Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 22109 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22109 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
I start to move away, but Gray grabs on to my hand. I figure he’s going to try and stop me, but he surprises me when he says, “I’ll go with you.”
I squeeze his hand, and we make our way over to the woman standing closest to us. We stop in front of her. “Thank you for coming.”
She nods, sniffs, and crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m going to miss him.”
The woman is very distraught, and I don’t want to make it worse. I nod, and even though it’s hard to do, I tell her, “I’m sure he’s going to miss you, too.”
I pull Gray away and stop in front of the next woman. She’s the one that was glaring at me during the service earlier. “Hi, we just wanted to stop and thank you for coming.”
The woman’s face hardens. “Of course, I’d be here. I’m his girlfriend. Who are you?”
I suck in a breath when she says it. I had figured this was the case, but now hearing it has my stomach sinking. Gray puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me tightly against him. I stutter out the words. “I’m friends with the family, and this is his best friend.”
Gray and I walk away, and he looks at me with worry. “Had enough?”
I shake my head and go to the next woman. And then to the next. Over and over, it’s the same story. It seems that I wasn’t Dawson’s only girlfriend. I was one of many.
Chapter 2
Gray
After the fifth woman claimed to be Dawson’s girlfriend, I got Ellie out of there. I put her in the rental car with me and drove down to the lake. We both got out without a word, walked to the picnic tables, and sat down. “You okay?”
She nods, looking out at the water. “Yeah, I’m fine. I mean, I should have known. There were clues. In his defense, we never talked about being exclusive, I guess I just assumed we were.”
I go and sit next to her. “How have you been feeling?” Dawson had told me about the baby. He was freaked out and point-blank said he didn’t want it. It makes me wonder if he told Ellie that or not.
She looks at me with wide eyes. “He told you about the baby, didn’t he?”
I blow out a breath. “He did.”
She nods her head and looks away from me. “He wasn’t happy about it, was he? I mean, he didn’t seem excited, but I thought he was just nervous. But now, well now, I think he...” She stops suddenly and shakes her head.
I touch her shoulder. “It doesn’t matter, Ellie. You’re happy, right?”
She nods, and the smile that comes over her face transforms it. “Yeah, I’m happy. I mean, I probably shouldn’t be. I’m a broke college student, my parents are going to lose it when they find out, I’ll have to figure out school and work, and I don’t have any health insurance, but yeah, I’m happy about it.”
My thoughts start to whirl, and I hate she’s doing all this on her own. I know I want to help her, but I live in Tennessee, not in Texas. I could ask her to come with me, but there’s no way she’s going to uproot her life with someone she barely knows. I almost smack my hand on my head. I’m thinking crazy. She’s not mine, and I have no rights to her. “What can I do to help?”
She laughs. “Nothing. There’s nothing anyone can do. It... it’s just me now.”
I barely refrain from telling her that it was going to be just her anyway. I knew Dawson well enough to know that he wasn’t the best at taking responsibility. I don’t want to think it, but I know it’s true. I’m sure Dawson still would have walked away from Ellie, even knowing she was pregnant with his son.
I sigh, and before I can talk myself out of it, I tell her. “Okay, hear me out...”
She uses her sleeve to wipe at her eyes. Her eyes are filled with worry and unshed tears, and my heart starts to race. “Look, I know it’s going to be hard, but I think I know something that can help you and make it a little easier.”
She blinks, and a tear rolls down her cheek. Fuck me. I can handle anything except her crying right now. I turn and use my thumb to wipe the tear off. She shakes her head. “Gah, I’m sorry, Gray. He was your best friend, and I’m here falling apart on you.”
“Please don’t apologize to me.”
She takes a deep breath and then another one. “Okay. I’m fine. Enough about me, let’s talk about—”
But I cut her off before she can get it all out. “No, let’s talk about my idea.”