Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 135300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 541(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 541(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
There’s only so much you can do to protect two intelligent nine-year-olds from the wreckage. They’ve heard the fights and felt the long absences for years.
They knew what was coming, and although they seem fine lately, I can’t let anything slide.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, dragging my mind up from the pit of despair.
I shouldn’t turn down the distraction.
But when I pull out my phone, I see the number on the screen and stop cold.
Why the fuck didn’t I block her already?
I frown at the screen, wondering if I should even answer.
Every muscle goes rigid with the urge to break something. Starting with this iPhone, which I’d love to skip over the water until it disappears forever.
Still, curiosity gets me by the throat. I snap and swipe the green icon.
“What?” I snarl.
“Hello, Kane. Do you have a second?” Her voice is pleasant and razor-sharp, just the way it always is. Nothing’s changed, and it takes me right back to failure.
“No.” My voice is stone-cold.
“Aw, come on. Just for old times’ sake.”
“You know I want nothing to do with old times, Mallory. Much less the present.”
“Kane.” My name lashes me in the face as her voice softens. “It’s the Harley-Farview conference,” she hisses. “Look, I know it’s a lot to ask, but it would be so deeply appreciated if you’d make the briefest appearance to—”
“You’re right. It is a lot, and the answer is no.”
“You… you wouldn’t have to be there physically,” she stammers. “I know you’re out of state. Just a video call will do.”
“To do what? Trick your investors into believing I haven’t dropped this shit show? Because in case you forgot, I have.” I inhale sharply, shaking my head. “What the fuck is this, anyway? Calling and asking for a favor?”
“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting you,” she says, placating. “And I know things didn’t end on the best terms, but—”
“No. No more buts, Mallory. How many times do I need to fucking tell you? I’m done with OptiSynth, and you’re done using me for PR puff horseshit.”
She sighs, the rush of static going straight through me like ice.
“I’m not asking for the world. It would just be one little brief—”
“No,” I snap. “Not today. Not tomorrow. Not fucking ever. Not after the shit you pulled.”
“Now listen, we had a sincere difference in vision and—”
Bullshit.
I hang up, swiping with more force than necessary. I miss the days when you could demolish a phone by slamming it back in its cradle.
Breathing roughly, I stare at the trees on the other side of the lake, adrenaline pelting my veins.
Why did I think they wouldn’t have the gall to contact me?
Especially like this, cold-calling out of the blue to ask for a favor they sure as hell know I don’t owe them.
“No, you go back and shut it!”
Sophie’s voice.
I stuff my phone back in my pocket, trying to shake my anger.
Just in time to see the kids racing downhill to the docks. The back door swings shut as Dan closes it, then races toward me, right behind his sister.
“Careful!” I call, my arms splayed wide to catch Soph. She stumbles into me with a squeal, and I grab her, swinging her around before setting her back on her feet. “What have I told you about running down hills?”
“Only run if you wanna fall over?” She grins, her glasses tilted. “But that’s why you’re here, Dad! You’re my brakes.”
Munchkin logic.
That’s why it’s impossible to stay mad at my angel.
Luckily, Dan brakes himself and bumps into my side dramatically.
“We finished our homework. English is easy. Can you believe they let me pick Narnia for the dumb paper?” he yells. Birds erupt from the nearby trees, and Sophie giggles.
“Pipe down, we’re not the only folks here,” I say, even though from here, it looks like we are.
Another reason I picked this place when Bar Harbor was a bust.
“It’s just birds.” Dan settles beside me. I steer them both away from the dock. “Are we taking the boat out? Or do we have to clean first?”
“Yeah,” Sophie says, beaming up at me. “You promised you would.”
The explosive pressure in my chest eases as I look down into their faces.
The prickling sensation of being watched has faded. If I look up, I’m sure I’ll see Margot drawn back behind the earthy curtains.
This is what I need after that call, though.
An excuse to get us out on the canoe, away from the world.
“I guess I did promise, huh? And you’re lucky I took care of the worst with the dock. I won’t keep you guys waiting, but you step where I tell you.” With my hands on their little shoulders, I steer them toward the small shed that’s sitting by the water, where I’ve hauled our canoe.
Sophie holds up the small telescope in her hand, making a big show of playing pirate, swinging it around.