Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Someone else had beat me to it: if it wasn’t obvious from the way the three gravesites had clearly been cleaned up, the fresh flowers in front of each of their headstones would have been a dead giveaway.
It could have been Uncle Brian, I told myself, but I knew it hadn’t been. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind it had been Jasper.
CHAPTER TWO
Jasper
“You know Ms. Evelyn over on Blue Belle? She has a niece who’s movin’ from Charlotte to live with her. Ms. Evelyn says she’s real nice—and single. I was thinking you might want to meet up with her. She could use a friend when she gets here,” Mama said.
I groaned. This was nothing new, but sometimes I didn’t understand her. One minute she’d tell Dad there was no reason I had to rush to settle down, that I was young and had to find the right woman—which if I waited for her to like someone I dated, I’d never settle down. But then the next she’d be trying to introduce me to someone, because there was no doubt in my mind she was talking about being more than friends with Ms. Evelyn’s niece. “I’m only twenty-six.”
“Look at Sammy Joe. He’s a year younger. Him and Molly have been together for years now.”
Not the first time I’d heard that either, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last. “Why do you try to get me to date when you don’t like any of the women I go out with anyway?”
“I like ’em okay, just not for my son. But I trust Ms. Evelyn, and while I’m not as insistent as your daddy is, you can’t stay single, playing the field and hanging out with Sutton your whole life.”
I didn’t see why not. I liked women a lot. They were beautiful, soft, sweet. I liked touching them, kissing them, pleasuring them, and at some point I’d find one I wanted to settle down with too. I just hadn’t yet, and I wasn’t in a rush. You were only young once. “I know that, but we can’t all be Sammy and find our person when we’re young. I wanna be secure anyway, on my feet better before I do all that.”
“Very smart.” She kissed the top of my head and patted my cheek. She was like a damn roller coaster sometimes. I never knew what she wanted.
“Thanks, Mama. How’s Aunt Carrie?” I hadn’t seen her around in a while. Mama had me stop by and leave her some food a few weeks back. I knew Sammy had been with Molly nearly every weekend, which surprised me. Maybe he was finally gonna stop taking care of his mama. I felt bad for her, I did, but I also thought a whole lot of pressure was put on Sammy because of her struggles.
“As good as can be expected, I’d imagine. She’s not talkin’ to me much.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” Mama wiped her hands on her apron. We were in her kitchen. I’d come over to see what she was up to while Sutton was out. It was afternoon, and I’d expected him home a lot earlier from visiting the cemetery. He’d been gone all day, which was unlike him.
At the familiar sound of Sutton’s truck coming down the driveway, I stood and stretched. He acted like the anniversary of his family’s passing wasn’t as painful as it had been fourteen years ago, but I knew how hard it was for him.
“I’m gonna head home.”
“You boys gonna come over for dinner? You know how I like havin’ my family together,” Mama said.
“No, thank you. We got some food at the house that needs to be eaten up.” It was a lie, and I wasn’t sure why I told it. I kissed her cheek. “See ya later, Mama,” I said, then went out the back door and jogged across the property to our house.
Sutton was drinkin’ a glass of water in the kitchen when I went in. His shirt had pulled up, showing some of the golden skin of his muscular stomach, and I flicked my gaze away. He’d let his hair grow some lately. When the strands got wet, it hung over his forehead. He was a little smaller than me, with more slender features, a thin nose, and…why was I examining his looks so damn much?
Sutton said, “You went to the cemetery without me.”
I shrugged. “Thought I should make sure it was nice for ya since you’re a stubborn bastard and wouldn’t let me go with you.”
He chuckled, but it wasn’t a real one, then set his glass down and sighed. “Libby would be twenty-one. Can you believe that shit?”
No, I couldn’t, and I knew it was a million times harder for Sutt. “Let’s pack up the truck and go camping tonight. I know it’s late, but we can hit up our spot. It’s close. We can swim and build a fire and just fucking let all the other shit go. It’ll be fun. We haven’t gone camping in a long time.”