Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
He had another month before his job started, but he still had to find an apartment and get himself set up in a brand-new state he’d never been to before. He’d planned to take the long route there, stopping and seeing some sights along the way . . . maybe camping under the stars. He’d seen so many other places around the world, but he’d never really seen America. And he wasn’t sure when he’d have another opportunity.
He’d been excited about that part of his move. And now, all he could feel when he thought about driving away from Aspen Cove was despondency.
He knew why that was, of course. He’d gotten attached to Cami and to Cyrus too. He felt . . . responsible for them in some way that probably wasn’t entirely appropriate. It was just that they’d been through so much, and he was worried that it wasn’t entirely over.
He was also concerned about the fact that she’d gone to see Hollis. She’d said she wanted to do it alone, and he could understand why, but he’d still gone to pick up the phone to check in on her several times before reminding himself he didn’t have that right. Instead, he’d distracted himself with the last of the cleaning and trips to donate useful items.
He went into the bedroom he’d been using for the last few days—the room that shockingly still had a bed and a clean mattress under all the junk shoved inside the space—and pulled a clean pair of clothes from his duffel bag. Just as he finished dressing, he heard tires on the gravel outside, and the purr of an engine. He stopped and listened for a moment to be sure he was right and then walked into the living room and pushed the curtain aside.
His heart bounced, then took up a swift beat. Cami. She was walking toward his front porch, expression unsettled, but when she saw him through the window, her face bloomed into a smile. He dropped the curtain and went to the door and pulled it open. God, he felt relief. Relief and happiness, just to see her, just to know she’d thought of him and wanted to see him too. He didn’t even care why.
Before he could say a word, she walked into his chest, embracing him. He paused for only a moment before wrapping his arms around her, too, and pulling her as close as he possibly could. “Everything all right?” he said into her hair, and she nodded, but she didn’t let go. Instead, she turned her nose into his neck, and he was almost tempted to step away and tell her he needed to shower, but she seemed to like it there, if her sigh and the fact that she wasn’t moving of her own accord were any indication. He liked that too.
Yes, he would have slayed a dragon for her once upon a time, but now he’d slay a thunder of them.
He was fucked.
But right that moment, he couldn’t seem to care.
She dropped her arms with another sigh and stepped away. Her lips began to lift into a smile, but then it fell as she looked around behind him. “It’s all cleared out,” she said, and there was something in her voice, a sort of alarm.
He turned and looked at it as if she’d told him something he didn’t already know, as if he hadn’t just completed the last remaining chores as a way of distracting himself from his errant thoughts about her all day long. “Yeah. It’s done. And listed. I already got a few calls that I need to return.”
She stepped farther inside. “That’s great. It’s a nice place. I can see the potential now.”
“That was the plan,” he said with a small smile.
“Mission accomplished.” Their gazes held. He finally looked away.
“On the house front anyway. I’m still here another week at least.” He’d decided that apparently, without really thinking about it. He’d said it now—he couldn’t take it back. Not that he wanted to. “Plenty of time to go through those boxes . . .”
“Yes. Thank you.” She looked around again, her brow knitted.
“So, ah, were you able to see Hollis?” He assumed Hollis hadn’t offered anything helpful, if anything at all. He knew that if he had, she’d have led with that and not the state of his house.
“Yes, I saw him. And yes, he’s still an egotistical prick. And no, he doesn’t deserve to have power of any kind, and I hope Virginia voters see as much.”
“Tell me,” he said, gesturing toward the couch that was amazingly clean, but only because it’d never actually been sat on but been a catch-all for stuff. A quick vacuuming to get rid of the dust, and it looked like new.
She sat down, and he did, too, and she brought her knee to the side as she turned his way. “I told him about Cyrus and the kidnapping. In a nutshell? He knows Cyrus is his son and is worried I’m going to go public in some way and bring controversy to his campaign.”