Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
I look over at Cobi when I hear his stool scoot across the wood floor. “We’re going to take off.” His gaze moves to Olivia. “As soon as we have any information, we’ll be in touch.”
“Sure.” She nods, then asks, “Is it okay if I tell Kourtney what you told us?”
“Of course.” He starts moving toward the kitchen doorway, asking, “Did she get the security system put in?”
“No, not yet,” Olivia tells his back as we walk through the living room.
“Just try not to be over there alone until it’s installed.”
“She’s staying here with me,” I assure him.
“That’s smart,” Detective Hammer says softly, patting my arm as I open the front door. After he steps out, I turn to watch Cobi give Olivia a one-arm hug.
“It will be okay.” I hear him tell her, and she nods.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Cobi says, bumping his fist against mine. He steps outside, calling over his shoulder, “Night.”
“Night.” I close the door behind him and flip the lock into place. The moment I turn around, Olivia falls against me.
“I hate this.”
“I know.” I wrap her up in my arms and just hold her for a long fucking time while she clings to me.
CHAPTER 26
Olivia
Opening my eyes, I blink against the bright sun coming through the open windows and see nothing but blue skies and the tiptops of the pine trees that fill the bottom panes of the glass. Even only having it one day, I know I’m going to miss waking up to this view when we leave. Moreover, I will miss not thinking about all the worries I left behind when Bax decided Friday that we weren’t putting off our trip to the Smoky Mountains. He packed us up in his truck and drove us the three hours to the cabin he rented. But like all good things, this trip is coming to an end, and by this time tomorrow, we’ll be on our way back home.
Smelling bacon and coffee, I toss back the blanket covering me and grab Bax’s shirt from the bottom of the bed, dragging it down over my head as I walk to the bathroom. He did not skimp on the cabin he rented for us. Not only is there a hot tub outside that we took full advantage of last night when we arrived, but there is also a huge walk-in shower and sunken tub with a giant picture window behind it with a view of the mountains that looks like something you’d find in a travel magazine. Even if the tub is not huge, somehow I’m going to convince Bax to get into it with me tonight. After brushing my teeth and tying my hair up, I head to the stairs, and as I start down them, I spot Bax at the stove wearing only a pair of loose sweats.
“Hey, baby.” His eyes come to me over his shoulder, and I stop in the middle of the stairs for a moment just to appreciate the view of him in all his shirtless glory before I take the last few steps down.
“Morning.” I walk around the island into the kitchen and stop at his side, wrapping my arms around his waist as he slides his arm around my back.
“I was going to bring you breakfast in bed.”
“Sorry.” I look up at him, and he dips his chin so he can touch his mouth to mine. “How long have you been up?” I look at the stove, where there is a stack of pancakes along with some scrambled eggs and the bacon he’s still cooking.
“About an hour. Coffee’s done. Do you want a cup?”
“Yes.” I start to move away from him to get it for myself, but he stops me and places the tongs in his hand down, then maneuvers me up onto the counter next to the stove. Okay, apparently, I’m not getting my own coffee.
“What do you want to do today?” he asks as he opens the cupboard next to me and reaches up to grab a coffee mug.
“We could go bungee jumping at that place we saw last night when we were coming home from dinner.”
“Yeah, that’s not fucking happening,” he mutters, shaking his head with a smile on his face like he thinks I’m being funny. “What do you want to do that won’t send me to an early grave?” He dumps some creamer into the cup after filling it with coffee.
“I’ve gone bungee jumping before, it’s fun, and it’s safe.”
“We’re not doing that.”
“We don’t have to do anything; you can just watch me jump,” I tell him, taking the cup he hands me.
“You really think that I’m going to stand by and watch you jump off a piece of metal hundreds of feet in the air attached to what are essentially rubber bands?”
“They aren’t rubber bands.” I roll my eyes as he begins to take the bacon out of the pan and put it on a plate he covered with a paper towel.