Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
And just in case anyone was worried, Duncan went next, flying higher than my daughter because he was quite a bit heavier. After that, everyone wanted to go, which did not surprise me.
Grady apologized to me first, and I smiled and told him that I forgave him but he definitely needed to think before he spoke next time. Anne was mortified. I gave her a glass of the wine Aja and I always drank together, and she apologized immediately for the wine she had brought me.
I laughed. She laughed. And when she had a bite, later, of Aja’s macaroni and cheese, she put her hand over her mouth.
“My sister-in-law is very gifted.”
“And beautiful and so nice,” she told me once she was done chewing. “That is amazing.”
I winked at her.
“Oh, Jory, your home is wonderful, and so is your family. I’m so happy Finn found Kola.”
So was I, but it was more than that.
Watching Finn stare and smile as Kola swung back and forth, and seeing Hannah and Jake dancing on the deck together listening to Van Morrison, filled me with peace.
Dobby was stalking crickets through the grass, Chilly was asleep in the sun on his chair near me, Sam was sitting with Duncan, Eammon, and Wayne, laughing and eating and drinking, and I was with Anne and Theresa, and they were both telling me how much they loved my backyard. I was very fond of it myself.
Caden gravitated toward Jake and rode the swing after his cousin, Bryce, had his turn. Grady sat with Kola and Finn, and quickly, he seemed to be listening to whatever Kola was telling him.
Later, Duncan came over and sat with me and the two women, and smiled at them before he turned to me.
“Where is your significant other?”
“He’s in Singapore,” he told me.
“In the future, please tell me when he’s not in town. I would love to have you over when he’s not around.”
His chuckle was filthy.
“You know what I mean.”
“I do,” he said, and I noted, as I was certain the two women at the table did as well, that his gunmetal-gray eyes were like quicksilver when he smiled. There was no doubt that Duncan Stiel was a beautiful man. “And your husband reminded me as well.”
“Good.”
“And as for the other thing,” he said softly, “Aja won’t have to worry about any more problems with Mr. Burgin.”
I grimaced. “Is he still in one piece?”
Quick nod from him. “Yes. But Dane made himself clear, and heard, as we all stood in the man’s living room.”
“Dane did?”
“Yes, it was quite eloquent.”
I sighed deeply. “I’m surprised he let you in his house.”
“He didn’t really have an option.”
I nodded. “Did you all leave his house at the same time?”
“No. Sam went with Dane. I stayed behind.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed to explain to Burgin that he probably didn’t want to spend time with a meth addict going through withdrawals in county lockup for an entire weekend.”
I chuckled.
He arched an eyebrow for me.
“Duncan Stiel,” I scolded him. “You can’t just leave people in lockup.”
“Oh I dunno,” Theresa chimed in. “I had an assistant DA leave the man who stalked me when I was in my early twenties in county jail for––” She looked at her sister. “––a week?”
“Nine days,” Anne vouched, turning to me. “They couldn’t find him in the system, Jory. The desk sergeant said he’d never seen anything like it.”
“See,” Duncan said, with a wolfish grin. “Every now and then, things happen.” He turned to Theresa. “Did the guy ever stalk you again?”
“No, he did not.”
Duncan shrugged, his gaze returning to me. “Sometimes you need to nip these things in the bud, because not everyone can be counted on to sit and ruminate on what they should do, what the best path forward is. Their better angels do not speak to them. And that’s sad because when they don’t, when they persist with their poor choices, the rest of us are forced to take more persuasive action.”
I shivered. I couldn’t help it. Because the words were spoken so softly and yet so utterly devoid of anything but menace.
“So again, before anything snowballed, I made the consequences of Burgin’s continued actions, his continued choices…clear. That way he understands what’s expected and what the consequences of not meeting those expectations will be.”
I met his gaze, that was unwavering.
“Yes?”
“Yes.” I found myself agreeing quickly.
He smiled and then got up to go speak to Sam.
“I confess he’s both scary and swoony at the same time,” Theresa stated.
“Agreed,” Anne said, widening her eyes.
I certainly didn’t want to be Mr. William Burgin. He’d seen Dane, seen Sam, and been left with Duncan. That was just terrifying. I had no doubt that whatever Burgin had said about Aja would be withdrawn on Monday, if not already. He would make himself scarce on campus, and their paths would not cross again. Not if he knew what was good for him.