Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
He paused and studied Solomon. “Did you tell him you love him?”
“No.” Solomon swallowed hard. “I was waiting for him to trust me.”
Waiting for him to love me back.
Shawn sighed. “And why would he trust a man who was keeping that kind of secret in his heart? If you love someone you tell them. Even if you’re not sure they’ll say it back. You shout it from the rooftops and make an ass of yourself if that’s what it takes. As your brother says, you go all in.”
“It’s more complicated than that, Uncle Shawn.”
“Not really, but I’ll let you think about it for a while. Now tell me about this speech you’re giving. And I want to know about Miller too. Did I tell you Ellen and I signed that petition to get you back?”
Hearing his name being spoken into the microphone brought him back to the present, and he glanced down at his aunt and uncle who were standing, as promised, in the front of the crowd.
The event he and the mayor had put together had taken some string pulling on such short notice. They were announcing his reinstatement as chief of police as well as the city’s new youth center expansion.
Thank God for Bellamy Demir and his bottomless wallet. He’d been generous to a fault, as usual. In fact, he’d insisted on doing almost all of the donating himself. Which was why his name was going to be on the new building the city was constructing to offer shelter and protection to victims of sexual abuse.
“He hasn’t been vacationing on a tropical island for the last year, though he deserved to be.” The counselor smiled as the audience chortled in agreement.
“Instead, he’s been spending a lot of his days at our center. Talking to the kids, asking about their aspirations and teaching them how to build—in the words of a few of the boys that follow him around—badass zombie apocalypse shelters.”
“Tents,” he muttered as the crowd laughed again. “I showed them how to put up tents.”
Rory, who’d been quietly sitting beside him in support, along with his cousin Stephen, leaned closer. “Go with it, brother. They think you’re cool.”
“And you?” Solomon still wasn’t sure if Rory was really okay with this or just doing it for him. “What do you think?”
They’d had forty-eight hours to hold Miller without formally charging him, and they’d used every one of them. Not only to control the release of information, but to find out all they could about the people who’d been protecting Miller from being formally charged when he worked with the state troopers.
The mayor would have his own briefing about it in time for the evening news, but today wasn’t about Miller. It was about being honest with these people he still wanted to protect and serve.
“What do I think?” Rory repeated, his full lips quirking at the question. “I think I still want to be you when I grow up. I also think you tricked me into doing volunteer work, but I’ll forgive you just this once.”
Stephen tapped his shoulder with a grin. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I think they’re done with your introductions.”
Solomon stood up so fast he nearly knocked over his chair. Unlike Stephen, he hated public speaking, but this was his idea. His way of proving to Hugo, and to himself, that he could face his past and move beyond it.
He was his own man, doing what he thought was best. And even if this didn’t go the way he wanted it to, he wouldn’t regret his decision.
Aunt Ellen waved as he got to the microphone and he tried to smile. Then he looked out over the large crowd and forgot his nerves. There were reporters, of course, but there were also signs with his name on them. College students and kids from the center were clapping and whistling as they waited for him to speak.
How did they get so many people to show up this quickly? And could he really say what he needed to say without losing his nerve?
He leaned toward the microphone, wincing at the momentary feedback. “I heard something about a petition?”
The crowd went crazy at that until he lifted his hand. “First of all, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for caring about the community you live in. For demanding transparency and excellence in the public servants you place your safety and faith in on a daily basis.” He curled his fingers around his damp palms. “I also want to thank you for believing in my ability to do the job, even after my sudden and unexplained resignation.”
“We’re glad you’re back!” Someone yelled, and other people cheered again in response.
“If you’ll have me, but before you sign on the dotted line, let me tell you why I’m here to support this new construction, and the tireless volunteers and counselors at the center.” He glanced back at Rory, who nodded, his expression grim.