Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
She shrugs and tries to brush off the hurt. “It’s better this way. I don’t make him happy; he doesn’t really make me happy. We were basically roommates who tolerated each other.”
“But—but…you guys looked so happy.”
“We would give everyone the social media fakeness, but once it was just the two of us, it was not good. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love him, but I am not in love with him. I want him to be happy.”
I reach out to put my hand on hers. “Where are you staying?”
“I’m back home with my parents.” She chuckles. “That’s been loads of fun. I had to get permission to go out today.”
“What can I do?” I ask softly.
“You’re doing it.” She grabs her drink. “Just being here, you’re doing it.”
“Well then, let’s do it more,” I urge her, and she smiles at me. “This weekend. Movie marathon at my house, and if your parents say it’s okay, you can sleep at my house.” The two of us laugh just like we did all those years ago.
An hour and a half later, we pay the bill and get up to go. She brings me back to my truck at the barn, and when I start it, instead of going home, I head to see Juliet. With everything that happened today, I need my girl.
Parking at the side, I walk into the barn and stop when I spot them. “This is Juliet,” he tells her. “She’s Lilah’s horse when she came to work for us.”
“Hey,” I say softly, and their eyes move to me, “fancy meeting you guys here.”
“I was showing Lucy my horse and gave her a tour,” Emmett explains. “It’s bath time,” he says, and Lucy nods, holding her hand up to wave at me while they both walk out. Emmett’s walking like he’s got a weight on his shoulders. I watch them until they disappear into the house.
“Hey, girl,” I tell Juliet, “twice in one day.” I walk into the stall. “That’s the day it’s been.” I take her out, going for a ride, not a long one and definitely not a fast one. By the time I head back, the sun has set, and the stars are coming out. I’m closing the stall when the barn door opens, and Emmett walks in. He’s out of his jeans and in shorts and a T-shirt. I’ve never seen him in anything other than jeans, and my eyes sweep over him once and then quickly turn away before he catches me ogling him. “Hey,” I say, wiping my hands on my jeans, “everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he replies, “I thought I forgot Lucy’s sweater in here.” He looks around. “She had it when we went out for a walk, in case there was a breeze, and now I don’t know where I put it.”
“I never thought I would see the day,” I tell him. He looks at me, and I swear, what I wouldn’t give to have him hug me just one time. To be held by him just once, especially after today. What I wouldn’t give to be able to bury my face in his neck and kiss him. Fuck, the longing makes my chest hurt. “You a dad.”
He looks down. “You aren’t the only one,” he admits. “I have to get back to Lucy.” He points over his shoulder. “Are you going to be okay getting to your car?”
“I’ll be fine,” I assure him, and he turns to walk away but stops and glances over his shoulder.
His eyes look like he’s tired. Fuck, does he ever look tired. The lightness of his eyes he had before he had Lucy is gone, at least for today. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I reply softly and watch him walk to the house, wishing I was holding his hand while he does it.
Chapter Eleven
EMMETT
“Let’s get the iPad so we can FaceTime Mr. and Mrs. Graham,” I say, walking over to the iPad and opening it. “They are waiting for your phone call to wish you good luck at your new school,” I tell her. When we got back last night, we FaceTimed them, and I was hoping that she would talk at least to them, but still she said nothing. It was fucking torture, and I’d rather wash a herd of cats than do that again.
I open the FaceTime app and press the camera, hearing the sound of ringing as I place the iPad down on the counter in front of her. They answer after two rings. Both of them try to sound excited about her starting a new school. It falls on deaf ears, and after a couple of minutes, the call quickly ends.
“Ready?” I ask Lucy as I finish my cup of coffee, and she nods. I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous before. I barely slept last night, thinking about how her first day at school would be. “Grab your bag.” I rinse out the mug and place it in the dishwasher before meeting Lucy at the door. She was swinging her new backpack over one shoulder, which looks like it weighs about a hundred pounds from all the stuff she has inside of it. It was something we picked up this weekend, along with all of her school supplies. I never knew how much shit they needed to start school. I was a ward of the state, so I was given everything when I got to school. Sure, I didn’t have the cool stuff all the other kids did, but it did the job. Now I was going aisle by aisle, making sure she had the best of the best. Like I was making up for not being there for the first eight years of her life.