Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 94716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Our trip to the emergency room proved uneventful. The ER doctor placed five stitches in my lip and announced I was as good as new. We then found a pizza place and that was where he introduced me to my new love: Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza.
***
“Why’s she staring at my pizza? I didn’t eat the last piece.” James asked, bringing me back to the present.
I smiled wide at Jack and then threw my arms around his shoulders. “Holy crap! I can’t believe I haven’t remembered Canadian bacon and pineapple before now!”
Jack’s smile lit up the place, and revealed straight white teeth. “What’ve you been eating for the past seven years then?”
I wrinkled my nose at him. “Cheese. When I saw this earlier, it called to me, but it sure did look mighty disgusting.”
“Yeah, that’s what you said the first time I made you try it, too. You said the pineapple looked like snot piles.” He laughed.
“That’s just plain disgusting.” James said from across the table.
He was looking at the piece of pineapple on his pizza slice with a revolted eye. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. That face was priceless. His glare shut me up but I’m sure my eyes were still laughing at him.
“Did you get your job?” Elliott asked as he sat down, pulling Blaine down with him into his lap.
I looked at Elliott, then to Blaine, and back. “Yeah, I start on Monday. Which gives me three days to go find some uniforms, equipment, and a drug screening.”
“I can help you with all that. We can go tomorrow, if you like.” Blaine offered generously.
I smiled at her in appreciation. “That would be great. I got kind of lost on the way to the job fair today, too. I also seem to have a tad bit of road rage. People drive like dumbasses here.”
“At least you were in a car. Just think about our poor guys on their bikes. People don’t even see them, even with it so glaringly obvious. Just last week, a car pulled out in front of us and we nearly hit them. It was good we were going slowly or we would have.” Blaine griped.
I totally understood. I’d seen many motorcycle wrecks in my line of work, and they never ended well. At each and every wreck there was someone hurt. I shivered thinking about Jack out there on his every day, but I would never ask him to stop. It was a part of what he was and I would never try to change that.
***
Jack
“You can ask me now. I’ll tell you everything.” Winter said, with her body leaned into mine on the couch.
She knew me well, even if her mind couldn’t remember that she did. I needed to know more about the attack, the baby, and another thing that I didn’t even want to think about, let alone ask. However, I knew I needed to know. It was important.
“Tell me about the baby or what you remember.” I asked quietly.
I’d get to the other thing later. I wasn’t ready to hear the answer yet.
“I don’t remember much, Jack. I’ve already told you the extent of the accident. I can tell you more on the recovery though,” She said, taking a deep breath and then releasing it. “I was in the hospital a long time. Rehab kicked my ass. I had twelve surgeries, seven of them for reconstruction for the scars on my face and chest. The plastic surgeon did it pro-bono.”
I gave her a reassuring squeeze and she continued.
“I have pins in both legs and my right forearm. My jaw was wired shut for eight weeks. It was about ten weeks in that they finally told me about the miscarriage. I miscarried on my own, and everything passed on its own so I didn’t require surgery or anything for that. They, um, took a picture of the baby, just in case I needed to see it. Or wanted to see it. I’ve never looked though. It’s still tucked into the box they gave me. I knew one day I would want to open it, but I haven’t found the courage to do it yet.”
I felt sick to my stomach. I should have been there. I should have done something. Anything. What kind of man lets his wife go through that on her own? My eyes were squeezed tightly shut and I was numb. Fuck me, but she’d been through hell. She was being so flip about it, too. Almost like it happened to someone else. Which I guess it kind of did.
Crushing her to my body, I released a breath and said, “God, I am so sorry, Winter.”
“Do you remember the night you took me to the hospital for my split lip?” She whispered.
“Yeah.” I choked out.
In fact, I remembered it so well that I could still tell you everything that happened, up to the finest detail. I’d gone to a bar for a drink since Winter had to work. When I’d gotten ready to leave, my neighbor was in the parking lot having car trouble. Car trouble being in the form of her man leaving her stranded. I’d hated every second of that four-minute ride. Her arms wrapped around me felt incredibly wrong.
When I’d gotten to my door, I couldn’t shake the woman. About to use the anger that was boiling inside of me, the door opened revealing Winter. Her lip was split, and dried blood ran from the cut to the t-shirt she was wearing. New blood was welling.
I’d taken her to the hospital and for pizza shortly after. Once we’d gotten home, it was then she told me about her sister and the man that her sister had been seeing.
I remember that night with such perfect clarity; while Winter was sleeping in a drug induced haze, I went hunting. I’d found the man, too. He was shacked up with a woman from his father’s stable. He didn’t take very good care of those girls, which is why the woman I spoke with had no loyalty to him and gave up his location.