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)
Willie flashes me a beaming smile that reminds me of Kenni. All dimples and that damn divot in his chin. As I hold his gaze, I realize that I’ve admitted to two people that I’m in love with Kenni. I should probably tell her. Before I can ponder how to go about that, the sheriff extends his hand to me. I take it, his hand enveloping mine as his eyes hold mine. He shakes my hand. “You have the time. Don’t waste it.” He pauses and then adds, “Chief.”
Then he drops my hand and walks away like he didn’t just give me the biggest blessing of my life while also showing me he respects me. I swallow past the emotion and look up at the sky, the night dark with the stars like glitter in the clouds. The light blues remind me of Kenni’s eyes, and damn if I don’t miss her something insane.
She must miss me too, because my phone rings. I smile when I see it’s her. Though, when I answer, her voice is off. “Where are you?”
I get into my truck, my brows basically touching. “Heading to the station. Do I need to come to you?” I ask with teasing in my voice.
“Yeah, come pick me up,” she says stiffly, and I frown at her tone.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask, pulling out of the drive. “I’m coming.”
“Missy told me.” Her words are like a kick to the chest. “Is it true?”
I shouldn’t play dumb, but here we are. “What?”
“Dean August.”
Just my name, a warning. I roll my lips. “I’m coming.”
“I’ll be outside.”
She hangs up, and my heart jumps into my throat. She’s never hung up on me, nor has she ever used that tone with me. She sounds pissed, and I don’t know what to do with that.
But I’m not worried, because now that she knows the truth, I have nothing to hide.
That has me grinning from ear to ear.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-NINE
Dean
Well, damn. Kenni is spitting mad.
She looks like a dream in boots as she taps her foot out in front of the Thirsty Pine. I drink her in, the way her jeans hug her thick thighs and sweet ass. When she sees me, her eyes narrow, and I can’t help but chuckle. I don’t know why she’s pissy, but damn if she isn’t the cutest with her nose wrinkled and fire in her eyes. I pull in, gravel kicking up as I roll down the window to send her a flirty grin. “Hey, good lookin’, need a ride?”
She glares, throwing open the door and getting in with a huff. She shuts the door with a slam and leans back to cross her arms over her chest. I watch her for a moment, and then I lean across to grab her seat belt and put it on her. The click has her eyes cutting to mine. “You’re looking mighty fine, darlin’.” I kiss her lips. “And you smell like the inside of a Fireball bottle.”
Oh, she’s fighting hard not to grin. “We need to talk.”
“Talk, darlin’. I’m all yours.” I pull out of the lot. “How drunk we feeling? Do I need to get my hat?”
“Stop messing around,” she snaps, and I know if I smirk at her, she might smack me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I tap my fingers against the steering wheel as I drive. “Tell you what?”
“Everything!” she yells, her hands flying up. “Why did I have to hear that when you came and got Missy pregnant, it was with my name on your lips?”
I grimace a bit. Not my finest moment. “I didn’t know how to tell you,” I say honestly as I drive home. “I could lie and say I knew I was fucking Missy, but I didn’t. I truly convinced myself it was you.”
She lets out a yelp. “That is so fucked up.”
“Who you telling?” I ask, shaking my head. “I wasn’t okay.”
I feel her staring at the side of my face, but I’m unable to look at her. “I had just lost Granny, and you showed up at the funeral with two little boys on your hips who didn’t look like me. Then my sister was getting married, and I just felt lost.” She doesn’t say anything, her silence scaring me a bit. I clear my throat as I pull into my driveway. I put the SUV in park, then lean back in the seat, spreading my legs. “I didn’t mean to use Missy like that, but I was a fucking fool and so damn drunk. Not a good excuse, but it’s the truth.”
“You didn’t apologize to her?”
I snort. “No. I hoped she didn’t hear me. But when she told me she did, she gave me no time to apologize. She lit into me, telling me that you were married and that you’d never be mine. It pissed me off, and I shut down.”