Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
House got bugs. Being fumigated.
Then why wouldn’t they stay at The Grove Inn here in Manning Grove? Could it be booked solid?
It was going to take her a good twenty-five minutes, if not more, to get there.
With another sigh, she asked, Room number?
15.
Be there soon.
She couldn’t imagine that run-down town of Parsington was considered any sort of “destination” for tourists to visit. At least the quaint town of Manning Grove attracted people visiting the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon and in fall they came for the brilliant colors of the autumn leaves.
Only three vehicles were parked in front of rooms at The Co-Z Inn. Not one of them was Sig’s sled, or his family’s SUV.
Huh.
In fact, she didn’t recognize the car in front of room fifteen, either. That made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
Was this some sort of set up? Was she about to be kidnapped? Or worse?
Standing outside of her Highlander, she left the driver’s door open—in case she had to bolt—and glanced around. She then decided to text Sig to make sure she wasn’t walking into trouble.
I’m here. Come outside.
She wouldn’t even knock on the door until she knew it was definitely Sig and the kids. She knew better after the Fury had to deal for years with the dangerous whack jobs that lived up on Hillbilly Hill.
Door’s unlocked.
She wasn’t falling for that. No way.
She quickly texted back, You don’t come out, I’m leaving, and you’ll have to find someone else to babysit.
With her heart pounding in her throat, she was beginning to believe this really was some sort of trap.
She should go. But before she did, she found Sig’s original phone number and called him. It went straight to voicemail. She texted him next just to be sure that losing his cell phone was true.
After climbing back into her Toyota, she locked the doors while waiting to see if she got a response and stared at the motel door to see if he would appear.
When the door opened, her breath seized.
When a man stepped out, her heart skipped a beat.
That was not Sig.
Not unless he changed his race, grew a longer beard, and gained fifty pounds.
What the hell?
It was a trap! One set up by Romeo.
Son of a bitch! Now her pulse was racing for a different reason. If she was smart, it was one she needed to ignore.
Her brain told her the man was trouble. Her heart told her it didn’t matter.
The heart wanted what the heart wanted, right?
Wrong!
She needed her common sense to be stronger than her desire.
When Romeo hobbled a few steps out of the motel room using a crutch, she noticed he had casts on both his left arm and right leg. Pressing fingers to her lips, she whispered, “Holy shit.”
What the hell happened? Did he crash his sled?
He stopped where the concrete sidewalk met the macadam parking lot and waited.
She remained frozen in her seat as a flurry of emotions barreled through her.
Anger.
Excitement.
Confusion.
Empathy.
And…
No.
Shut up, heart!
She should leave. The injured man waiting for her blew up her career and not in a good way. A career that required years of education so she could work hard at it for a year and a half while putting up with a bully boss. It only took Romeo having “a word” with Roger for him to destroy that career in minutes.
Romeo thought he knew better than her.
He didn’t listen and leave it alone like she asked.
Despite her annoyance, she gritted her teeth and climbed back out of her vehicle to approach him as his dark eyes tracked her every step.
She stopped directly in front of him and raised her chin. “You tricked me.”
“You wouldn’t have come if I didn’t.”
No, she wouldn’t have. “Were you in an accident?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
He tipped his head toward the open motel room door.
Yes, it was a trap. He wanted to get her alone and convince her to forgive him. She steeled her heart because she wasn’t ready to do that.
Hell, she might never be ready.
She was unemployed, desperate for a new job and had been forced to move back home because of it. Because of him.
Her eyes sliced from Romeo to the motel room and back.
She shook her head. “No. You don’t get a pass on this, Rome. I don’t care if you were hit by a bus.” That was a lie, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Damn,” he whispered.
“You blew up my life, now you want me to forgive you? Just like that?” She snapped her fingers.
“Ain’t askin’ for forgiveness. Askin’ for you to step inside so we got privacy.”
Bullshit. He wanted to get her alone so he could tug on her heartstrings. “I don’t think I need to hear anything you have to say. You’ve said enough already. To Roger.”
When her phone dinged, she glanced at it. Sig texted her back: WTF U talkn about?