Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 97836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Silas opened his mouth but then didn’t speak. Instead, he looked at me as if unsure of how I’d respond.
“I think that’s… something we’ll have to plan for,” I said, doing my best to hide my fear. There was no way a hot summer of selling ceramic keepsakes would ever earn my baby sister enough money to put herself through a prestigious art school. I didn’t doubt her ability to get accepted, but I definitely doubted my family’s ability to pay for it. “But we’ll make it happen. Let me know what you need for the application. If there’s anything I can do to help.”
When we left her shop to make our way back toward City Hall, I got lost in thought, trying to figure out how ZuZu would apply for financial aid. Would my income be considered on her application? Would she be able to claim some of the debt on the ranch since she was a partial owner?
Silas’s voice was so low I barely noticed it at first. “Unclench. You’ll figure it out. She’s determined, and that’s half the battle.”
“Those schools are over fifty grand a year,” I said. My voice sounded a little more panicked than I’d hoped. “And that doesn’t even include travel expenses. But there aren’t any decent programs here in Wyoming, so anyplace would be that expensive, I guess. I don’t see how—”
Silas grabbed me and yanked me around in front of him before kissing the hell out of me. His large palm cradled the back of my head, which was the only thing that kept me from tripping over my own feet.
I could sense people gawping on the sidewalk nearby, but the kiss was so overwhelming, so enticing and satisfying, I wasn’t sure I minded.
“Gnfh,” I said when he pulled away. “What was that for?”
“To distract you. You were spiraling. Do me a favor and set that stress aside until after the exhibition stress is over, okay? One stress at a time.”
He had a point. ZuZu hadn’t even applied, so there was no sense in worrying about how we were going to pay for it. Yet.
I realized we’d turned the wrong way on Poke Street. “Where are you taking me?”
“Pete’s. I’m in the mood for pizza today. That okay with you?”
I nodded and swallowed, enjoying the lingering taste of him on my tongue. Silas grabbed my hand and held it firmly as we continued toward the pizza place. “Thanks for noticing that. ZuZu’s art piece and the collectibles. I feel like a shitty brother. I had no idea she was doing any of that.”
“You’ve been slammed and distracted. Not to mention recovering from the accident. Give yourself a break, Way.”
Several Majesticans greeted us as we made our way down the final block and entered Pete’s. We took a table in the back and ordered a large pepperoni and a couple of sodas.
“I’m starving,” I realized. Before I could ask Silas what he’d been up to all morning, one of Foster’s deputies approached our table and greeted me. “Just the man I wanted to see. You got a minute?”
Hanson Sandoval hadn’t been a local when Foster had recruited him over from the Law Enforcement Academy in Douglas. The man had grown up in Moran and had been a volunteer with the Teton County Search and Rescue team before deciding to pursue a law enforcement career. His SaR experience was one of the reasons Foster had recruited him to Majestic’s sheriff’s department. In addition to being good at what he did, he was also proving to be a nice guy and a great addition to our town.
“Sure. What’s up?” I pulled out one of the empty chairs at our table so he could take a seat before making sure he and Silas had met.
“I already talked to Foster about this, and he said to talk to you. We’ve been trying to get the folks from Casper to approve a second helicopter to be on standby for trauma response during the exhibition event.”
Silas’s eyebrows dipped. “Casper?”
“It’s the nearest regional trauma center,” I explained.
“But that’s nowhere near here.”
Hanson tapped his finger on the table. “Which is why we’re trying so hard to figure out funding to upgrade the Majestic clinic to at least a community trauma hospital, if not a regional one.”
“What about Billings?” Silas asked. “Isn’t it closer?”
“It’s a state thing,” I explained. “We can send patients to the hospital in Billings in an emergency, but we can’t ask for their resources preemptively due to the way state budgets work.”
I could see the wheels turning in his head. If I knew Silas, he was going to try and solve this dilemma. The thought didn’t make me nearly as antsy as it had just a few days ago… and that realization itself probably should have made me antsy. But after the night we’d had, after the way Silas had given himself to me, I couldn’t muster a single qualm.