Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
“Come to the rodeo with me. I’m calf roping,” he said.
“I don’t think my father will approve.”
“You’re eighteen,” he narrowed his eyes.
“Living at home.”
“You have a car.”
“He’ll ask where I’m going.”
“What’s he going to do? Follow you?”
I chuckled. “You want me to lie.”
“Did you tell him where you were and what you were doing when you fucked my brother?”
I flinched at his language. It felt like a one-way ticket to Hell.
“Well, Matt’s not home to corroborate my lie. And if I ask Heather or one of my other friends to cover for me, they’ll want to know why.”
“Invite Heather. Let her be your partner in crime and your alibi.”
I chewed on the idea, scraping my teeth along my bottom lip, eyes focused on the guitar. “I’ll call her and tell her you invited us,” I said.
Isaac beamed.
I peeled his fingers from the guitar case handle. “But I still want the guitar for the night. Two nights, actually.”
He wet his lips. “A second night will cost you.”
I hugged the guitar case. “Do you want to write your name somewhere else on my body?” I rolled my eyes.
Isaac’s gaze surveyed said body. It made me feel dirty and exhilarated. I loved it and hated it in equal parts. I was ingrained with godly, moral behavior, but there was a streak of rebellion woven between those grins of purity that seemed to grow every day, especially on the days when I interacted with Isaac.
“Sunday Morning, I want to write my name on every inch of your body. But I don’t think it would bode well for your relationship with my brother or the great union of the Cory and Jacobson families.” Isaac turned and opened the door while gazing over his shoulder. “But I promise it would blow your fucking mind.” He smirked. “The rodeo starts at seven.”
That streak of rebellion? It divided and multiplied exponentially, poisoning my morality. Isaac dirtied everything. He dirtied me, turning white into gray.
I hugged the guitar tighter like it was Isaac, borderline wanting to hump it. My grin made my face hurt.
“Where are we going?” Heather asked as I hopped into her car.
“The rodeo, duh,” I said, eyeing her jeans, red cowboy boots, and straw cowboy hat.
“No duh,” she said. “I meant, where do your parents think we’re going?”
“Mini golf and the movies. What did you tell your parents?” I closed my door and fastened my seat belt.
She shrugged. “Nothing. I just told them we were going out. They don’t give me the third degree like your parents do.”
Heather was the youngest of three kids, so she basically raised herself. Her mom worked the night shift at the gas station, and her dad worked long hours at the tire plant just outside of Devil’s Head.
She laughed. “And when I’m going out with Pastor Jacobson’s daughter, they feel like I’m traveling with a guardian angel. Besides, we’re adults. What are they going to do when we go to college in the fall?”
Or Nashville.
“True,” I murmured. “But one of us isn’t going away to college.”
“Stop. You’ll get in somewhere,” Heather said as we pulled out of the driveway.
“I need to tell you something.” I drummed my fingers on my legs. “I think Isaac’s been flirting with me. Oh, and Mr. Cory is having an affair,” I said quickly with one long breath.
I wasn’t planning on spilling everything all at once, but the secrets were killing me. And Eve was a person I could confide in, but Heather was the person I needed. Nothing felt real until I shared it with her.
Heather didn’t respond, not a blink or the slightest muscle twitch as she gazed at the road.
“If I had the money, I’d pack a bag, leave everyone a note, and move to Nashville now. When I got there, I’d find a cheap place to stay and a day job so I could get bar gigs at night. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with any of this.”
“S-Sarah,” Heather coughed on her words. “What are you—” She shook her head. “W-when did this happen? Isaac? Mr. Cory? What the heck?”
I rubbed my hands over my face and mumbled, “I know. Don’t be mad. I know you like him.”
“Who cares about Isaac. Mr. Cory is having an affair?”
I nodded. “It’s so unimaginable. Isaac has been letting me borrow one of his guitars. When I went to his room to get it, I heard something. And so I peeked my head around the corner to Wesley and Violet’s bedroom, and some dark-haired woman was naked on top of him in bed. I totally died because the floor squeaked under my feet, so I hid in Isaac’s closet until they left. Her voice sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t place it. And I never saw her face. And then Isaac has been saying some really inappropriate things to me, which makes me think he likes me. And as if all of that isn’t enough, I called Matt an asshole on the phone the other night and hung up on him because I don’t think he cares about my dreams.”