Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
“Really?” I casually replied.
“You see, I value family, Ward. I think it is one of the most important things in a man’s life.”
I swallowed hard. “As do I, sir.”
“I heard your younger brother, Preston, and his wife had a baby.”
With a nod, I answered, “Yes, sir. A baby girl named Presley.” Pulling out my phone, I pulled up the picture of her. Turning it to him, I smiled. “Most beautiful girl in the world next to my ma and sister.”
He looked at the photo, then shot his eyes up to mine. He seemed a little stunned, but soon wore a smile as he looked back at my phone.
“She is indeed a beautiful little thing. I don’t get to see your father much anymore. Hell, I don’t remember the last time I saw him. Will you let him know I send my congratulations? Tell him to stop by our old stomping grounds once in a while if he can.”
Is that the reason he called me in here? Preston’s daughter?
“Um…yes, sir, I’ll pass that along to him.”
“Sounds good, Ward. Thank you.”
I stood and took him in as he looked down and read something on his desk. Turning, I headed to the door.
“Ward?”
Glancing back at him, I asked, “Yes, sir?”
“Do you know why I had you take Flash home?”
I shook my head. “Not really, sir.”
“Rumor has it you think I don’t like you.”
Lifting my brow, I asked, “Is the rumor true?”
He smiled as he stared into my eyes. “Flash has a vet appointment next week that I need to take him to.”
That bastard. He was going to just leave me hanging. “No worries on that, sir. I already planned to take him. I’m off that day.”
His brow lifted. “You’ll take him?”
“Yes, sir.”
I pulled the door open and went to walk out. “You’re not even the least bit curious what my answer to your question is?”
“I’m here to do a job, sir. There isn’t a man here I wouldn’t risk my own life for, and that includes you, Cap. If I’m doing the job you need me to do, it doesn’t really matter if you like me or not.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
I had no idea what he meant, and I didn’t care. I wasn’t in the mood to play games with the man who could possibly destroy my future, in more than one way.
I left his office, shut the door, and headed outside.
The second the fall air hit me, I drew in a deep breath.
“What did he want?” Colton asked.
“He asked about Preston’s baby.”
“Huh.”
“I think he knows about Rory and me.”
Colton chuckled. “If he knew, he’d have cut your dick off. Trust me. He doesn’t know a damn thing.”
My stomach felt sick. Was this any way to start a relationship? With lies and hiding? I hadn’t heard from Rory since her last text to me four days ago, and it was driving me fucking crazy. I’d never dealt with these kinds of feelings. I needed to talk to someone before I went mad with wondering why she’d left and why I hadn’t heard from her.
Pulling my phone out, I sent Angela a text. If anyone could help me figure this shit out, it was my baby sister.
Rory
Go with your gut
I watched as a cloud took on different shapes in a matter of seconds. A dog. A mouse. The letter M. My mind spun around in a million different directions. I hadn’t been this unfocused in a long time. The idea that I had walked out on Finn bothered me more than I thought it would.
I’d freaked out and acted on emotion. My first instinct had been to push Finn away, and I wasn’t sure why.
The knock on my office door pulled me from my thoughts. “Come in.”
Russell walked in with the file I’d asked to see. He had been out golfing with a few of the senior partners and a potential client they were hoping to land. Yesterday he spent the entire day in court, so this was the first I’d seen of him since before I took that day off. “You enjoy your day off?”
I lifted my brow. “You enjoy your morning golf game?”
“Touché.”
He dropped the file on my desk and then sat down. “I thought you looked at this information.”
“I did. But I want to make sure I look at it again. The other day when I was at the library, I was talking to the children’s librarian. On a hunch, I asked if Robert had ever volunteered there, and she said he had. Then she told me about a little boy who adored him. The mom became very obsessed with Robert. So much so, he had to change the library he volunteered at.”
“Why didn’t Long tell us this?”
I shrugged. “Not sure, but it’s something we need to ask him.”