Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Being in a small town, everyone expected—and hell, our parents demanded—we’d get married. That wasn’t happening. It wasn’t fair to either of us to try to force each other into a relationship when neither of us wanted the other. So, despite everyone else, we did what was best for us. We decided to raise Skyye as a team. We had a parental plan made before she came, mostly because Missy is so damn organized, and because I needed to see it written out. Being a visual learner, I needed to know that, no matter what, we would put Skyye before anything else. Neither of us misses an appointment, a parent/teacher meeting, or anything else that involves Skyye. If she’s there, we are, and for the last sixteen years, it’s been easy.
Probably because Skyye is such a great kid.
As Wagner pulls into the library parking lot, I track that everyone has already been evacuated and that I don’t see any smoke yet.
“Back of the building.” Wagner motions as if he can read my mind.
I nod as I take it in, the truck lurching to a stop, and my phone goes off once more. I go to throw it into the cupholder as I rush to get out, but I can’t help but check to make sure Skyye is okay.
Skyye
I know you’re on a call, so ignore this until you save the romance section, but Nyle is telling me he can’t pick me up from the rink after my session with Fable. Mom is with Aunt Sadie. They’re doing something, I don’t know, and I need a ride. Be my knight in firefighting gear?
I don’t answer, but I do roll my eyes.
Nyle Farnsworth, our town’s local social media newscaster. He was three years ahead of me in school, but I still kicked his ass my freshman year because he touched my sister’s butt. While Sadie kicked him squarely in the dick when it happened, and she told me that her younger brother couldn’t protect her, I proved her wrong and took care of him in the parking lot. I broke my hand in three places and lost my hockey season, but it was worth it to see him a bloody mess beside his truck.
And now, he’s my daughter’s stepdad.
When he went to college after that in Knoxville, I thought I’d never see his smug fucking face again, but that thought didn’t age well for me. Missy married him last year behind Skyye’s and my back, and neither of us is really happy about it. I shouldn’t be surprised, really; Missy didn’t think this thing through, but I get it. She was tired of being alone. Hell, I am too, but that doesn’t mean I’m marrying just anyone.
I’d never talk shit about her choices; Missy is my daughter’s mother and I respect her, but damn, she couldn’t have married someone else? Or hell, at least let us know she was considering tying herself to the sister-butt-toucher? I knew she was dating him, but I thought it was just sex. She was doing the accounting for the company he worked for. The job was supposed to be remote. I should have known something was up when she was up there on the weeks Skyye was with me.
It’s always been Missy and me doing everything for Skyye, but when Missy expressed that Nyle wanted to be involved, I hated that I didn’t want to let him. I realized quickly that made me selfish, that I only wanted Missy or myself with Skyye, but now I know it’s because I can’t trust anyone with our daughter but Missy. This is the third time this month Nyle can’t pick up Skyye on their week. Not that it matters. I’d move mountains to get to my girl, but it annoys me all to hell that he doesn’t prioritize Skyye.
When I see Garrett Bixby, the animal control guy, I leave my family issues in the truck and focus on the job. We quickly get to work, putting on gear, and then head inside since the fire isn’t even that big. Not that we ever have huge fires here. The only really large one we’ve had since I’ve been with the department was the great Gatlinburg fire of 2016. It was wild and the highlight of my career.
Now, I do a lot of paperwork and save people from fornicating raccoons that knock over candles. The fire is contained to a desk when we reach the scene. I use a fire extinguisher to put out the growing flames, thankful nothing reached the thousands of books that Thistlebrook Library contains. I check for more flames while Garrett and his crew work to gather the raccoons and the therapy cats.
That’s more work than the damn fire was.
CHAPTER
THREE
Kenni
My arms hold the boys while Stratford and his family look through the photos they’ve taken. Since Stratford is a big part of the community here, he has people coming up to chat and bullshit, leaving me to love on the boys just a bit longer.