Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
I guess I knew why my mother was the way she was. She cared what people thought and had a general disdain for men. Her not wanting to visit Laurel Lake made more sense now, too. Maybe it was better that I grew up not knowing much.
“Any other questions?” my uncle asked.
I shook my head.
“Good. Tell that boyfriend of yours he owes me a new hat.”
I stood. “Fox isn’t my boyfriend.”
Ray picked up his glass once again. “That’s good. Wouldn’t want my only niece to turn out like that man’s last girlfriend.”
CHAPTER 22
* * *
A Lifetime Ago
Fox
Four-and-a-half years ago
“What the hell?” If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought I’d walked into the wrong backyard. There were people milling around all over, and I had no idea who any of them were.
A skinny brunette wearing only the bottom of a bathing suit stumbled over to me. She threw her arms around my neck. “You’re cute. Who are you?”
I peeled her arms off. “I think the better question is who the hell are you and where’s your top?”
She pouted. “You don’t sound very fun.”
I ducked around the woman and dumped my equipment bag onto the back deck, scanning the yard for Evie. I found her in the lake with a red cup in her hand, so I walked down to the edge. Guess my plan to come home early, curl up on the couch, and watch a movie with my girl was out.
“Evie? What’s going on?”
She squinted. When she realized it was me, she smiled and waved. “Come in! It’s so warm.”
“Why are you in there with all your clothes on?”
“I felt like it.”
I motioned to the twenty or so people in the yard. “Who are all these people?”
“Some old friends from Coopsville.”
Lately, there had been two Evies—depressed and in bed sleeping, or partying like she didn’t have a care in the world. It was one extreme or the other. I’d been encouraging her to get out more, spend time with her old friends or make some new ones, maybe find something to occupy her time. But this wasn’t exactly what I’d been thinking. “Why don’t you come out of the lake?”
“Why don’t you come in?”
“Because I’m dressed, and I just got home from two days on the road.”
“So?” She leaned back and laid on top of the water, floating on her back. “It’s so warm.”
I looked around the yard. To my left there was a woman straddling a guy while they made out. Behind me there were a couple of guys smoking a joint. “How about we tell people it’s time to go?”
Evie lifted her head out of the water and sulked. “Party pooper.”
“I’m going to go take a shower and get changed. I’ll show people the way out if they’re still here when I’m done.”
I didn’t wait for a response before turning around and going inside. There were a few women in the kitchen playing a high-school drinking game. In the living room, a guy was slouched on the couch with one hand down the waistband of his pants and his dirty sneakers up on my coffee table. I kicked his feet off. He startled and jumped up like he was going to have a problem with it, but then stumbled and had to grab the arm of the couch to avoid falling over.
When he got a look at me, he swallowed. “What’s up, man?”
“Party’s over. Get your shit and get out.”
“Who are you?” He tilted his head. “You look familiar.”
“The guy who owns the house.” I thumbed toward the stairs. “I’m going to change. Be gone by the time I get back. And take your friends with you.”
I didn’t wait for him to respond before lifting my bag again and taking the steps two at a time. In the shower, I let the water rain down longer than normal, hoping it would ease some of the tension in my neck. But even after fifteen minutes, I still wasn’t in the mood for a party full of drunken strangers. I wanted Evie to have friends and make a life for herself, but her drinking had me concerned. After I dried off and got dressed, I looked out the window to the yard. Evie was saying goodbye to people, so I stayed upstairs until the last stragglers disappeared. I eventually found her sitting on the steps of the back deck, alone.
She looked up when she heard the screen door open and close. “Are you mad?”
“This is your home, too. So I’m not going to say you can’t have friends over. But walking in to find random drunk guys sleeping on my couch doesn’t feel good, Evie.”
She sniffled. “I didn’t get the job at the rink.”
I sat down next to her on the step. “How come? I thought the interview went well.”