Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 69534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
“Fighting how?” I asked.
“Verbally, with my sister doing the shoving,” Searcy answered. “I’d offer to just leave, but if I let her go, they’re going to go after each other again.”
I turned to my sister and pulled her up off the curb.
She stared at me with anger in her eyes and said, “I swear to you, I wasn’t going to fight her. I was just so mad.”
“What happened?” I repeated.
“I was headed home,” she said. “Bridge was going to give me a ride, and this one came barreling out of the school, so damn mad that I was talking to her boyfriend.”
I frowned, then turned to the other girl. “I pay Bridge fifty bucks to give Scottie a ride home.”
The struggling girl bared her teeth at me. “I don’t fucking care.”
“Well, you should,” I countered. “Because if y’all are actually dating, that’s the only money he has to take you out.”
She scoffed. “He can get money other ways.”
“Not and keep his grades up, which is what he wants to do,” I pointed out. “His brother works with me on the ranch, and I know all about Bridge’s school load. He has one more year, and then he gets to get the hell out of Decatur. But he can’t do that with shit grades, which he said are suffering because of his girlfriend.” I leveled her with a look. “You could study with him and make his life easier.”
She rolled her eyes, but she’d finally stopped struggling.
“Like I could get anywhere with my past.” She yanked her hand out of her sister’s hold. “We’re all fucking stuck here.”
I didn’t bother debating with her.
Instead, I said, “After today’s graduation practice, and this weekend’s graduation, likely you won’t even see my sister again. But if you do, I’d appreciate it if you kept your distance. My sister’s a good girl with a huge heart. You could’ve probably made a friend, but you chose not to.”
“Whatever.” The redhead picked her purse up off the ground and started to walk away.
I watched her go for a few seconds before I said, “Get in the truck, Scottie.”
Scottie left without another word, leaving me alone with the woman.
“Thank you,” I said. “My sister’s not a fighter.”
“No,” Searcy agreed, likely remembering the earlier fight. “She’s sure not.”
The thunder overhead rumbled, breaking the spell that she had on me, and I looked up to see a bunch of darkening clouds swirling overhead.
“Can I offer you a ride to the diner?” I asked.
“Only if it’s on your way.” She narrowed her hypnotic hazel eyes at me. “If it’s not, it’s only a ten-minute walk. You don’t get legs like these without putting in some work.”
I glanced at her legs.
Yeah, they still looked just as fucking good now as they did earlier.
“It’s on my way,” I lied.
She studied me for a long moment, then glanced up at the clouds.
“Wish I was going home,” she sighed as she looked across the road to where her sister had started walking.
We were both staring at the redhead when she marched up to a house that was right across the street from the school and kicked open the door. The door slammed closed behind her, and I said, “You wouldn’t have that far of a walk.”
“No,” she agreed. “I wouldn’t.”
I jerked my head to the truck when I felt the first drop of rain hit the bridge of my nose. “Come on.”
She got into the back seat, and Scottie turned to look at her.
“Thank you for helping today,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“I’d like to say that my sister means well, but she doesn’t.” Searcy accepted her thanks. “Where the rest of us grew up to appreciate everything, because we got so little, my little sister grew up to resent everything. The whole world is against her, and you would do best to learn to stay as far away from her as you can. Probably, you should find a different ride if you need one, too, because my sister’s a vindictive bitch.”
“She sounds like a great person,” I lied.
“She was, once upon a time. But sometimes it feels like the world is against you. For us more than most. One would think that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but every time we think we’re getting closer, they add a damn layer of bricks to the other side, extending it.” She clammed up. “Thank you for the ride.”
The thank you came the moment that the bottom opened up above us.
Heavy sheets so thick that I had to slow down ten miles per hour.
I passed Doggie Doos where I needed to be in five minutes before they closed, and in turn drove to the diner that was around the block.
Pulling to a stop at the curb, I said, “Thanks again.”
She slammed the door closed without a thank you, which only had me grinning.