Between Now and Forever Read Online Adriana Locke

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Funny Tags Authors:
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Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
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“Only one eye because that’s all you have?”

I shake my head, making her laugh.

“All right,” Carter says, bursting out the door with the energy of a child hyped on chocolate. “I forgot to tell you something.”

“Who? Me?” Gabrielle asks.

“Nope.” He turns to me. “You.”

“Why does that feel like a threat?” I ask.

He bends over laughing, even though I’m not sure he understood the joke. Gabrielle, on the other hand, elbows me in the ribs.

“Okay,” I say. “What did you forget to tell me? I know my eye is black. So if it’s that, I got it.”

“No. It’s not that. It’s that at school, they’re having a Boat Box Derby.”

“A what?” Gabrielle asks.

“A Boat Box Derby.”

I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Do you mean a Soap Box Derby?”

“Yes. That. I didn’t know what it was, but all the kids were talking about it. They do it every year in our grade and the principal comes and there’s cake.” He pauses to make a face, as if that’s a hook enough. He puts his hands on my forearms and leans so close that I can smell the chocolate on his breath. “I signed us up for it.”

He stares holes in my eyes. And for the first time since I met Carter Solomon, he’s as serious as a heart attack.

I’m not sure what to say. Sure, I’m happy to help him with whatever he needs. But this feels very . . . parental. That’s what fucks me up a little bit.

“Carter, honey,” Gabrielle says, scrambling to pull his attention away from me. “You can’t just sign Jay up for stuff. Why would you do that? I’m happy to help you build a . . . soap box?”

He sighs animatedly. “It’s a derby car, Mom, and that’s why you can’t help. You don’t even know what it is. And Jay is good at building stuff. Have you even been in his garage?”

“I have,” she says, her cheeks pink. “But just because he can build things doesn’t mean he has time to build you a derby car.”

“He does,” Carter says happily. “All the kids are having their dads help them. And I told them Jay was practically my dad—”

Dylan bursts through the door, making us all jump. His face is beet red as he stares us all down. “Fuck that. He’s not your dad.”

I want to step in and say something. But what do I say? Do I tell Carter that I’m not his dad? Or that I’m happy to help? Do I tell Dylan no one is trying to replace his dad, or do I stay out of it so I don’t make this worse?

“Okay, Dylan, calm down,” Gabrielle says, standing up.

“I’m not calming down. You lied to me.”

Gabrielle flinches. “What did I lie to you about?”

“All that stuff you said last night in my room. About how no one is trying to make Jay our dad. And how great my dad was and how much you want to do what’s right by him. And now I come out here and hear Carter tell him”—Dylan glares at me—“that he’s practically our dad. I don’t fucking think so.”

“Dylan, can I talk to you privately for a moment?” I ask.

“No.” He looks at me like I’ve grown three heads. “I’m not talking to you. I hate you. I wish we had never met you.”

“Dylan!” Gabrielle says.

“Why are you being a jerk face to Jay?” Carter asks, reaching for his brother’s arm.

Dylan shoves his hand away. “Because you don’t understand what this means, Carter. This man is not your dad. He’s not like your dad. He’s nothing to you. Do you hear me?”

Carter’s eyes fill with tears.

“I just want to hear you out,” I say.

“Don’t. Care,” Dylan says, scowling at me. “There isn’t an open spot in our family for you. We had a dad and now he’s gone and the last thing we need is to have another guy step in just so he can leave us too.”

“I’ve heard enough,” Gabrielle says.

Dylan turns his scowl to her. “Good, me too.” He reaches for Carter. “Come on, buddy. It’s me and you. This guy is nothing to us. All right?”

“Dylan . . .” Gabrielle says, but her words are cut off by the look Carter gives us over his shoulder as he goes inside with his brother.

I exhale, running my hands down my face. How did this turn upside down so fast?

The boy’s words cut through me, sobering me out of my daydream. Am I delusional to think that I can fit into this family the way I want to? Is it possible to join them at their ages and expect to be accepted into the fold?

My face heats as reality slams into me.

Gabrielle’s sadness is palpable. “I’m sorry, Jay. I need to go in and deal with this mess.”


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