Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
She whispered the question like it was a secret.
He wasn’t the one keeping secrets. He took her feet in his hands, squeezing lightly until she sighed and bit her bottom lip. She was the most sensual thing. “I rebelled against my father in the most heinous way I could. I thought about going to Texas A&M for college.”
It had been a brief thing, and mostly to see if his father would lose his mind. He had.
“You see we’re a Longhorn family,” Grim explained. “And Longhorns and Aggies are a little like the Hatfields and McCoys. We take our college football seriously. During the season, I make it a point to never wear maroon because it makes my dad…makes Jack’s eye twitch.”
He’d been right the first time, but the fact that Grim had actually gotten the words out proved how fucking good Nicole was for him. He rubbed her feet and her eyes closed again.
“Football. It’s always football,” she said quietly.
“It used to be our favorite pastime,” Grim said. “Now it’s torturing you.”
He tweaked her nipple, and she yelped before giggling and settling back in.
She was asleep in minutes, and Josh was able to ease from beneath her feet.
“I think I’m going to make a beer run,” he said. “I steal anymore of the dads’ and Momma will start talking about rehab. Livie will say I’m getting a beer belly.”
A brow rose over Grim’s eyes. The one that said he didn’t buy what Josh was selling. “You think we need more? Maybe we should take it easy.”
Oh, his partner knew exactly what he was planning on doing. “It’s nice to have extra. You never know when we’ll have guests.”
Nicole wrapped an arm around Grim’s leg, using his lap as her pillow. She shifted, getting more comfortable, but it was obvious she was down for a nap.
Be careful, Grim mouthed.
Josh nodded and stared at them for a moment. Everything he wanted was sitting right there. His best friend and their sweet sub. He couldn’t lose them.
And that meant figuring out why she thought she had to leave.
An hour later Josh walked out of the garage and into the parking lot where Al Holt allowed people to park the cars he was going to work on. Al ran a small auto repair business. He did mostly engine work. Any body work would have to go to one of the larger towns to the north, but if someone needed a new alternator or a tune-up, Al and Sons were the way to go here in Willow Fork.
“She’s the sedan in the second row.” Al was in his sixties, with white hair mostly located around his ears and the back of his head. Normally he wore coveralls, but today he was in jeans and a Cowboys sweatshirt. In the background Josh could hear the sounds of the halftime show.
Al lived over the garage with his son, Greg. Once he’d asked Al why he called the place Al and Sons since Greg was his only son, and Al had given him a grin and told him a man could still dream.
“She seems like a real nice young lady,” Al said, not leaving the steps that led down to the parking lot.
“She is a nice lady.” He looked up at Al, who’d worked on his family’s cars for as long as anyone could remember. He wasn’t exactly a friend, but he seemed to respect his fathers and was always polite to his mom. He also spent a lot of time at the local rec center playing checkers with the group of old dudes who practically lived there. Men might not like to admit that they gossiped. They would say they were simply discussing current events. “What’s being said about her, Al?”
Al frowned and raised his hat slightly so he could scratch behind his ear. “Well, not a lot until today. I’ve talked to her a bit about her car, but she seems to keep to herself. Says she was on her way to a new job, but her car broke down. That felt fishy to me, but I stay out of other people’s business.”
He did, but he often heard things. Al was one of those people who didn’t talk much so people often forgot he might be listening in. “Anyone else questioning why she’s here?”
“I don’t think she’s here to cause trouble, if that’s what you’re asking. I know the sheriff can be nosy, but she hasn’t been on his radar up until now. Though if what I heard happened at the church really happened, you might have your dad do that thing where he reminds everyone who he is. I think a lot of people around here think Jack Barnes has gotten cuddly in his advanced years. I’m pretty sure the old scary as hell Jack can show up at any time.”