Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
When we got to the hotel, Mom got us a suite, so Ford and I would have our own room. Ford seemed pretty hesitant about the whole hotel thing until he saw that they had hot chocolate and fresh cookies in the lobby. The second he spotted them, his whole demeanor changed. “This place is awesome.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, they have a pool and everything.” He stopped and crinkled his nose with a pout. “Oh, man. I don’t have my trunks.”
“I can go grab them.” I looked over to Mom as I said, “I need to grab a few things anyway.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“No, there’s no need in that. I’ll just run, get what we need, and come right back.”
“It’s an hour there and back.”
“Which is why you guys should stay here.” I reached over and gave her arm a tender squeeze. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Please be careful.”
I nodded, then knelt in front of Ford. “Be sweet to your grandmother and do whatever she tells you.”
“What if she tells me to jump on the bed?”
“Well, you gotta do what you gotta do.” I gave him a wink before kissing him on the forehead. “I’ll be back when I can.”
With that, I turned and headed back out to my car.
I was running on empty.
Over the past couple of days, I felt like I’d been through hell and back, and I had. It was bad enough to witness my father’s murder, but I’d also been questioned by the police, followed by a strange car, and we had someone break into the house. I felt like I might crumble under the weight of it all. I just wanted to crawl into my bed and let the grief and exhaustion pull me under.
But that wasn’t possible.
Mom and Ford needed me to keep it together, so I kept putting one foot in front of the other. As I started up the steps, I thought about all the things I’d need to grab from my apartment. It wasn’t much, just some more clothes and a few toiletries. Once I had them, I could head back to the hotel and crash for the night.
I planned to do just that, but when I rounded the corner, I was surprised to find three men standing at my door. They were big men, barely able to fit in my small hallway, and they were wearing leather jackets with embroidery I’d never seen before. They were clearly bikers, but none that I’d seen before.
Two of them were talking in low voices, but the third was turned toward my door, his hand raised as if he’d just knocked. Thinking they might have something to do with my father’s death, I panicked and started to take a step back. I’d barely lifted my foot when one of them noticed me.
He had a handsome face and kind eyes, but his muscles and tattoos made him look menacing as he took a step towards me. His lips curled into a smile as he said, “Hey there, beautiful. Where you runnin’ off to?”
Before he could answer, the man who knocked at my door turned, and my breath caught somewhere between a gasp and a sob. It was Holt, but that couldn’t be.
My mind had to be playing tricks on me, or I was dreaming, but it couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be him. It wasn’t possible. Holt was gone. He’d died overseas. I’d grieved for him. I’d cried endless tears for the life we never got to have.
But there he was, standing right there in front of me.
I could see that he was as alive and real as the ache in my chest.
“It can’t be,” I whispered to myself. “There has to be some mistake.”
But when his eyes locked on mine, full of that same fire I used to know, I knew. They’d lied. They’d all lied.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to run into his arms or fall apart on the spot.
It didn’t matter. I couldn’t move if I wanted to. I felt like my soul had been yanked from my body, and I was nothing more than a puddled mess. My legs felt like lead, and my heart was pounding like thunder.
My mind struggled to process what I was seeing. His hair was longer, and his shoulders seemed broader. But those familiar, piercing eyes left me with no doubt. They were the same eyes I’d fallen in love with all those years ago. And they were the same ones I’d seen in my son every single day since the day he was born.
“It can’t be,” I cried. “It’s not possible.”
“Tallie?”
His voice was low, but it was him. I would recognize that voice anywhere. His gaze softened for a moment, and for a heartbeat, I saw the boy I’d loved all those years ago. The boy who used to make me laugh and promised me the world.