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)
The butler walked through first, followed by a tall, broad-shouldered man with jet-black hair, carrying a medical bag and wearing a crisp white coat. He smiled. Rex Lowe. He was even more handsome than the photo she’d seen online.
“Josephine,” the butler said, “Dr. Ellingson here for your appointment.”
“Hello, Josephine,” Rex said as he stepped forward and bowed his head slightly, medical bag gripped in both hands. Her heart soared, but she held back her smile.
Rex glanced over at the butler. “May we have some privacy, sir?”
“Of course. I’ll be right outside the door.”
The butler exited, shutting the door softly behind him. Rex turned back her way and then walked to her wheelchair and squatted down next to her and took her hands in his. “I’m assuming you know another way out of here,” he said.
Posey grinned then, a small victorious laugh bubbling from her mouth. Oh, she hadn’t used her voice in so long, too long, so she did it joyfully now. “Yes, Mr. Lowe, but you’ll be required to carry me.”
Chapter Fifty-Nine
It’d been a hell of a week, and Rex’s nervous system might still be in a bit of disarray. When he started to tailspin, emotionally speaking, he first pictured Cami and Cyrus curled up on her dad’s couch, where they’d gone after Cami was discharged from the hospital. Safe. And then he envisioned Posey Kiss’s smile as he’d driven her through the gates of her estate. And both memories caused a breeze of peace to blow through him.
Still, he experienced a sudden heartbeat spike in reaction to the sound of a car drawing closer. He stepped outside the house, the rattle letting him know immediately that it wasn’t Cami as he’d very momentarily thought, but his mother, her ancient Toyota chugging up the hill toward the house.
He’d already said a long and heart-wrenching goodbye to Cami and to Cyrus. There was no reason it would have been her, but still his heart had expressed how much he wanted it, regardless of the likelihood.
He waited as his mom parked and got out of the car, pausing as she glanced around. She whistled as she walked toward him. “Looks like a new property.”
She lowered her hand, and that’s when he saw the bruises. One eye was red and swollen, and her cheek was black and blue. He stepped forward. “What the hell happened?”
“At ease, soldier.” She turned and sat down on the higher step. “Despite appearances, I’m fine.”
“Who did that to you, Mom?” He sat down next to her, and now that she was closer, Rex could tell the bruises were about a week old, already turning yellowish green on the edges.
“You know who did it. Saul the Meatball.” She let out a vacant chuff and leaned back against the railing.
“I’m supposed to get on the road in half an hour. My truck’s all packed. Now I have to go kill someone?”
“Nah, no reason to waste the time. I left him. Been staying in the Motel Six at the edge of town.”
“You’ve been in a motel? Why didn’t you come here?” He felt offended. He really did. His mother had taken a beating by another one of her loser boyfriends and then gone to some cheap motel rather than come to him for help? To be fair, he’d had his hands full recently, but still.
“Because I needed to think.” She looked over at him, her uninjured eye crinkling as she gave him a smile that held some sadness. “I haven’t done enough of that. Figured there was no time like the present.”
He frowned. She was confusing him. There was something very different about her, and he couldn’t yet determine if it was good or bad. “Okay. Thinking can be good. Or it can get you in trouble.”
“This was the good kind. I think. No telling just yet.” She glanced over her shoulder at the porch—spotless and sporting a coat of fresh paint—and then back at him. “This place still available?”
“An offer came in this morning, and another one is supposed to be coming this afternoon. The real estate agent is going to call.” He’d be on the road, but there was nothing more to do from here. Handling the rest remotely would work just fine. “Full asking price,” he told her. “You’ll be able to rent a place and have some money in the bank.” She’d be okay, as she always was. But Rex was glad he was leaving her with a little nest egg—whether she chose to make it last or squander it was up to her.
She met his eyes. “Would you still be willing to entertain me moving in?”
“Here?”
“Yeah, here.”
“I thought you said you didn’t want to feel like the old man was watching you.”
“Yeah well . . .” She sighed. “Maybe it’s time me and the old man made peace.”