Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
“Devon changed his entire life based on that prediction, and he really believes he won’t live to see his thirtieth birthday.”
“When does he turn thirty?”
“On February first.”
Hal looked surprised all over again. “He thinks he’ll be dead in less than two months?”
“He’s sure of it. He’s believed that since he was twenty-six, which is why he’s spent the past three years traveling the world and working his way through his bucket list.”
“I have so many questions.”
“I did too, at first.”
“Do you believe in this stuff?”
“No. I’ve never believed in things like curses or psychic predictions,” I said. “But I believe he believes it, you know? Since there’s no way to change his mind, I’m just trying to be supportive of Devon in general, while waiting for his birthday to come and go. I’m convinced that’s the only way he’ll ever get past this, by turning thirty and realizing none of it was real.”
“What do you make of the fact that his dad, grandfather, and great-grandfather all died in their late twenties?”
“It has to be a tragic coincidence. Nothing else makes sense.”
Hal nodded in agreement before asking, “How is this affecting the two of you? He doesn’t think he has a future, but here you are, in a brand-new relationship.”
“We’re not, though. This is just… casual.” That word sounded wrong, but what else could I say about what we were doing?
Hal looked skeptical. “You gush about him, Kit. Every single text I’ve gotten from you since you’ve met him has been Devon, Devon, Devon. Plus, from the moment I saw you two together, I knew you were both crazy about each other.”
“We only got here an hour ago. How much could you have seen?”
“It took me less than a minute to see you two are utterly smitten. Both of you light up when you look at each other, and you never stopped touching until Ryder took Devon to see the horses.”
“Sorry. That must have been awkward.”
“It was sweet, actually. You two weren’t pawing at each other like a pair of horny teenagers. It was deeper than that, more like a magnetic attraction.”
“There’s that for sure.” After a pause, I admitted, “The funny thing is, we haven’t actually fucked yet. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve done plenty of other stuff. But somehow, we’ve always stopped short.”
“Why is that?”
“This is already pretty intense, since we’re together all day, every day, sleeping in the same bed, and having all these shared experiences. But we both said we weren’t looking for a relationship at the start of this, so maybe that’s our way of trying to apply the brakes to what feels like a runaway train.”
He asked, “Why did you say you weren’t looking for a relationship?”
“I never told you this, but my last relationship was hell. It destroyed my self-esteem, what little I had to begin with, and it made me really distrustful—although I’ve always found it easy to trust Devon. As for him, he thinks he’s got less than two months to live. The way he put it was that he didn’t want to start something he couldn’t finish.” I thought about it and added, “Maybe he’s also concerned that I’ll get too attached to him if we call this a relationship and start sleeping together, and he doesn’t want me to end up heartbroken after he’s gone.”
“Is there really no part of him that thinks the psychic could have been wrong?”
“There must be, but here’s the thing—curse or no curse, his dad died at twenty-eight. Devon mentioned that in a conversation we had early on, when I asked what he’d do if and when he lived past thirty. He said he’d still try to live every day as if it was his last, because he’s always understood that life is short. So, maybe all the psychic’s prediction did was give him an excuse to quit a job he hated, and to get out there and live the life he always wanted.”
“There’s a lot at play here,” Hal said.
“I know.”
“I’m really happy you met someone though, and I hope everything falls into place once his birthday comes and goes.”
“Thanks. That’s my hope, too.”
My friend smiled at me and got to his feet. “Let’s go to the house, and I’ll make us some tea. It’s getting cold.”
As we left the studio, several dogs, a donkey, and a couple of chickens started to follow us, which made me laugh. “This is amazing,” I said. “I could never quite picture what your life was like out here in the country. Turns out, it’s even weirder than I imagined. It seems wonderful too, though.”
He chuckled and nodded. “I’d definitely describe it as both weird and wonderful.”
The ranch was made up of four main structures oriented around a huge, ancient-looking oak tree, which felt like the heart of the property. In addition to the studio, there was a large stable, a cute farmhouse with a wide front porch, and an honest to goodness big red barn, the kind I’d only seen in movies.