Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 74875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
All because I could smell him. And he was touching me.
“Try again,” he ordered. “This time tell me what happened.”
I tried to think. Tried to make my brain formulate a response that wouldn’t piss him off.
But I couldn’t.
“My…dad.”
He frowned.
“Your dad?”
I nodded.
“What about your dad?” he asked. “Did he spit some gum in it?”
He was joking.
Oh, God.
That smile was about to be wiped straight off his face, and he was going to be one pissed off alpha male.
Then a horrid thought occurred to me, and I had to rethink my strategy. Not even his closeness could stop me now.
“Will you promise me something?”
He pursed his lips.
“Is this promise going to mean that you won’t tell me if I don’t promise?”
I nodded.
I didn’t want him going to jail again because of me.
“Okay, hit me with it.”
I worried my lip for a half a second, then shrugged, deciding to hell with it.
“Promise me that when you hear what I have to tell you, that you’ll not do anything stupid.”
He studied my face with humor filled eyes.
“Define stupid,” he ordered.
I contemplated what ‘stupid’ was for a few moments, then nodded.
“Stupid is beating someone up. Stupid is shooting someone. Stupid is doing anything about this that doesn’t involve using your words.”
His face sobered instantly.
“Okay,” he reluctantly agreed. “I promise.”
I couldn’t tell if he was lying or not, or if he actually planned on following through with his promise, but I needed to get last night off my chest.
Normally I would’ve said something to Krisney, but the last time my father did this, she’d told me that her promises—one similar to the one that I’d just had Tate promise to—were no longer valid if he ever did it again.
And I couldn’t risk that.
Nobody at the police station would do anything, and honestly, who would believe that the beloved town preacher that everyone loved would do anything to harm his own daughter?
That’s right. No one.
Except, maybe this guy.
He hadn’t been there from the beginning like Krisney had. He hadn’t seen the things Krisney had. But still, he was here. And he wanted to know.
I was also sure—down to my bones—that this man would believe every single word that came out of my mouth when it came to my father.
“My father hacked it off with a hunting knife about as long as my arm,” I blurted.
He blinked, then blinked some more.
“You’re…serious.”
I nodded, wincing slightly. The feel of the uneven wisps of hair touching my neck on one side, and my shoulder on the other, had me growing nauseous all over again.
I was frantically scribbling on my notepad, trying not to look at the man in front of me, when I felt the notepad ripped from my hands.
I looked up to find Tate kneeling on a knee beside my chair, his hand extended to my hair.
“I’ll fucking…”
“You can’t,” I said. “You made me a promise.”
His lip turned up into a silent snarl.
“You’re goddamn deranged if you think I’m not doing anything about this,” he growled, his eyes angry and hard.
Knowing that anger was for me really made my heart feel full, despite my awful night.
It was nice knowing that I had not just one good friend on my side, but now two.
“What exactly are you going to say, and who will you say it to that freakin’ believes it?” I pushed. “Nobody knows that my father is a freakin’ jerk. Nobody realizes that he’s anything other than the nice man that they think he is. Trust me on this, I’ve tried to tell them about the beatings…”
“The beatings?”
I winced at the low roar that came out of his mouth.
“Uhhh,” I hedged.
He cupped my face and forced me to look at him.
“You’re going to tell me about everything right now.”
I laughed. “This is your session, silly. Not mine.”
He bared his teeth. “Don’t give one single fuck about my shit right now. Let’s talk about yours.”
I was already shaking my head. “I don’t talk about it. Ever.”
He stood up and planted his ass on the coffee table in front of me, then crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’ll go nowhere, and do nothing, until you tell me.”
I shrugged.
“Fine.”
And that was how, forty-eight minutes later, I realized that he’d do exactly that. He’d sit there, and wait…forever if he had to.
He’d sat there, in the same exact place, staring at me as I tried to ignore him. When his appointment came to an end, and another appointment started to head inside, I immediately realized that I wasn’t going to get out of this.
“I’ll tell you…tonight,” I told him. “Not right now. Talking about it isn’t good. Ask Krisney.”
Tate’s eyes were hard.
“I don’t want to ask Krisney. I want to hear it from the source—IE, you.”
I sighed. “I’ll tell you tonight. Just make sure you know that you’ll have to take care of a drunk Hennessy after we’re through.”