Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Chapter 19
Cole
“Wow, Dad, you're unrecognizable!”
I turned around to see my daughter walking in from the bathroom, all dressed and ready.
“You look different as well, kiddo,” I said, but she shook her head.
“You look way different. You're wearing a baseball hat. You never wear baseball hats.”
“Well, it's a new life,” I said. Back at the apartment, my walk-in closet was filled with dress shirts, slacks, ties, loafers, and blazers. But now, I was in a flannel shirt, scuffed boots, and washed jeans — I looked like a hillbilly.
Getting on my haunches I touched my daughter’s hair. She was seven, but it felt as if she was growing up too fast. It seemed only a short time ago that her mother and I were picking out everything she wore. Now she was able to put herself together so immaculately.
I adjusted her pink corduroy jacket, the cute flowery tank top within, and her black jeans.
“We match,” I smiled as I noted her brown boots.
“Yes, we do,” she said, smiling, and my heart swelled.
“I loved her so much it hurt. And this alone was all the confidence and confirmation I needed that I was doing the right thing. I needed to protect her with my life and give her a normal childhood. Eventually, I would deal with every single threat that stood in her way. But first, we had to run from immediate danger.
“Alright, we’ll be leaving soon,” I said as I rose to my feet. “Go check to ensure that you didn’t leave anything.”
“Okay,” she said and skipped off.
The phone rang just then. It was my real estate agent returning my call.
“I'm sorry I missed your call, Mr. Rossi. I was stuck in a meeting.”
“No problem. Just wanted to let you know that you can proceed with the sale. Everything in it is for sale.”
“Oh! That’s great news! Thank you for choosing us. You’ll be glad to know we have many people on our books who would line up for a property like yours.”
“Sure,” I replied. “Sell it as quickly as possible and as discussed payment can only be made in Bitcoin.”
“Yes, I can see that in the notes. That’ll be no problem.”
“Are you moving far away?” she asked.
“Yes, it’s time for a change,” was all I gave in response.
“That’s nice. I wish you the best of luck wherever you're going,” she said.
“Thank you. You won’t be able to contact me on this number after this, so deal directly with my solicitor.”
“Yes, we have his contact details.”
“I’m ready,” Anya said, and I wrapped up my call and picked up our luggage.
“Let's go,” I told her. “We’ll get something to eat on the way. You haven’t had lunch yet, have you?”
“No,” she replied.
We hurried out of the building, got into the newly upgraded car, and began our journey together towards our future in Bison Ridge, a tiny town nearly five hours away with a population of less than five thousand people. It was just the perfect place for me and Anya to hide out for a while.
I hated having to uproot her, but needs must.
As I had done all morning, I constantly checked the rearview mirror to ensure we weren’t followed. It was such a huge weight off my chest we finally left the city.
“Look, Daddy, look, Daddy,” Anya yelled excitedly. “Is that a horse and buggy?”
“Yup.”
“Oh! Wow,” she said, turning her head to stare at the horse and cart. “Are we going to live in a place where everybody rides horses?”
“No, that man is Amish. The Amish don’t believe in using cars or electricity. We’re just going to live in a normal town.”
She was instantly curious about the Amish and their customs, and for the next half an hour I was fielding questions about them. Eventually, she fell asleep and I drove in silence. As we reached the intersection that led to Bison Ridge, I saw the signage for Stormy City and felt a strange tingle run up my spine. Ah, Montana. She was like a delicious cool breeze on a hot day. But she had blown away.
Where are you now?
At first, it had been hard to force myself not to think of her because she came into my head so much, but as the weeks went by it hurt less and less.
She was gone and that was that.
When we arrived at Bison Ridge, I woke Anya up. “We’re in Bison Ridge, honey.”
She came awake instantly and looked around her curiously. “Oh look, there’s an ice cream place, Dad. It’s pretty. We should go.”
“Perhaps tomorrow. We should settle into our new home first.”
We left the main street and drove towards our house. As I turned into the driveway, Anya swung around to face me, her eyes were shining with delight.
“Oh wow, Daddy. You didn’t tell me our new house is called Duck’s Pond.”
“It’s called that, but there are no ducks here.”