Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Poor Big B.
“And you know that’s not what I meant. I meant is this the sort of career you’ve always had.”
“I’ve always been in the protection business, yeah. I like to move around a lot now, so I haven’t really held down one job.”
Or had a home.
“Do you like that? Moving around a lot?”
“I do. I don’t like to . . . settle.”
Ouch. She didn’t know why that stabbed her in the stomach, but it did.
Don’t be stupid, Maya.
It’s not like the two of you were going to form a relationship or anything.
After this was all over, he would go back to his life as a free spirit and she would go back to her life.
Hah! A life? What life?
Your life consists of work, your babies, and animal rescues.
Although she did seem to have found two friends along the way. It was hard to open up and let them in, though. The idea of them leaving her as well . . . the way that her mom had. And her sister. Her brother.
Stop it, Maya.
Mom died, she didn’t want to leave. And you can’t blame Maisy or Marlin for wanting to get out of here. For finding something better.
No. But it didn’t stop her feelings of abandonment.
“Is it hard? Being tied down? With me? I mean, not with me, but because you’re watching over me. Is that hard?”
“Something’s definitely hard,” he muttered.
Huh?
What the heck did that mean?
Matthieu cleared his throat. “Surprisingly, I haven’t had the urge to take off and see where the wind takes me. But I haven’t been here long. Sometimes I stay for several months in one place, depending on the weather and company.”
Right.
When he found someone that he wanted to spend time with. She wondered how many women he’d been with.
Whoa.
Perhaps it’s better not to think too much about that.
“Have you got any siblings?” she asked.
“Is this what you like to do during car trips? Play twenty questions?”
“Ahh. Yep?” she replied hesitantly.
“Then it should be tit-for-tat, should it not?”
“Umm. I suppose. But you already know everything about me.”
“Not everything. Are you close with your sister?”
Ouch. That wasn’t a superficial, easy question.
“I was, once upon a time. She’s still my favorite family member. But we don’t talk like we used to. And I miss her.”
“I’m sorry, Spitfire. And you’re not close with your brother?”
“No, not really.” It wasn’t like they’d kept in touch when he’d left the city.
“No,” he said.
“Huh?”
“I don’t have any siblings. You’re not close with Kathryn’s sons?”
“God, no. I’m not sure I’d even put them out if one of them was on fire.” She was aware of the sharp look he sent her. “I mean, that’s just a saying . . . of course I would.”
“Are they like Vince?”
“Like Vince?” she asked.
“Rotten on the inside while pretending to be a good person on the outside.”
She thought about that for a long moment, about their interactions. “Yeah, I guess they are. It’s scary when you think that two of them are detectives and one is a police officer.”
“Doesn’t seem to be many good officers on the force.”
“There is. Back before my dad was police chief, when my mom was alive, I remember all of his friends would come around for cookouts regularly. They all seemed to be good cops. But I was a kid, so I guess I don’t really know the full truth.”
“I don’t know, they could have been. Are many of them still cops?”
“No, most have retired or they quit. I can’t think of a single one that’s still in the force, actually.”
Was that odd?
No. They were older, of course they’d want a different pace. Except for her father, it seemed.
“I think I might be done with this game,” she said quickly. “Let’s try I Spy.”
“All right.”
“That’s cheating,” he said.
“No, it’s not!” she cried as he pulled into a side road. They’d been driving for about an hour. She wasn’t even sure where exactly they were.
“You said it started with L. R. S.”
“And it did. Little Red Shed. L. R. S. I don’t see how that is cheating,” she told him.
“It should have been just S for shed.”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Uh-huh. The color of objects isn’t included and the shed wasn’t exactly,” he informed her.
“They are too!” She turned to him as he parked and turned off the car.
“Maybe in Mayaworld, here in the real world, nope.”
“Well, that’s rude. And if it’s true then I like Mayaworld better.”
“I think I do too.” He climbed out before she could ask him what he’d meant by that. Then he came around and opened her door.
When she got out, she looked around. They were kind of in the middle of the forest with hills all around them.
“Um, where are we?”
“It’s not where we are, it’s where we’re going.”
“Okay, oh wise one. Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
“Wow.”
It was the only word she seemed to be able to say. But Matthieu got it. The land out here was beautiful. They’d walked the dogs and Big B for a while up an incline to reach this peak. It wasn’t too far, since he hadn’t been sure how long a pig that big could walk. Or a dog as small as Gummy.