Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Only the next day, he was planning her funeral. Just like that, his world had shattered. The hopes and dreams they had shared were gone, all because of her cousin. Hayden wanted her charged and in jail. It was the least the police could do for him and Conor, except Sofia’s parents didn’t want that and begged for the charges to be dropped. Sofia’s dad had pull. Hayden didn’t, despite being a respected member of the law enforcement community.
The animosity grew between them and forced Hayden to make the decision to move back to Oyster Bay with his son. He missed his wife and wiped the tears that streamed from his eyes. He hadn’t realized he’d started crying. When she died, he thought he would never be ready to move on. Until he ran into Devorah. His axis had shifted that day, and for the first time since Sofia died, he saw promise. Even if nothing came of him and Devy, she would be a constant in his life. This much he knew.
His phone rang, pulling him from his thoughts. He fished it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. The text was from an unknown number, but the message was clear: Be at Crow’s for dinner, 6 p.m. Bring Conor.
A nap or early bedtime could wait. He assumed the number belonged to Crow, and with that, if the sheriff wanted you at his house for dinner, you went.
Hayden spent a few more minutes on his bed, gathering his thoughts. As much as he liked Devorah, he had to respect that she was in a much different place than he was. He could easily jump in with both feet, but there was no way she was ready to even dip a toe into the dating game. The kiss they shared, while one of the best moments of his recent life, had probably scared the shit out of her. Never mind the way he was when she’d brought lunch to him earlier.
Well, lunch to the crew. She didn’t know he was there. Her presence had still sent his heart into a tailspin. He wanted to be around her, more and more each day.
He sent a text to his mom, giving her an update on his and Conor’s dinner plans, and then cleaned up after himself. After shutting down the generator, he left a couple of windows open to let the air circulate, hoping the fresh air would make the place smell a bit better.
On his way to pick up Conor, he detoured to the next town over and stopped at the grocery store for a bouquet and a six-pack of Crow’s favorite beer. He also picked up a chocolate cake for dessert. It wasn’t homemade, but he didn’t want to show up empty handed.
Hayden honked when he got to his parents’ place, and Conor came running out with his own bouquet in his hand. Hayden laughed and reached across the console, pulled the handle for the door, and nudged it so Conor could open it easier.
“Nice flowers, bud.”
“Thanks. Grandpa took me to the store when he found out about dinner. Said the McKenna men don’t show up . . .” Conor trailed off when he followed his father’s gaze to the backseat. “Empty handed,” he mumbled.
“Grandpa is right. I didn’t think to check with you beforehand. You can give those to Devy.”
Conor beamed. “I really like her,” he said. “She includes me in stuff.”
Hayden didn’t have the heart to tell him the text was probably from the sheriff. “I like her too, bud.”
“More than Mom?” Conor looked at his dad.
Hayden’s heart lurched, and he shook his head. “Never. I love your mom, even though she isn’t here with us. She will always be here.” Hayden pressed his fist over his heart. “I can’t look at you and not see her or remember her. Your mom will always be with me. With us. No one can ever take the memories we have of her away from us.”
Conor’s eyes welled up with tears. Hayden pulled over, released Conor’s seat belt, and lugged his son into his arms. Conor cried into his father’s shoulder. “I miss her lots.”
“I know, bud. I wish I could take away your pain. The only thing I can do is be here for you and talk about your mom whenever you want. I don’t know how you feel, because I still have my mom and dad, so you have to tell me when the pain is too much so I can try to help you cope.”
“Okay,” he cried.
They sat there on the side of the road, holding each other, until Conor sat up. “I’m better.”
“Yeah?”
Conor nodded.
“Do you still want to go to Maren’s?”
He nodded again. “She’s my friend. I don’t want her to think I don’t like her.”