Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
I stood up. “I will be moving out as soon as I possibly can, and I will not ‘go back’ to using drugs because I never used drugs in the first damn place.”
I stormed from the kitchen back to the lumberyard and bent my fury into my work. I walked the lines of two-by-fours, pulling out warped boards and dragging them over to the bargain pile. It was going to take a lot of hard labor to dispel the anger that was seething in my bones. I held my breath that the manager wouldn’t take notice and decide to engage me. I couldn’t be responsible for my actions if he did. Thankfully, I was left alone, and after three hours of backbreaking work, I finally felt better.
8
TAMMY
“Hand me the hot dogs,” Macy said, reaching over the kitchen island.
I looked around.
“They’re in the sink, defrosting,” she said.
I looked in the sink and found two packages of dogs, cold but not frozen. I handed them over.
“Dillon!” Macy called.
Dillon appeared from the master bedroom, straightening his shirt.
“It’s just Jason and Lindsey,” Macy said.
“The other shirt was dirty,” he defended himself.
“Mary Ellen! Mary Ellen!” Daisy cried, circling the table like a little witch casting a spell.
We were having some family friends over for a cookout, and it was nearly time for them to arrive. Dillon had started the coals on the grill outside. Macy was trying to get the meat ready for him. I had put out bowls of chips and dips, with a fruit platter for those of us who were watching our figures.
“Can you grab the cooler?” Macy said, pointing to the cooler that sat beside the fridge. As always, she was balancing a toddler on one hip and trying to do everything else with just one hand. She was always a Supermom.
I leapt forward just as she moved to scoop up a platter of hamburgers. “I got it,” I said. She reached for the hot dogs. I grabbed them with my other hand.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Dillon came over and picked up the cooler, following me out to the grill. The kids tumbled out of the house and down the porch steps, marching and chanting their friend’s name. Macy joined us finally, after sourcing a binky from Emily’s room.
A moment later, Jason and Lindsey appeared out of the woods. I had been expecting a car and their sudden arrival had me looking to Macy for an explanation.
“They have their own cabin,” Macy said. “Just over the ridge.” She went to hug her friends and became embroiled in a cute kid show-and-tell.
Lindsey held her daughter by the hand, at least a year older than Macy’s toddler and that much heavier. She had a soft head of curls and a pixie face that lit up when she saw Macy. Macy hugged Lindsey, and Emily squealed in delight when she laid eyes on Lindsey’s kid.
“Mary Ellen!” Daisy screamed, rushing over to the women.
“Daisy!” Mary Ellen wiggled in her mother’s grasp until Lindsey set her down.
Daisy and Mary Ellen gave each other a hug in a demonstration so cute I thought I might die. Jason walked up to Dillon and held out a hand. The two men shook with none of the ooh-ing and ahh-ing that the women had shared. Dillon offered his friend a beer, and Jason took it.
“Jason, this is Tammy,” Dillon introduced us. “She’s Macy’s cousin. She’s staying with us for a couple months.”
“I’m looking for a job,” I added, in case he thought I was just a freeloader.
“Where you from?” Jason asked.
“Austin,” I answered.
“Tammy!” Macy called, waving me over.
“Excuse me,” I told the guys, scooting out from behind the grill and taking my place with my cousin and her friend.
“Tammy, this is Lindsey,” Macy introduced us. “Tammy’s from Austin. She’s come to live with us now.”
“I’m just staying for a few months until I can get on my feet,” I explained again.
“Don’t you love it out here?” Lindsey gushed.
“I really do,” I agreed. “It’s so peaceful here with so many trees. Back in Austin, I was lucky if there was one tree on my block.”
“I couldn’t live in the big city,” Lindsey said, drifting closer to the house to access the beverage cooler.
“Lindsey’s lived in Singer’s Ridge her whole life,” Macy said.
“Really?” I turned to my new best friend, desperately curious. “Do you know a guy named Mike, works at the lumberyard?”
“I think so,” Lindsey said. “Why? Do you?”
“I went on a date with him a couple nights ago,” I admitted. “He’s a bit of a mystery.”
“I’ve seen him around with a few women, but no one long-term,” Lindsey said. “He’s cute.”
“He is,” I agreed, “but do you know anything about his history?”
Lindsey shook her head, “I don’t actually know everyone. He wasn’t in my grade in high school. Jason might know. He’s a police detective.”