Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 55769 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55769 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
And in the middle, next to their wedding picture, not hidden, pride of place, was a photo of Caitlin on stage wearing a pink leotard and matching sheer skirt tied at her waist and drifting to her knees. She was up on point, caught in motion.
Her arms were above her head, her beautiful hands held with natural grace and delicacy.
Mace looked from that picture to the one of Lee and Tally on the beach, to Stella’s beaming smile in her bridesmaid dress, to the photo of them caught up in good times at Brother’s. Good times that happened for no reason, just because they’d all found their family and they were smart enough to appreciate it.
Then he went back to Tiny.
“Hope I did you proud, sweetheart,” he whispered, drew in breath and turned back to his desk.
As he sorted shit to get ready to go home, it didn’t take long for him to finish making up his mind about a thought he’d had a while ago.
So he re-engaged his phone, went to contacts and found Lee.
“Hey, brother,” Lee answered.
“Yo, Lee. Got a second to talk something through?”
There was a beat of silence and then, before Mace could lay out the plan, he knew Lee knew what he was about when he said, “Christ, man, I thought you’d never ask.”
Mace felt a smile spread on his face.
Then he sat back in the chair in his office and hammered out a deal with his friend.
Track 7
Rock Chick Regret
One One
* * *
Hector
* * *
Hector sat next to Sadie at the table in the visitation room.
Seth sat opposite them.
Sadie had her head bent and she was talking a mile a minute while sliding photos across the table toward her father.
“Her name is Gretl. She’s everything. Hector gave her to me for Christmas.”
Seth spared Hector a quick glance, then looked to the photo and murmured, “Adorable.”
“She totally is!” Sadie gushed. “I’m going to be sad when her ears stop being floppy, but she’s such a good girl. Hector got her for my protection, but she’s so friendly. I’m not sure she’ll be good at protection, unless the bad guy is allergic to dogs or being licked to death.”
The glance Seth gave him that time lasted longer, but not too long, Sadie was sliding another photo across the table.
“That’s me with the girls at Roxie’s wedding. Roxie is obviously the bride.” She pointed the rest out. “That’s Indy, and that’s Ally. There’s Ava. And there’s Stella. And Jet and Jules. And that’s Annette, she’s a hoot! And Daisy, you know. Also, Shirleen.”
“That’s a large wedding party,” Seth noted.
“I know! Isn’t it aces?” She asked a question, but she didn’t wait for an answer. She slid another photo to him. “That’s Tex. He’s crazy. And very loud. But he’s a total sweetheart and he makes the best coffee.”
Seth frowned down at the picture that showed Sadie glued to Tex’s side at Roxie’s wedding, his arm around her shoulders crushing her there.
He was smiling at the camera.
If you were trying to be kind, you’d describe the smile as awkward. If you were telling it like it was, you’d describe it differently.
“He looks like a serial killer,” Seth said.
Yup.
That’s how you’d describe it.
Sadie dissolved in peals of laughter, laughter that Hector paid very close attention to in order to assess if it was fake, stressed, forced or other.
But it was real.
What unnerved him was, when he returned his attention to Seth, he knew with her father’s sharp attention on his daughter, he was making the same assessment.
When she quit laughing, she assured, “He really is a sweetheart.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Seth drawled.
Sadie smiled at him.
And fuck him, Seth Townsend transformed when the man smiled back.
Because that was genuine too.
The bell rang, and that meant time was up.
Seth beat back his look of disappointment in record time (something else that shocked the shit out of Hector, the fact he’d let it show at all).
He then leveled his eyes on Sadie and said, “I’m glad you came, darling. I loved looking at your pictures. And please tell your friend, Jet, I appreciate the cookies. But if you don’t mind, I’d like a quick word with Hector.”
She paled a bit, looked between Hector and her dad, and settled on her dad.
“I do mind, Dad.”
“It’s not going to be bad,” Seth told her.
“Then why can’t you talk about it with me here?” she pushed.
Seth looked slightly sick when he replied, “Because it’s up to Hector if he wants to share with you what we talk about.”
“It’s okay, mamita,” he said quietly.
Sadie gave her dad a hard look before she hit Hector with the same thing.
Then she got up and warned them both, “Be nice.”
She reached and grabbed her pictures, smiled at her dad, then walked around the table and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. She did this before she shot an adorable warning look to Hector, and both men watched as she walked away.