Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
She had also told her to go to the information center. So many people opted to come to Hope and ditch the cell phones, and oftentimes, they needed them. There were bears, the occasional wolf packs, nature being unpredictable, and all of that.
She wasn’t obsessed with her cell phone, but she knew it was a necessary piece of equipment in this modern world. It was strange to have grown up without a cell phone. She didn’t get one until well after high school.
She watched her customer leave and was surprised to see Hawk enter her shop. There were no other customers, and she had already done some stock inventory from her latest delivery.
“Hey, Hawk,” she said, rounding the counter. “What brings you here?”
He closed the door and shoved his hands into his pants. “Uh, you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, I, uh, I heard the news about Adam, and I ... I went to visit his grave.” Hawk looked down at the ground.
Katie had known her husband and Hawk had been friends. It was one of those friendships where everyone assumed Hawk was using Adam.
Her husband had told her he didn’t know the first thing about computers. He was failing that class, he didn’t want to be forced to stay behind, and Hawk was helping him learn. This had surprised her, especially as Adam had set up everything for the shop, dealt with all their taxes and their online business stuff.
Obviously, he taught her everything before the worst happened. Even still, she had been surprised by his revelation that their friendship had bloomed long before that.
Hawk loved to play chess. So had Adam. The two had found a mutual liking, talking strategy, learning the game, learning the plays. They had stayed in touch after high school, but she had also known her husband had been the one to stop writing. And the friendship had fizzled out. Katie knew why Adam had done it, and now, looking at Hawk, she didn’t think it was right of her husband.
She took a few steps toward him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. I’m not going to make this about me. I just wanted to come and tell you I am sorry. I had no idea, and I can’t believe I didn’t know.” He ran a hand down his face.
Katie knew this couldn’t be easy for him.
She closed the distance and placed a hand on his arm. “It’s okay. Adam had ... strange requests and ways of dealing with everything.”
“He did?”
“Yeah. Some people might think I’m the biggest bitch around because I moved out of the home we shared, but the truth was, he arranged it so if I didn’t move, I’d get kicked out.”
“You’re joking.”
“Nope. Adam wanted me to be strong. He wanted me to ... move on.”
Hawk took hold of her hand, where the wedding band lay. “But you haven’t moved on?”
“Yes, I have.” She looked at the ring. “This ring and this shop is all I have of him.”
“It is?”
“Yep. I had to get rid of everything else, no exceptions.”
“I hate to say this, but I think that was a dick move,” Hawk said.
Katie burst out laughing. “Adam even said that to me in his letter. He left me a letter.”
This was so damn strange. Over the years, she and Adam had talked about the past, and the one thing her husband had said was that he had found it easy to talk to Hawk. She had never really spent any time with Hawk, and yet here she was, just talking.
“He’s a great guy, Katie. You don’t know him like I do, and trust me, that guy is sharp as a fucking whip, and he’s a lot of fun. Once you get past the fact he can be a jerk, he’s a lot of fun.”
“A letter?” Hawk asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, a letter, explaining that he loved me and wished he could have given me the life I always wanted, but it wasn’t meant to be. Twenty-eight was too young to become a widow, and I wasn’t going to have a dead husband around my neck.” She smiled at him.
“You know, it’s crazy, but that so sounds like Adam.”
She laughed. “Yeah, it did. I hated him for a bit, but I did what he asked, and now I have this place, which he helped make successful before he left. There was a lot he did for me.”
“Did you guys ... have any kids?”
“No,” Katie said.
She was not about to tell Hawk that Adam refused to have them. After his first diagnosis, and defeating it, Katie had thought they would have kids.
“I can’t do it, Katie. I’m so sorry, baby. My mom died of cancer. My dad died of cancer.”
“But you defeated it.”
“It’s going to come back,” Adam had said.
“Don’t say that.”
“I know me. I know my family. I’m not going to give this to my kid. I love you, Katie. I love you more than anything, but we can’t have kids. I can’t do that to you. You’re going to bury me, and that is going to be awful. I can’t have you burying one of our kids.”