goodbye before swiping my phone off. Honestly, he was lucky I didn’t hang up on him the minute he told me about the bounced check.
I drove home with a giant knot in my neck, grumbling a string of curses about the Miller men. If there were ever a day I was entitled to an afternoon glass of wine, it was today. And since Alex wasn’t being dropped off until later, that’s exactly what I was going to do—sit on the couch, prop my feet up on the coffee table, and let the wine take the edge off. Yep, that was my plan.
At least it was until I walked in the door and promptly slipped and landed on my ass…from the flood.
***
“What the fuck?”
“Don’t just stand there!” I yelled. “Find me another bucket!”
Levi disappeared back out the front door. He jogged in ten seconds later holding a garbage can and shook his head. “Really? You couldn’t find anything else?”
I’d been using Alex’s football helmet to catch the water pouring from the ceiling. This was the third leak that had sprung in the half hour since I’d gotten home. I was starting to worry that the entire ceiling was going to crash down on my head. Since the helmet was almost full, I pulled it away, and Levi slipped the can into its place.
He looked around at the disaster I’d been dealing with. “What the hell happened?”
“I have no idea. I walked in the door and fell on my ass. The ceiling was leaking in two places. It finally started to slow down, and I’d just finished mopping the floor when this third leak started pouring water.”