Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Which explained the change in his behavior.
“Dane took matters into his own hands and called hotel security and had everyone who did not belong to their party forcibly removed from their suite.”
Which also explained why he sounded so odd on the phone. He had probably gotten angry, and Dane hated to get mad. He liked his life so very structured, and Aja supported him in that because it allowed him to work, always, at peak performance. She was a strong, steady presence for him, and things had been upended for several days, and I could only imagine that he very much wanted to be home.
“What happened when Dane cleared the suite of visitors?”
“I guess Mark and Greg and some others were mad, but you know Dane, he didn’t give a damn. He would have left that night, but the fishing that they had all been looking forward to was the next day.”
“Is Chris all right?”
“From what Duncan said, he’s fine. Sam made him drink a lot of water, and once Chris was able to sleep, that was it. The main issue was that everyone was up late and no one got any good sleep, and then they got on a boat at six in the morning with not everyone talking to everyone else.”
“This sounds like hell.”
“From what Sam told Duncan, he’s whittling down his friend pool to only guys who are married and don’t cheat on their spouses.”
I chuckled. “That certainly sounds like him. Sam cannot be friends with someone’s wife or husband and know their spouse is cheating on them and let that pass. He’s not made that way. If Duncan ever cheated on you, he’d instantly lose all respect for the man and have to let you know what was going on.”
“Really? Even though Duncan was Sam’s friend first?”
“Yes,” I said sincerely. “Years ago, he saw a friend of his out with another woman and didn’t let the man’s wife know. Eventually, that man ended up killing her, as well as their kids. From that moment, and it’s not Sam’s fault what happened, but ever since then, he’s so sensitive to the whole cheating thing.”
“Yes, but most people are just going to cheat, not kill anyone.”
“I know that, but Sam can’t be put in the situation where he has to lie outright or by omission. He can’t do that anymore.”
“Well then, everything that happened last night must have been hard on him.”
“I suspect so.”
“And today he was shot with a spear gun.”
“I’m sure he was spitting nails all the way to the hospital.”
“Yeah. Duncan said that’s how he knew he was all right. He was yelling the whole way there. If I was Mark, I would simply lose Sam’s number.”
I chuckled.
“Although, from what Duncan says, the footage from when he took Sam’s GoPro camera underwater, and then when Dane was wearing it when Sam was hit and you can hear Sam say, ‘Are you fuckin’ kidding me,’ when the spear entered his body—is very good stuff. They watched it at the hospital, and they were all laughing.”
“Boys,” I said, sighing.
“Yes, well, it’s good to have a sense of humor about these things.”
“I feel sort of bad that Sam is winnowing down his friends. He doesn’t have that many to begin with.”
“Yes, but sometimes we grow out of people. Sometimes what kept you close is no longer something that you do or are a part of. People move, like your friends Loudon and Evan. They moved to where?”
“Michigan. They needed to be closer to Loudon’s family, which I get.”
“So you’re still friends, and I assume you chat on the phone and send gifts and cards, but the fact of the matter is, they’re no longer involved in your day-to-day life.”
“That’s true.”
“Sam has known Chaz and Pat the longest, Duncan next, Dane because of you, me because of you, and we have a wonderful circle. I think Sam is just fine with how big it is now.”
“I suspect you’re right.”
“Okay, so…yes. They’re in the air, so they’ll be here in roughly four hours.”
“They were supposed to be there for seven days.”
“They flew in what, Monday?”
“Yes.”
“And it’s Thursday now, so you’re going to be stuck with your husband home now for three days. That sounds terrible.”
I laughed at him. “You can’t wait for Duncan to get home.”
“Well, yes, but that’s me,” he teased. “Your husband just got shot by a spear gun. He’s going to be a bear when he gets home.”
“I can’t wait,” I told him.
It was after three in the morning when Dobby started barking. I threw the lightweight summer comforter that was on the bed over him and had just enough time to roll over before Sam was there, on top of me, crushing me under him. He had to shift a bit, since petting his dog was necessary.