Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“Have a good night,” I call to Jack as I rush for the door.
“You, too, Ellison,” he calls back, just as I close the door behind me. Standing on the front porch, I pull in a deep breath and slowly exhale. I managed to get out without seeing him.
“Long day?” his deep voice asks.
I swear, I think I jump ten feet in the air before I turn to face him. “Don’t do that.”
“I’m sorry,” he says, sitting up straighter in the rocking chair.
“Have a good night,” I say, moving to step off the porch.
I hear his footsteps, and I know he’s following me. I should have expected it. What I didn’t expect was for his blue long-sleeve jean shirt, which he had on earlier, to land on my shoulders. The warmth of his skin from the shirt wraps around me like an embrace. I stop and turn to look at him.
“I don’t need your shirt. It’s not a far walk.” I start to remove it from my shoulders, but his hand covers mine.
“Keep it,” he says softly. “My momma would kick my ass if she knew I didn’t offer you warmth on a chilly evening.”
I glare at him. “That’s so wrong, using your mom like that.”
He nods but doesn’t comment.
“Fine,” I huff. “Thank you. I’ll leave it for you at reception tomorrow.”
“You used to love stealing my shirts, my hoodies, my coats…,” he says, his voice trailing off.
“Almost two decades ago,” I remind him.
“Feels like yesterday,” he muses.
“I should get home.” I nod toward the direction of my house.
“I’ll walk with you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I tell him, my heart starting to race at the thought of spending more time with him.
“I want to, Ells.”
Damn him. Damn. Him. “Fine,” I huff again, and stalk off toward the house. The faster I get there, the faster he goes back to doing whatever it was that he was doing.
We’re both quiet as he matches me step for step. When my house appears, I know this torture is almost over.
“How have you been?” he asks.
I stop and turn to stare at him. “Really, Copeland? How have I been? Unbelievable,” I seethe, before I turn back and start walking again. He leaves town, never comes back, and leaves me with a broken heart, and he wants to know how I’ve been?
“I’m here to stay, Ellison. We have to find a way to be around one another. Magnolia Ridge is a small town.”
“Not tonight,” I say as I reach the sidewalk to my house. “Tonight, I’m going inside, and I’m going to drink a glass of wine, maybe a bottle, because the man who broke my heart is back in this small town, our small town, and after seventeen years of silence, he wants to know how I’ve been.” The words spill out of my mouth before I can stop them. I know after all this time, I should let the anger go, but it’s more than that. My heart still wants him—even remembering all the pain—yet he acts like coming back is no big deal. News alert: It’s a big damn deal.
Removing his shirt from my shoulders, I hand it to him. My hand shakes, and his eyes flash with concern. I hate that he can see what being this close to him does to me. “Take it,” I say, my voice deceiving me with a crackle.
“Ells,” he says, reaching out a hand. I step out of his reach and shake the shirt. Reluctantly, he takes it from me.
“Thank you. Goodnight, Copeland,” I say, not able to forget my manners, and turn my back on him. I want so badly to see if he’s watching me, but I don’t need to look. I can feel his gaze as it burns through me.
My knees wobble as I take the final step onto the porch and unlock the door.
“Goodnight, Ells,” he calls.
Tears burn my eyes, but I blink hard, refusing to let them fall. I can’t go around crying every time I see him. I need to come to terms with the fact that he’s home and apparently wants to make small talk. All while I’m trying like hell not to love him.
If my heart could read the memo, that would be great.
Six
Copeland
* * *
I slept like shit. My mind wouldn't shut off. If I wasn't thinking about Mom and her appointment today, I was thinking about Ellison. Between the two, I may have managed to catch an hour of sleep. Let's not forget about my internal clock. After nearly twenty years of getting up at the ass crack of dawn, my body thinks it's time to get to work long before the sun comes up.
I tried to go back to sleep, but it was pointless. Instead, I went for a run on the trails here at the Manor. Ellison and her sisters have made numerous changes to the grounds, and the running and walking paths are particularly nice. Maybe I'll bump in to her today, and I'll get the chance to tell her.