Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 70516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Denver grunted and took the seat next to me again, boxing me in and blocking my view from everyone else in the diner.
“Nobody’s opinion but your own matters,” Denver said quietly. “Do you want anything else to eat?”
I was already shaking my head. “I have no room left in my stomach.”
He eyed my mostly finished plate before saying, “You eat like a rabbit.”
“She eats pretty heftily,” Nettie interjected. “Her appetite is still coming back after the bear attack.”
Denver’s eyes lit on my face. “I heard the 9-1-1 call.”
I nodded. “I’m sure everyone has at this point.”
“Wasn’t even there, and didn’t experience it with you,” he said. “But literally gave me chills.” His eyes were intense when he said, “I used to let my daughter go on trail runs by herself. Not anymore.”
I shook my head. “You should let her go. I won’t let anyone stop me from going on my own solo hikes. This was a freak accident, and it literally could’ve happened to anyone. Even a man who might’ve had a better chance at fighting it off.”
“I don’t think that a man could’ve made much of a difference.” Denver shrugged. “It’ll take me a while to forget about how horrible that call was. My daughter is used to me being overprotective.”
“You mean suffocated?” Bossy asked curiously.
Denver’s eyes moved from mine to her.
Denver narrowed his eyes before saying, “You’re not much better, darlin’. Didn’t I hear your dad ban you from ever leaving his sight again?”
Bossy grinned. “Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I’ll listen.”
Denver just shook his head. “Women.”
Nettie polished off what was left of her egg white omelet.
Bossy finished off her pancakes. And Denver finished off my waffle.
By the time we were done, it’d given Black enough time to arrive at the diner.
He came directly to where we were sitting in the corner of the room—in the Dixie Wardens MC corner as I’d coined it in my head when I was here last with my sister.
Black marched in like he owned the place and came straight toward us.
“You heard, I’m guessing?” he asked.
“Heard what?” Nettie asked.
Black’s eyes flicked toward her, then to me. “That your sister has a hit out on her.”
My mouth fell open.
Nettie’s screech caused the entire restaurant to turn our way. “What?”
“Your mom and dad took a hit out on you.”
“They would be stupid to openly do that,” Bossy pointed out.
Black sighed. “It’s not confirmed that it was them. But there is a hit on you. Apollo has been dealing with it all night.”
I looked over at Denver who didn’t look the least bit surprised.
Then I thought about how nervous Weaver had been when he was about to leave us at the hospital, and I knew why it was that the president of the Dixie Wardens was here.
They were all protecting me.
“They found out that you were the one behind the original video that is tying them to this evidence,” Black said. “I’m not sure how that information got out since we didn’t release it, but they did.”
“You may not want to admit that you have a leak in your own carefully curated department roster,” Denver pointed out. “But it’s not going to change the fact that you do.”
Black looked disgusted.
“They’re not going to be so open about doing this,” I agreed. “But that was probably what today was about. I was wondering why they would bring attention to themselves, and now it makes sense. They want the attention on them to make it seem like they wouldn’t be behind the hit.”
“This is such a dad thing to do,” Nettie grumbled. “Do you remember when we were in high school, and he found out that we were emancipating ourselves? We went to church that last time and he showed us around like we were the best daughters ever. He tooted our horns when he told everyone about our scholarships. He was so happy for us that we were accomplishing our dreams. Then Audrey purposefully hurt you an hour later.”
“Audrey hurt you?” Denver asked, looking at me.
“Nearly took me out with her car,” I said.
“Who did?”
I looked behind me to find Apollo standing there looking curious.
“Audrey Stanley,” I answered. “She’s the daughter of a deacon at my dad’s church.”
He frowned. “Was she your friend?”
I scoffed. “If anyone, she was friends with my parents.”
A gleam entered Apollo’s eyes. “Interesting.”
He sat down again, effectively putting himself out of my line of sight seeing as I couldn’t turn to keep him there.
Denver, Black, and Nettie kept talking.
Bossy and I sat silent as we listened to them speak.
“Yahtzee!”
Twenty
I’m not sure how many Reese’s peanut butter cups it takes to be happy, but it’s not twelve.
—Weaver to Eddy
Weaver
My stomach was in knots by the time I arrived at Hopps.
The bar was in full drinking mode as I walked by the patrons to get to the back corner where I knew my girls to be.