Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 90972 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90972 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“Hello, dragonfly,” he greets me with a soft smile.
“Hi,” is all I can come up with.
“You look good.”
“You look…” I take in his appearance. There are dark circles under his eyes, his face looks a little leaner, like he has lost some weight, and his hair is a little longer than usual, as if he missed his last haircut. “You look stressed.”
“Yeah, I don’t doubt that.” It’s not much of an explanation, but I don’t ask about it. I have more important questions on my mind.
“What are you doing here, and how did you even find me?”
Kellen smirks and shrugs his shoulders.
“Have you been watching me?”
“I have been keeping an eye on you, yes,” he admits shamelessly.
I don’t know how to feel about that. Logically, I should be freaking out, maybe be angry at him, but instead I’m just confused.
“So you have been stalking me?” I ask, wondering how often he has been around without me knowing.
“If that’s what you want to call it.”
“Is that why you look so tired?”
“I have a lot going on right now,” he explains. “My father is dead.”
“Oh…I’m sorry,” I say because that’s the first thing that comes to my mind. I didn’t like the guy, but he was still Kellen’s dad.
“Don’t be. I’m certainly not,” he says in a cold voice, and immediately I know—Kellen killed his own father.
I stare at him, dumbfounded, as what he told me sinks in. Kellen’s father is dead. He’s gone, and we’re safe.
“He confessed to murdering my mother,” Kellen adds after a while.
“Oh my god.” I didn’t think I could hate the man even more, but now I do.
“I took over my father’s business,” Kellen explains. “Some of the men were only loyal to him and didn’t take the change in leadership well. I’ve been dealing with that for the last few weeks. That’s why I look…and…feel like shit.”
“I’m sorry you have to deal with all of that,” I say honestly, wishing I could help somehow.
“It’s okay. It won’t be like this forever.” He gives me a small smile. “Things are changing for the better. I’m excited about the future.”
“Yeah? What do you think the future looks like for you?” I ask, genuinely curious.
“I can definitely see you in it,” Kellen replies, catching me off guard. “You can come back to Wicked Falls.”
I shake my head before he finishes the sentence. “No. I can’t. There are too many bad memories.”
“Everything will be different now. My dad is gone, and there is no one controlling me anymore,” he says, like that would fix the past. “I want you to come back. I miss you.”
His confession raises some twisted feelings inside of me. “I thought we agreed to no more pretending.”
“It wouldn’t be. It will be real this time.” Kellen leans forward, looking deep into my eyes when he speaks his next words. “Tamson, I want to be with you because I’m in love with you.”
All the air leaves my lungs at once as I stare at him in disbelief. “You can’t mean that.”
“I do,” he insists. “I know I’ve done terrible things to you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, but you have to believe me. I love you, and I will never, ever do anything again to hurt you. I swear I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you're happy and safe.”
My heart aches, and my eyes tear up. He just promised me everything I yearn for. Happiness, safety, and love. This is all I ever wanted, but how can I accept those things with him? I can’t. No matter how much I want to.
“Kellen…I don’t think I can love you back.”
“I know, and that’s okay, because I love you enough for both of us.”
A single tear rolls down my cheek as I suck in a shuddering breath. There is a part of me that wants to give in so badly, to forgive him and let go of the past, but there is an even bigger part that’s still scared.
Terrified, actually.
“I don’t know what to say,” I finally answer.
“You don’t have to say anything. I know you are not ready yet. I’m going to give you some more time,” he offers. “But no more talking to other guys.”
I smile tugs on my lip. “I turned him down,” I remind him.
“Lucky for him,” Kellen says under his breath. “Why did you turn him down?”
I shrug. “It just didn’t feel right.”
“Good, because it shouldn’t,” he snaps. “I can deal with giving you space, but I can’t deal with that.”
I kind of want to tell him that he has no right to tell me what to do, but the truth is, I don’t think I could handle Kellen dating someone else right now, either. I know it doesn't make any sense, but the thought of him with another girl leaves a sour taste in my mouth.