Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“I thought you hired someone.”
“I’ve hired three people,” Beckett said, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. “He fires them all as soon as I leave the house. And even when I tell the caregivers he doesn’t have the authority to do that, he’s such an asshole, they want to quit. He just has no filter anymore. He told one she had a face for radio.”
I laughed. “Sorry, I know it’s not funny.”
“He also thinks he’s a Major League ball player now. He’s always talking about having to get to his games.”
“Well, that seems harmless enough.”
“Not to me, it doesn’t. I’m trying to keep him grounded in reality. And all he does is fight me, lie to me, or accuse me of stealing his things.”
“What things?”
“Oh, you name it. His baseball uniform, his money, his car.”
“Can I do anything to help?”
“Nah. I’ll figure it out. I just have a lot to deal with right now.” He was silent a moment. “You remember Maddie Blake?”
I grinned at him. “The one that got away?”
He frowned. “Fuck off, we were just friends.”
“She was always at your house.”
“Because she lived across the road and we had classes together. We did homework at my house, asshole.”
“Fine, but you still wanted to bang her.”
“Yeah, well, she had a jerk boyfriend.”
A memory surfaced from our last year in high school. “Didn’t you kick his ass at the prom afterparty?”
The color in Beckett’s face darkened. “Yeah.”
“Dude, that’s the maddest I’ve ever seen you get. I thought for sure you were gonna knock that guy’s teeth out.”
“I should have.” He shook his head. “He was such a dick to her. But he was so drunk, it wasn’t even fair. She begged me not to bust up his face.”
“I can’t even remember what started it.”
Beckett shrugged. “She asked me to drive her home because he was drinking so much. I was walking her out when he came after me.”
“Oh yeah. Now I remember.” I hadn’t seen the start of the fight but everyone at the party had raced from the backyard bonfire to the driveway in front where Beckett was standing over the guy he’d just punched in the face and shoved to the ground. I remembered Maddie crying and pleading with Beckett to stop, recalled the guy’s bloody nose, and the way Beckett’s hands were clenched into fists as he screamed at the guy to get the fuck up and say that one more time.
Cole, always a peacemaker, had put himself between Beckett and the bleeding guy, but it had taken Griffin and I both to pull Beckett away and make sure he didn’t kill anyone with his bare hands. It had been so shocking—despite his size and strength, Beckett was normally quiet, calm, and even-tempered. “That’s the only time I ever saw you get in a fight.”
“Wasn’t much of a fight.” Chest puffed up, Beckett took a drink of his beer.
“True. So you’ve kept in touch with Maddie?”
“For a while, when we first went away to college. Then her mom died, and out of nowhere, she dropped out of school and got married. I didn’t hear from her for a while.” He paused and took another sip. “But while I was living in Manhattan, she came and stayed with me for a few days.”
“Really?” I stared at him, surprised. “Did anything happen between you?”
He shook his head. “She was still married. And actually, she was pregnant. She ended up going back to him, even though I tried to talk her out of it.”
“Why’d you do that?”
His jaw ticked. “Because he didn’t deserve her.”
“Was he abusive?”
“Not physically. He was just a jerk. They ended up getting divorced about a year ago.”
“So now she’s a single mom?”
“Yeah. She’s got a six-year-old son, Elliott.”
“Huh.” I tried to picture Maddie Blake. “Does she live around here? I don’t think I’ve seen her since high school.”
Beckett shook his head. “She lives in Ohio, but she’s coming up here in a few weeks to sell the house she grew up in. Her mom left it to her, and she’s been renting it out. Actually, I was going to ask a favor of you.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Could you maybe take a look at this house and give her an estimate on some improvements? The property manager neglected to do any maintenance, and it’s been vacant for a while.” He winced. “I’ve looked at it from the outside, and it’s in pretty bad shape.”
I sipped my beer. “I can do that. No problem.”
“I don’t know how much money she has,” Beckett said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I’ll take a look and see what we’re dealing with. Don’t worry, I’ll give her a good price.”
“That’s what I told her.” Beckett sounded relieved and picked up his beer again. “Thanks, man.”
“Is she going to stay there until it’s sold?”