Total pages in book: 179
Estimated words: 170878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 170878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
“Oh no,” Lori’s eyes widened as she looked out the window.
“Oh no, what?” My eyes followed hers, and I found a man dressed in a dark green bomber jacket, beanie down low on his head, stalking toward the bakery entrance. Nervousness instantly filled me, seeing that his eyes were on Lori.
Not because he looked bad. He was conventionally attractive—if you went for a possibly coke-addicted rock star aesthetic—but totally not Lori’s type.
There was something sinister about the way he moved, how he pushed past an elderly woman on his way in, the glint in his eyes. I was good at spotting dangerous men.
“That’s the baby daddy, I’m guessing?” I didn’t wait for her to respond, already standing up. I didn’t like the way he made the tables clatter as he walked past them, gaze intent on Lori.
I glanced toward the counter. It was nearing closing time. Nora had just served the lady who’d walked out, telling us she’d be baking in the back. Fiona was on a run to the bank.
It was a rare day when only a couple of people remained in the bakery—it was usually packed to the gills.
I looked for a brawny type that would help protect a pregnant woman from the baby daddy, who did not look like he was there to gift her a onesie.
Only a girl younger than both me and Lori and an older woman reading a battered paperback were left.
This place was normally filled with more muscled alphas than you could shake a stick at. Where were they when I needed one?
“I know you have a thing against Finn right now and how overprotective he is, but I’m thinking you should give him some kind of SOS text,” I told Lori.
All of the color drained from Lori’s face. “Yeah, I think I should.” She tapped at her phone.
“You bitch,” the man spat as he made it to the table, scowling down to the pronounced swell of Lori’s stomach.
The way he stared at her, at his baby growing inside her, made my heart spike with warning. He was a horrific reminder of Waylon and why I’d never let him impregnate me.
“Hello to you too, Jacob,” Lori replied, staying seated. I admired her for the strength in her voice, the way she held eye contact with him even though I saw her hand shaking.
“I told you to get rid of it.” He gestured aggressively toward her stomach.
Lori flinched, and I angled myself between them.
“Contrary to what you think, Jacob, the world doesn’t revolve around you and what you want,” Lori returned, her back straightening.
His attractive face turned ugly, twisting into a petulant scowl. “My dad said my trust is void until I ‘step up’ and become a father. I’m not letting a brat or some bitch drag me down. How much?”
“How much what?” Lori massaged her temples. “How much of an idiot I must’ve been to have even entertained the idea of sleeping with you? A lot, I’m thinking. By the way, it had nothing to do with you and everything to do with trying to forget a man who is twenty times the person you are.”
I restrained my smile, proud of my friend. Even though Lori was afraid, unsettled, she didn’t back down. It was immensely horrible that men like him existed and worse still to have to be on the receiving end. Lori was rightfully scared. Men like him were dangerous. She had two people to protect now.
But she was still speaking up. Still alluding to the man I hoped she’d get her happily ever after with.
A vein in Jacob’s neck pulsed. “To get rid of it. How much? I’ll write you a check right now.”
Lori gaped at him. I did too. Even though I knew what men were capable of, it was sickening to hear it firsthand. The true arrogance and ownership he thought he could wield over a woman’s body. Her choices. Her child.
She shook her head slowly, lip curled in disgust. “No amount,” she said quietly. “No amount on this earth. Though I’ll admit I wish he had a different father, I’ll never regret this choice.” She rubbed her stomach protectively.
“Bitch,” he seethed again.
I rolled on my heels, noting the change in temperature in the exchange, the thickness in the air. This was going from bad to worse.
“You should leave now,” a voice said from behind Jacob.
Jacob turned, sneering to where Nora was standing, glaring at him. I’d never seen Nora glare before. She was soft-spoken, kind, always offering a smile.
To gain a glare from Nora, you had to be a pretty shitty person.
“I’m not listening to you, fat bitch. Fuck off.”
Nora didn’t bat an eye at the insult, though I knew she recognized how dangerous this man might become. It was ingrained in women to sense that.
“Oh, you’ll wish you didn’t say that.” She shook her head. “Now leave before my husband or the sheriff gets here. Both are en route, and one of them will merely treat you to the letter of the law. The other…” She trailed off, shrugging. “I don’t condone violence, but my husband doesn’t always listen to me.”