Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Not that anyone would guess by looking at the rugged islander. He had a slightly unkempt appearance that did nothing to detract from his good looks. It sounded gross now, but he really did have his pick of girls when we were younger. According to Cammie, he ended up marrying a woman from the mainland after I’d left. Jill Tinsley. Jill apparently did not adjust to island life at all. They’d had one child, a daughter called Kelly, but when Murray filed for divorce, he ended up in a vicious custody battle. For Kelly’s sake, the judge decided Murray would only get partial custody so their daughter didn’t have to shuttle back and forth all the time from the island. It meant he got to see his daughter for one weekend a month.
“Did you hear?” Cammie murmured.
“Hear what?” Tierney’s enquiry was hushed.
“The divorce is finalized. He”—she nodded her head toward an oblivious Murray—“was trying to break their marriage contract and failed. Apparently, Jill has access to the company’s funds until Murray remarries.”
I sucked in a breath. “That’s terrible. Surely, she can’t just take money from the company without tax implications?”
“She’s taking a very generous ‘salary,’ and apparently Murray is worried he might have to sell the company before she bleeds it dry.”
“I’ll never understand women like her.” Tierney shook her head. “London and I saw it all the time in New York. I mean, don’t get me wrong—I think women should be compensated for running the household and taking care of their children while the guy works, but the compensation should be fair.”
“Aye, I agree. But Jill used to bugger off without Kelly all the time, leaving Murray scrambling for a sitter whenever he had to work. She’d leave the island for days with no word and waltz back home like nothing had happened. That’s why he finally divorced her. Then she gets Kelly in the divorce, even though it seems like she couldn’t give a shit about her. And her ‘salary’ is on top of child support Murray is already paying for his daughter.” Cammie realized she was raising her voice in anger and whispered, “It just pisses me off. He’s a good guy and he doesn’t deserve this. I mean, Kiera has a real reason to be angry at Quinn, and she was so cool and chill about their divorce. They’re friends even now.”
“Did Quinn cheat?” London popped a mini cake in her mouth with a casualness that belied her question.
Cammie’s eyes flashed. “No, he didn’t cheat.” Her gaze flickered to me and back to London. “But he married Kiera when he was in love with Taran, and Kiera stuck around for far longer than she should have.”
I sucked in a harsh breath at the announcement.
“Jesus, Cammie, I love you, but that mouth of yours.” Tierney shook her head with gentle reproach. “It stings sometimes, babe.”
Cammie shrugged, giving me a pointed look. “Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.”
Before I could respond with something I might regret, a shadow fell over us.
We all looked up and Murray stood there.
He glanced around our group, then halted at London. I knew I wasn’t imagining the sudden electricity in the air as their gazes held. When my roommate’s cheeks reddened, I decided to cut through the tension. “Hi, Murray. How are you?”
The fisherman, with seemingly slow reluctance, dragged his attention from my pretty friend to me. I’d always thought Murray had the most gorgeous eyes, a light mossy green framed by thick, blunt dark lashes. When I was younger, I thought they were wasted on a boy, but now I knew differently. While he kept his brown hair fairly neat and trimmed, his beard was currently overbearding in a big way.
He had massive shoulders from hauling catch, and I noted the hole near the collar of his long-sleeved tee. Overall, he had the air of a man who was too busy to take much care of himself.
“All right. How are you, Taran?” Murray asked in a deep, rasping voice.
“Well, thanks. Anything we can help with?” I really hoped he hadn’t overheard our conversation about him.
“Why aren’t you out with a crew?” Cammie asked before he could respond.
Again, he glanced at London before responding to Cammie. “Got Kelly. Jill had something come up, so Kelly’s here for a couple of weeks. Didn’t want to miss spending time with her.” His lip curled up at the corner. “But apparently, thirteen-year-olds prefer to be with their pals.”
Cammie chuckled. “Sounds like Heather at that age. And this age, actually.”
“Great,” Murray muttered dryly. “I’m looking for Quinn. Have you seen him?”
“Aye, at the docks, saying goodbye to the kids. They’re off back to their mum’s.”
So soon? I wondered how Quinn was handling that.
Then I remembered he’d pissed me off only a few days ago and decided I didn’t care.