Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“You’re kidding,” Nathan was saying on the phone. His brow was furrowed as we approached him on the path. Nathan was doing a really good acting job if he wasn’t actually on a phone call, because he seemed absorbed in the conversation.
“Oh. He’s on the phone with his ex-wife,” Shawn said quietly with a look of concern.
“How do you know?”
“I can tell when he’s talking to Ranna,” Shawn said. “He always has that look on his face when she’s telling him something serious.”
“As long as Maddy is okay,” Nathan was saying into the phone as we reached him. “How did she even meet this boy? Right. Okay. Well, we can’t control everything she does—yes, I know—”
Charlie grimaced. “Sounds bad, doesn’t it?”
We paused, waiting for Nathan.
“Right now? But I’m at a job site, I can’t just… okay. No. I get it. I can make it work. I’ll go get her right now, and for today I’ll figure something out.”
Nathan hung up and looked at us. I’d never seen him with the type of expression he had on his face right now. Pure dread and pain, with no attempt to cover it up.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked.
“That was Ranna. Apparently our daughter called her ten minutes ago explaining that she woke up in some boy’s house, across town, and she has no ride home. The fucking kid apparently left for work this morning, and left Maddy in a strange house with his older, skeevy roommates. She’s out on the front curb in an unfamiliar place, not knowing what to do, and freaking out. Apparently there was alcohol involved last night. And now I am freaking out.”
“Jesus Christ,” I said.
“Fuck,” Shawn said.
“I, uh, I have to go get her. Now. Ranna is in court.”
“Court?” I asked. “Shit.”
“Ranna is a lawyer,” Shawn explained to me. “She’s not in trouble. She just can’t get out of work.”
“Oh,” I said, the gears turning in my head.
So Nathan’s ex-wife was a lawyer. I’d had no idea that she had such a high-powered job, but I’d never really heard Nathan say much about her.
There was a lot about Nathan I didn’t know. And there was plenty he didn’t know about me, too.
I watched him now, stressed out as he called Maddy and told her he was coming to get her, realizing how much life he had lived—most of it while I’d still been a dumb preteen, sitting at home eating cereal and watching football on TV.
It put my ego in check, somehow, knowing that Nathan had been through so much and still managed to find something new and exciting with me. A guy who had raised a child, been married to a lawyer, and started a successful construction company was willing to put it all on pause to hang out with my young, dumb ass.
“We’ll take my car service,” I offered the moment Nathan hung up the phone with Maddy.
Nathan shook his head. “I got this, Kace, I already feel bad enough that I have to do this on our construction kickoff day—”
“Nonsense. Your car is already in the detailing shop,” I told him, trying to give him a pointed look so that he picked up on what I’d told the other guys. “So you should use the car service. They can be here in four minutes, and they’ll get you there fast as fuck.”
I broke off, jogging back into the kitchen to tell Vivienne we needed the car. She called it right away, and they were even faster than usual, arriving outside my house within a few minutes. Nathan came around to the front, still looking shellshocked.
“I can’t believe it,” he said, shaking his head. “She’s fifteen and I still feel like she’s a three-year-old. How could she have slept over at some strange guy’s place? There was alcohol? She apparently told Ranna she was at her friend Maya’s house—fuck, Kace—”
“Hey,” I said, looking him in the eye. “It’s okay. Maddy is fine. Teenagers do dumb shit sometimes. God knows I did.”
“Right,” he said, looking into the distance. He didn’t seem convinced.
“Hell, she’ll learn a lesson from this shit,” I said. “Sounds like she already has. She’s probably fucking terrified right now, and embarrassed as hell sitting outside of that house.”
Nathan nodded quickly. “I’m going to go easy on her this morning. I’ll have a long talk with her tomorrow. Shit, I don’t want her to have to be alone today.”
“Bring her here,” I said. “Duh.”
Nathan turned to me. “I can’t do that. After everything you’ve already done for me this morning.”
“I’d be mad if you didn’t bring her here,” I said. “It’s perfect. She can hang, relax, recoup. I’ll have Benny cook her some breakfast. She can sleep on the couch or get in the hot tub, whatever she needs.”
Nathan looked crushed. “She would really like that.”