Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
He took a long breath, trying to focus. He glanced around and saw he was in a bedroom, laid out on a big bed. The blinds were mostly closed, but he could see a thin stream of light coming through them. “How long was I out?”
That seemingly nice old lady had tranqed him. His aunt. Biological aunt.
Zach was his brother, and he’d yelled at Kala. He’d said some mean things to her, and she sometimes took things far too literally.
“It’s been eight hours,” his father replied. “Your brother flew me out here. He’s going to fly the other jet back. We need to talk. I know this is a shock, but what did you do to Kala?”
So many things. He forced himself up, swinging his legs over so he was upright. And that felt terrible. He caught sight of a picture on the dresser to his left. Big Tag and Charlotte were in the middle, their arms around their kids. Kala stood to the side, her face solemn while all the others were grinning like mad. “Where is she?”
He should talk to her. He’d been too harsh. Way too harsh.
His father looked tired. He was wearing slacks and a button-down, proving he’d likely come straight from the office, gotten into the private jet, and flew all the way to Colorado. No one ever said Alex McKay didn’t show up for his kids. “She’s out in the kitchen, I think. She’s been on the phone with her father or on her laptop. I don’t know what happened. That’s why I asked. All I know is I haven’t seen her look that hollow in a long time. Hunter offered to fly her back. You know when I was a kid growing up I never thought having two corporate jets would be so necessary to my existence.”
He tried to stand but fell back on his ass on the mattress.
“Go slow. You took a whole lot of sedative,” his father advised.
“Yeah, from fucking Zach.” It had been on his orders. He was so angry at Zach he could barely breathe.
“Kala had the doc around these parts come out and check your vitals. He said you were fine,” his father explained. “I know she was worried about you, but she won’t come back here. She said she was planning on heading home with Hunter. Naturally Hunter needed to go into town for a couple of things before he turned the plane around. I’m glad you’re up because I don’t think I can keep her here much longer. She might try to walk home.”
She wanted to leave him? Damn, had she even blinked when he went down? Or had she been so far in badass operative mode that the fact he was knocked out didn’t even faze her? He’d sat by her hospital bed for hours and hours holding her hand, but she was working?
A bitterness welled, an unfamiliar feeling. He wasn’t this person, but he couldn’t help it right now. He was sick physically and his head was still spinning and she wasn’t with him, wasn’t worried about him. “Well, if she wants to leave, that’s her prerogative. Where’s Zach? Is he being held at the sheriff’s department? Or does Big Tag have a lockup here?”
He wouldn’t put it past the man. Was his dad feeling betrayed? He had a very hard time believing Ian Taggart didn’t know something.
His father shifted, staring at him for a moment as though trying to figure out how to handle him. “I thought the two of you were doing okay.”
“We were.” He sighed. “And we will be. I’ll calm down and apologize. I said some harsh things, but I was in a bad place. A place she kind of put me in.”
“I assure you she didn’t put any of us in this situation. That apparently was the Reed sisters,” his father replied. “Kala wasn’t even born when we adopted you. Why would you blame her?”
He understood the logic and yet he still had this feeling. “She figured it out way before I did and instead of letting me in on the secret, she kept going. I was a complete idiot. I sat there while she played detective. I mean, I’ve always known her job came first, but damn it hurt.”
His father’s eyes were steady on him. “I don’t think she meant to hurt you. I do think she sometimes gets lost in her own thoughts. You know this. You know her. What did you say?”
Cooper shook his head. “Nothing that wasn’t a normal, natural reaction to finding out I’ve been lied to all my life.”
His father sighed. “That feels dramatic.”
“Really? You’re not mad?” Cooper asked.
“I’m surprised. I have some questions, but if you’re asking if I’m angry that I adopted you and got to be your father, the answer is no. I can’t be angry about something I love,” his father said. “From what I understand, the Reed sisters were in a desperate situation and Joyce thought you would be best protected if you were part of a family she knew and loved.”