Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
I nodded, quickly exiting my side of the vehicle. My greeting and proper meeting with Willow needed to come after Slade and his monster machine took off. This noise had to be hard on her ears. It wasn’t any joy for mine.
From over the hood of the Jeep, Slade’s eyes were only on me. He cocked his head, urging me to meet him behind the Jeep. He was there before me, taking me into a hug-style hold. “I don’t want to leave you. You’ve changed me and my life. Please be here for me to return to.”
“Me too,” I nodded, tightening my arms around him. We’d said our goodbyes in the privacy of Slade’s home. While I was doing much better at worrying about who I was, it was still hard to make out in front of his staff, especially all these burly men ready to throw down their lives to protect Slade.
“Use the Jeep as you need,” he said against my ear. His voice felt strained, pain-filled, but it was hard to tell over the din surrounding us.
“I like my truck,” I managed. Both his hands went to my biceps, and he pulled me away but not so far that I couldn’t keep my arms wrapped around him.
“Stop. The air conditioning needs to be fixed. We need to get a new truck to help transport… well, everything,” Slade said.
“My truck works just fine for all that,” I tried again, as we started in on another discussion that Slade was hell-bent to win and I was just as resistant about.
“Don’t meet anyone new,” Slade said, an octave or two louder than the helicopter.
I chuckled, turning my laughter at Slade. “Right. You need to not meet anyone new.” I shook him off. He kept saying the most ridiculous things. His appearance was changing again. His beard and hair were filling in nicely. He was a handsome guy. A dream. I loved him beyond understanding. How had my heart only begun to beat again under his care?
Slade bent forward, placing a chaste but lingering kiss on my lips. I didn’t care who saw. I lifted a palm to his heart and hoped he knew it represented the connection we shared. He liked that move, staring at me. A sunglass-covered gaze. It was still blinding sun outside.
He nodded, mimicked my move, and stepped away, extending a hand to the driver’s seat. Once I understood he wanted me to follow, I spotted the door opening for me. The dog stayed in the back seat, her face glued to the window, as she tracked every movement we made.
The insane sadness added a depth of forlornness to this moment. I did what he asked, climbing inside the Jeep. We were locked in place, and Slade lifted a hand saying goodbye.
I stayed in the parking area, staring at Slade until the helicopter rose and flew away.
Only the ding of an incoming text mattered in that moment. My heart knew instantly who it came from.
“You had me tearing up watching you watch me,” Slade typed. A picture of his red swollen eyes followed. I wasn’t too far off from that same look myself. After a deep breath, I patted the seat beside me. The dog jumped forward, sitting in the passenger side seat next to me.
She and I would officially meet once I was able to talk without crying.
=♥=
Mace
One Day Later
My phone rattled relentlessly on the counter island in Slade’s kitchen, but I ignored it because Slade wasn’t following the texting schedule he’d insisted we put in place. I glanced back to my laptop screen where I was waiting to have a video conversation with Dash Richmond. I’d planned to have this meeting inside my own place, but the internet was almost nonexistent there, only the phone provided a hotspot, and that wasn’t that great. So, at the moment, Willow, probably the best dog I’d ever owned, lay at the base of my barstool. Not awake, but not asleep either, just in the state she stayed in until I gave her a command to relax for the day.
Slade either called or texted about once every minute of the day and night. How the man got anything done was unbelievable. Also, his tone had changed, no longer feeling like the happy guy I’d known. The hardnosed man he insisted he was in the world underscored each word.
Dash dropped into the seat behind the screen, “Sorry about the delay.”
“Not a problem. We have about ten minutes to tie this up before your next meeting,” some unseen guy said in a cultured, polished, and professional voice. I couldn’t tell what part of the country he’d come from, but Texas would hit the bottom of that list based on accent.
“Mace, everything we discuss is private. We’ve sent back the changes you asked me to make to the partnership agreement between you and Slade,” Dash said.