Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
He pulled out his cell to text him and let him know he was on his way up, but his phone was dead.
He dragged his tired ass up to the door, and as soon as he opened it, the warmth and scent of fresh baked bread made him want to weep.
Jojo was behind the desk, the usual light in her eyes missing. Her face was pale, almost drawn and her lips were pressed into a thin line. Stone could see right away that something was wrong.
He already knew what it was, her aunt, Mrs. Pearl. No doubt she was as devastated as the rest of the small business owners in town. The bed and breakfast had been booked up, but now…
“Hey, Stone,” she murmured.
He gave her a curt nod, wishing he had the energy to say more, but he didn’t.
“Hi Jojo, I’m gonna go up and see Royal,” he rumbled, walking towards the stairs. “I know it’s late, but I’ll come back down in a bit and see if Myra has anything to warm my bones.”
Jojo didn’t move right away, instead her eyes dropped to the floor.
“Stone…” Her words were hesitant, as if she was unsure how to say what she had to say.
“What is it?” His question came out sharper than he’d meant. He was too tired to hear bad news.
Jojo’s face was full of sadness as she sniffled. “Royal…he left.”
Stone paused, the words crashing into him with the force of an avalanche. He stared at Jojo, his mind scrambling for sense.
“What do you mean he, left?” His voice was raspy as if he couldn’t breathe.
The weight of Jojo’s silence was unbearable.
“Jojo,” he urged, walking back to the desk. “What’s that mean?”
“He went back to New York…this morning,” she replied as tears welled up in her eyes then streamed down her cheeks.
Stone’s world tilted on its axis. He felt light-headed, as if the floor had dropped out from under him. He shook his head, his words coming out in a strangled whisper. “No. No, no, no. That doesn’t make sense. He hates that place.”
“He said he wasn’t sure when he’d be back but that he’d call you as soon as he could.”
Stone’s chest became tight, and it felt as if his lungs could no longer draw in air.
“But…” his voice trembled, the reality of what Jojo said sinking in. “But he promised me that…”
He said he’d be here.
Stone had trusted Royal, believed every word he’d said.
He wanted to yell, or punch something, but instead he stood there frozen. His thoughts were spinning out of control, trying to piece together the fragments of the life he’d thought he was about to build. But he couldn’t be with a man that would hightail-it to the big city when shit got rough.
The quiet emptiness and the chill of the night began to creep into his soul again. The loneliness and pain that Stone had fought to push away were slowly growing back like the phantom pains from an amputated arm.
He felt something within him crack. Something deep and fundamental. The weight of everything, the storm, the destruction, the loss, the fifteen hours of work, the trust he’d placed in Royal, all crushed him at once.
Jojo’s lips trembled. “I’m so sorry, Stone.”
Stone shook his head. He couldn’t think, couldn’t process the hurt. All he could feel was the cold. He turned around, his legs heavy, his heart in a freefall. As he stepped back out into the night, the chill wrapped around him like a silent predator dragging its icy knives over his skin.
He dreaded going back to his cabin and climbing into a bed that smelled like Royal but lacked his body heat. When he walked into his home there’d be silence, loneliness, and the frigidness of a cold winter’s night.
Royal
The windows of Global Crown’s building reflected back a distraught, stressed version of the man he’d run away from. Royal’s footsteps echoed in the marble and chrome atrium from his uncomfortable Dior dress shoes, and the expensive suit he wore now felt like a straitjacket.
He used to blend into this place with everyone else, but he felt more alien than ever.
If he’d been in Windeville, he’d have been in the kitchen with Myra, helping her prepare hot meals and cocoa for the people working tirelessly to clean up their town. Instead Royal was back in the trenches of a concrete jungle that was damn near impossible to escape once, never mind twice.
I have to hurry and get back home.
Royal halted mid-step.
Yep, he’d said home. Windeville was home. Bo, was home. And Mrs. Pearl with her warm smile, and Myra’s cooking infused with soul and love. Even Jojo and Brissy with their infectious energy and loud jokes that never ceased to bring a smile to his face. All who’d cared for him and welcomed him, especially the ones who knew and adored his parents. They were all home.