Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
He winced for one beat when he realized what I was fixated on, then he jarred me out of the trance he had me under when he tossed his shirt over to the couch. “You don’t mind, do you? I mean, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to see me like this considering we’re just friends, yeah?”
It was pure provocation.
I blinked a bunch of times.
Damn it. He was distracting me from the point of this conversation.
“You need to reconsider—”
A finger was pressed against my lips, stopping the words from spilling out. “I’m doing this, Hailey, and I promise you, I won’t have a single regret.”
Why was he proving to be so sweet? So good and right?
“Cody.” It was barely a whisper, and I wished I could divulge all the information so he could make an actual educated choice.
But I couldn’t give him that.
Not yet.
It wasn’t safe.
“Mean it, Hailey. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“I think I already do.”
“Well, we are friends after all.” He winked, back to light, as if the weight of my world hadn’t just suddenly been placed on his shoulders.
I fidgeted, warring, before I gave.
Accepted his gift.
“Let me know if you need anything.”
He smiled. “You might not want to know what it is I need, Hailey.”
Heat flamed.
“Right…okay.” Awkwardly, I tossed a hand behind me toward my bedroom. “I’m going to bed.”
I couldn’t get my feet to cooperate, and Cody kept grinning like he was somehow making a good time of this. Standing a foot away. That big body so close and on display.
I finally forced myself to turn, and I rushed across the floor, though I paused when I got to my bedroom door to whisper, “Goodnight, Cody.”
He was still standing there, watching me. “You sleep well, darlin’, because I’ll be sleeping light. You can rest assured that no one is getting by me.”
How was he so different than I’d imagined or expected him to be? Or maybe he’d been a different man when I’d met him that summer.
A player who probably didn’t have the first clue that that wayward smile had crushed two bleeding hearts.
One to never beat again.
“Thank you. For everything.” I meant it.
With all of me.
“It’s what I’m here for.”
I could only give him a small nod, deciding it was no use to argue with him that we weren’t his responsibility any longer.
He’d already chosen that we were.
It was on me to make sure it didn’t bring him harm.
On me to be the one to chase Pruitt away before Cody got involved any deeper.
Maybe it was time to be brave enough to do what I’d been threatening all along.
Apprehension prickled in my consciousness, and fear whispered terrors into my mind.
Swallowing it down, I forced myself the rest of the way into my bedroom and snapped the door shut behind me.
Cody didn’t move until I’d clicked the lock, then I pressed my ear to the wood and listened as his boots thudded across the floor. Listened to the rustle of fabric and the steady cadence of his breaths.
Resigned, I peeled myself out of my clothes and changed into my favorite teal sleep shorts and matching tank then climbed under the covers.
I sank into the warmth.
And just like all the nights since I’d moved in, I felt the pull of his presence.
His aura profound.
Only it didn’t echo from the window.
It echoed from the other side of my door.
NINETEEN
CODY
SIXTEEN YEARS OLD
“No, Cody, I can’t accept this.” His mother looked at the stack of cash he set in her hand, eyes wide, moisture making the brown pools swirl and swim.
His chest tightened in a fist. “You need it.”
Grief puckered her brow while adoration spun through the tight clench of her expression. The love she had forever watched him with poured out of her like a sieve.
Still, she tried to argue. “You’re sixteen. You’re supposed to be off having fun. Playing sports. Being wild.”
Cody grinned. “Don’t worry about that, Ma. I’m sowing plenty of oats.”
A soft huff puffed from her lips, and she tsked as she shook her head with tender reproach since the truly fun things were the ones she didn’t relish hearing about. “Cody.”
He grinned wider. “Only said it so you’d know I’m not lacking on the sweeter things in life.”
“But that’s the thing. I want you to be happy. To thrive.”
Reaching out, he curled her hand around the money.
He’d taken that lawnmowing job he’d started at twelve and turned it into something that was actually producing. Working at least three hours after school each day and on the weekends. He’d told his mother he was saving for a car, and he’d bought an old beat-up pickup truck that would suffice.
The rest was for her.
For his sisters.
“I am thriving, Ma. And taking care of you…of Dakota and Kayla…that’s what makes me happy.”
The moisture in her steadfast gaze built to tears, and one streaked down her cheek. “But this money is supposed to be for you.”