Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“Number one, she’s my best friend, and I love her shop, and number two, that sounds so incredibly boring and ridiculous.” Her voice is calm, and she’s not visibly reacting to him at all.
Good girl.
“Evan, I don’t know what I can do that I haven’t already done to make you understand that I’m not the woman meant for you. I’m not the girl you think you want.”
“You’re wrong.”
Fucking asshole.
“No, I’m not.” She gentles her voice, trying to make him see reason. “That life you described isn’t for me. I’m sorry if that shatters some kind of dream or illusion of yours, but it’s the truth. Like I told you and my parents at the restaurant, I love my life here.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I hear him turn to pace away from her. He’s starting to lose control. I can sense it. “You’re just confused.”
“I’m not confused.”
“YES, YOU ARE!” He pushes through the door now as Summer scurries backward, his hand raised to hit her, and instinct immediately kicks in, and I stand between the two of them, push my hand on the other man’s chest, and glower at him.
“You fucking touch her, and it’ll be the last thing you do.”
Evan’s eyes are wide as he stares up at me.
“This doesn’t concern you, asshole.”
“Agree to disagree.” I drop my hand and back away just a bit to take Summer’s hand in mine. “She said what she has to say. Now you can get fucked.”
“Or what? You’ll arrest me?” He sneers, and I slowly shake my head.
“No. I’ll kick your ass. I can hurt you in ways that don’t leave a mark. No one will believe that I’m the one who did it.” He doesn’t sneer now, and he swallows hard as he wipes his hand over his mouth, straightens his shirt, and squares his shoulders. His gaze turns to Summer.
“This isn’t over.”
“That’s exactly what this is,” she replies, her voice leaving no room for argument. “It’s over, Evan. If it makes you feel better, you can keep my parents. I think you’re all well-suited for each other.”
Evan snarls as he turns and rushes out of the house, slamming the door behind him, and Summer steps into my arms and holds on tight.
“He was going to hit me.”
“He was going to try,” I reply and kiss the top of her head. “I have a feeling you would have fought back and beat the shit out of him.”
“Oh, I would have fought back,” she confirms. “Come on, let’s get out of here, okay?”
“Fine by me.”
With Summer tucked safely away at work, and Lily at Paula’s for the rest of the weekend, I get into my truck and head over to the station. I have the next three days off, but I want to check in with my boss and fill him in on what went down at Summer’s last night.
An hour later, with the knowledge that Evan was seen driving out of town this morning, following Summer’s parents toward Helena, I get back into the truck.
Despite Evan being gone right now, Summer will have extra patrols driving past her house and her business for the time being. Technically, Evan didn’t break any laws last night, but we all agree that it’s a good idea to keep an eye on things for a while.
I’m ready to take some of my pent-up aggression out on my hammer, but first, I need to swing by Ryan’s place to check in and see how things are going with Jake. Jake’s two idiot friends, the ones he was with when they were caught shoplifting at Polly’s place, were arrested again last night for minors in possession of alcohol.
Little idiots.
Ryan told me via text that he and the kid were down at the stables, so I drive straight there. Ryan’s property is fucking gorgeous. He bought some acreage that had the stables and a house on it a few years ago. The old house was torn down, and he built himself a fucking mansion in its place.
Of course, my big brother can afford it.
The amazing thing is, although the house is big—way too big for just one person, in my opinion—and extra fancy with all the high-tech gadgets and doodads a man could want, it also fits into the landscape nicely. There’s a lot of glass for looking out at the mountains, several outdoor living spaces that made me shake my head because, for at least six months out of the year, they’re useless, and a pool.
My brother, one of the smartest men I know, put in a goddamn pool in Montana.
It takes all kinds, I guess.
Of course, Johnny and Holly, Rem’s kids, had a lot of fun in that pool this past summer, so I guess it’s worth it.
I pull up to a stop and grin when Ryan waves at me from where he and Jake stand with a couple of horses. This past spring, my brother rescued several horses from a neglectful situation, and they’re still healing.