Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
“What if this really happens?”
“All right, let’s pump the brakes. I only overheard whispers.”
“Between the mayor and Sheriff Hudson.” That’s a really reliable source. My phone goes off again, Betty telling me that Mr. Lawyer Man is in the bar, having a drink and talking to Jimbob.
I should wait until he leaves the bed and breakfast altogether to walk around town, but my patience is at zero right now. The sooner I start collecting information, the better. I don’t know exactly what this super hot lawyer guy is up to, but I plan to find out by whatever means necessary.
“Come on,” I tell Katherine.
“Now?!” She takes a few more bites of her burger, already knowing the answer to that question, while I pay the tab. "Can you just text Kindred and ask her what's up?"
"I could, but I don't think she'll tell me, not yet. If this is in fact true, I'm sure they are going over details and waiting. They wouldn't want it being whispered around town before anything is certain."
“Well, Kindred would never let this happen anyways.”
“You can’t control everything, and like I said, I have a gut feeling this is real.” We fall into silence as we make our way across town on foot toward the bed and breakfast. I head for the back door, pulling out my key and letting myself in.
Having done odd jobs for just about everyone, I have keys to most places. Not that I’d need them to get in. I taught myself to pick locks when I was ten. It was a fun hobby, and you can learn lots of things from YouTube.
“You go to the bar and distract him.”
“Me?” She points to herself, eyes wide.
“Yes, you,” I laugh.
“Okay.” Katherine’s expression turns skeptical, but as she starts to head in that direction, I snag her around the wrist to stop her. “What?”
“Don’t flirt with him.”
“I don’t flirt with anyone.” This is true. “Besides, you already called dibs.”
“I did no such thing,” I hiss.
“If you say so,” Katherine singsongs. I stand there watching her go.
Shit, I'm in deep, and everywhere I look is a freaking landmine waiting for me to step on it.
I grit my teeth, reminding myself who I am. I'm not going to let these rich jerkoffs run all over me and this town. I take the back stairs up to the lawyer man's room and pop the lock, stepping inside.
"Boom, motherfuckers."
I’m not sure what I expect to find, but I’m still going to look anyway.
Chapter Six
PIERCE
Jimbob shakes his fist at the TV mounted over the fireplace. Pissed off at a football game that is a rerun of the one from Christmas. You’d think he’s got money on it with how upset he is.
The bar is small and right off the entryway. I’d guess at one point it was a parlor. There are only a handful of seats at the bar, but there are a couple of tables scattered around the room. One large bay window lets you see out the front of the house to the town. Now that it’s night, those red and pink lights are making the town glow. I'd come down here hoping to milk any information I could get out of the townspeople.
"You're a fan?" Jimbob asks, nodding toward the television.
"It's entertaining enough." I never played past a few games as a kid in an open field. Anytime I hit a new high school, the coaches would try to get me to play because of my size alone.
I shot up after middle school, not only in height, but I'm built broad. I only ever used my size on asshats who had it coming. I was able to stick up for some of the other kids in the system. We always had a target on our backs for easy bullying.
I didn't play ball because while I might have been built for it, I value my brain. Sports weren't getting me into college with a full ride; I mean, maybe, but you had to depend on a whole team.
Academics I could do solo, and when it provided information, I inhaled it. It was as easy as breathing to me. Back then I knew I could only count on myself. That was the world I had always lived in. I'm getting a good sense that New Hope isn't that way. The little time I’ve spent here has already shown me that they are protective of one another.
“How about you?” I ask to make small talk, taking a sip of my drink. I’m not great at it, but it’s a necessity here. I can when I need to.
“Nah, the football team was shit here.”
“Really? Thought small towns were always big on football.”
“Not so much here.” Jimbob flips the channel over to the news, muting it. “Now the theater club, that’s what everyone went to see every other Friday.”