Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
“Mom, I don’t think that will happen. I have Rocky and Tully coming. She’s moving to Arrowleaf and will be the new girl in town. What kind of friend would I be if I abandoned her as soon as she got here?” Alright, sue me. The idea of living with Lane is amazing. Falling asleep in his arms and waking up in them, well, it would be chef’s kiss. Except I’m not even sure how to bring that up, and I’ve already said I wouldn’t leave Tully.
“Honey, you act like Tully is going to move into the house. She’s not, and you already know Lane isn’t going to say no to you. My granddog is easy, small, behaves, and sleeps most of the day away.” Yet again, Mom is right. She always is.
Tully is renting—yes, renting—because she refuses to take any type of handout whatsoever. The place she’s staying at is on Mom’s land. It was once a greenhouse. Mom said it was too pretty to house only her flowers, a relic of sorts. Mom renovated and turned it into a pretty cottage. She kept the original blueprint of the greenhouse since it was pretty big. The windows, sink, and anything she could repurpose, she did. They settled on a price over the phone two days ago, and everything was signed and sealed.
“I know. Ugh, we’ll see. Is everything okay? You’re usually not here during the day,” I ask, still standing because it’s currently the one position that doesn’t hurt.
“As a matter of fact, it’s not. Why don’t you sit down and talk to me.” Mom’s eyebrows lift to nearly her hairline. My stomach drops. She knows. God, how does she know? Lane wouldn’t. He might go after my attacker, but what he wouldn’t do is sit around, have coffee, and gossip about me to my mother. Yet I find myself doing exactly as she asks. There’s no way to hide the wince or the fact that I’m taking my sweet time pulling the chair out, only to take a deep breath when my ass finally hits the seat.
“Mom.” I look up. She’s got tears forming in her eyes.
“Who? Who hurt my baby, and don’t lie to me.”
“Sherman Junior, my former boss’s son.” I swallow my own emotions. I did not want to have to talk about the situation again so soon. “How do you know?”
“Baby girl, there was a reason your dad left and never came back. I shielded you from it until I was strong enough to get help. Thankfully, you were young enough, or maybe you weren’t. I prayed you didn’t see or hear anything. I hoped to break the cycle. Yet here you are, coming home out of the blue, which I’m not mad about in the least. I saw the signs. It’s why I didn’t put up a fuss when you said no to going to Lane’s birthday party.” I push my coffee mug away, the caffeine sitting like lead in my stomach.
“I never knew, ever. I was going to tell you, swear. I’ve been trying to process it, mulling over how to even begin to explain this situation,” I tell her truthfully. Only I’d have waited until there was a status update on my case and my body was somewhat healed.
“Were you dating him?” I shake my head vehemently while trying not to throw up in my mouth.
“No, I had never laid eyes on him a day in my life until he attacked me. I still don’t know why he chose me. Maybe it was targeted, or maybe it was a case of him being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. You know, the type who’s never heard the word no a day in their life.” Mom stands up, the chair screeching across the tile floor.
“Please tell me you filed a police report. He didn’t go further, did he?” She’s white-knuckling the back of the chair. Suddenly, it all clicks, the reason Mom doesn’t let anyone from the male species get close to her. My father did the worst besides beating her. He hurt my mom in a way that most don’t overcome.
“Oh, Mom, you never told me.” I bring my hand to my mouth, covering it to hide my trembling lips.
“And I wouldn’t have. I’d have taken it to my grave. I also know when it happens, you need counseling, friends, family. So, you have to tell me, sweetheart. Did it go further?”
“No, I fought back hard enough, screamed loud enough that I was able to escape. The investigation is open. I’ll be honest. I don’t think Sherman Junior will get anything except a slap on his hand. They have the money and prestige from their name alone.” I watch as Mom takes a deep breath and holds it in for a moment before exhaling.