Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Later, I was sure the disappointment would hit me. The disillusionment. The dejection. Right then, I was livid and hurt.
Eli, oblivious to my riot of emotion, simply patted Willow’s hand and said, “Don’t worry yourself. Ruby is family.” Refilling both their champagne glasses, he pointed to my untouched one then raised his in a toast. “Let’s celebrate. The diamonds are safe, the thieves have been caught, and you helped us. And don’t worry about your diamond. If the police don’t recover it, I’ll buy you another one.”
“I don’t want another diamond. I don’t want a diamond at all. That’s the last thing I want.” My head felt stuffed with cotton. I had to get out of there, far away from him.
I stumbled out the door. Jake was right—I was too open and trusting. My instincts were totally off.
54
MY LONE WOLF THING
Jake
I walked.
Did I ever walk. I covered the entire length of Seven Mile Beach that evening. Fine, that wasn’t some huge feat of physical fitness, but I needed to burn off some frustration. I was mad about the case. Mad about the way everything had come up empty.
Most of all, I was angry with myself.
As I neared the end of the beach, my phone buzzed with a reminder to call Kylie back and find out how the test went. At least that was one relationship I couldn’t fuck up.
I didn’t even have a chance to ask my question. As soon as we connected, her joyful voice blasted out of the phone.
“I got an A on my test! Can you believe it?”
God, I needed this happy news. I beamed, even with no one to see it. “Yes, I can believe it. I’m so proud of you. I knew you could do it.”
“It was all thanks to your friend. That convo with Ruby the other night helped me a ton.”
I flinched at her name. Tried to keep it out of my voice as I stopped to watch the ocean crashing against the shore. “I’m glad to hear that.”
Kylie’s enthusiasm was like electricity over the phone. “Yes, half the test wound up being on the topic she helped me with. But the way she explained it just clicked. Is she there so I can thank her?”
I’d stuck the knife in with the stupid way I’d handled things, but Kylie’s question twisted it. “She’s not here right now.”
“Okay!” my sister said cheerfully. “Will you tell her thanks for me, then?”
I mumbled something noncommittal.
“Uh-oh,” she said. “What did you do?”
“Who says I did anything?” Wow, that wasn’t defensive or anything.
“Oh, I don’t know…your past?” she teased. “I bet you pushed her away because of your whole lone wolf thing.” She dropped her pitch like she was mocking me. “The job is everything. I can’t trust anyone. I can’t trust my girly love emotions. Which is kind of misogynistic, FYI But you’re my brother and I love you anyway.”
Wow. That felt like ten years of therapy in a few choice sentences. “Um…that’s a lot.”
“So, what did you do?”
“Nothing,” I lied. “We had a misunderstanding.”
Kylie’s silence was condemning.
I relented. “Okay, maybe I pushed her away because I didn’t trust my emotions. But I don’t think love is girly,” I grumbled.
“Well, did she cheat on you? Betray you?”
I heaved a sigh. “No,” I said unequivocally.
“Then I’m guessing it can be fixed. And she’s really awesome, so you need to try to fix things.”
“I’ll take that under advisement,” I said, then I stopped, realizing where my feet had taken me. The Pink Pelican. My therapy, I suppose. Not the liquor, but the drown-your-sorrows vibe intrinsic to a good dive bar. “Hey, congrats on the A. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Love you, Jake.”
“Love you too.”
It was nine at night, so the place was busy, but Maris headed my way and slapped down a napkin. “What’ll it be?” When she raised her face, she grinned. “Jake the fisherman! How are you?”
“I’ve had better days.”
“Pale ale, then?”
“That’ll help,” I said.
She poured a beer from the tap, then set it down and parked her hands on the counter. “Fish not biting today?”
“Nope. Not a one.” I took a drink. Ah, this cool beer was the one bright spot in my shitty day.
“Bummer. Such a shame,” she said. She frowned in sympathy, but her smile didn’t stay away for long. I guessed it was an occupational hazard of being a bartender. You wanted to commiserate, but what if you were having a good day?
She sure seemed to be and since mine was a lost cause, I focused on hers. “But looks like fish are biting for you.”
That smile widened into a grin. “My boyfriend got a promotion and a raise,” she said, like she’d been bursting to share the good news. She probably didn’t get many customers asking about her day.
I lifted my glass in a toast to Maris’s man. “Congrats. That’s always nice to hear.”